Report: Finance Leaders Demand Proof of AI Returns

A new Finance Labs survey of over 100 CFOs and finance leaders indicates a shift in how artificial intelligence is being utilized in finance departments. While accelerating automation and reducing costs were previously the primary focus, the emphasis is now on measuring accuracy, compliance, and demonstrable returns.

CFOs are posing increasingly critical questions about AI's impact: Is it improving accuracy? Does it aid in regulatory compliance? Can the return on investment be proven to the board?

The survey found that 41.9% of finance teams use clearly defined key performance indicators (KPIs) to evaluate AI success, while another 41.9% rely on team feedback. A smaller percentage, 8.6%, have no defined metrics, and 7.6% track only adoption rates, suggesting varying levels of maturity in measurement methods.

Investments in AI are primarily driven by proven return on investment (ROI) figures (54.3%) and seamless integration with core enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems (49.5%). Finance leaders stress that AI must demonstrate measurable value and integrate with trusted systems to confidently justify scaling automation.

Among use cases, real-time fraud and anomaly detection (41%) generates the most interest, highlighting the priority of risk mitigation. Other key areas include personalized insights for decision-making and automated invoice-to-payment processes.