The proliferation of artificial intelligence adoption within finance has taken a big leap in the past year, with 86% of finance executives saying they’re actively using AI tools. In early 2025, it was 57%.
That’s according to Vena Solutions, a provider of cloud-based FP&A software, which recently surveyed 431 finance leaders at companies with annual revenue under $50 million all the way up to those generating $1 billion or more each year.
Almost three-quarters (70%) of those polled said their company has a C-level mandate in place to use AI in the finance organization. And a third (34%) said they’ve fully integrated AI agents across FP&A.
Respondents plan to keep increasing their AI usage, and 36% of them expect to invest in AI tools for forecasting and analysis over the next year. What’s more, 37% said they anticipate having at least half of their workflow processes conducted by AI agents within two years.
How accurate the latter forecast will prove to be is debatable. Another recent study suggested companies may have exaggerated optimism for the pace of agentic AI adoption.
Of course, the prospect of AI’s increasing role within finance could be unsettling to some FP&A professionals. However, technical skills are highly valued among the function’s hiring priorities. Participants in Vena’s survey said the most prevalent new roles being introduced are financial systems manager/EPM architect (40%), FP&A data scientist (32%) and FP&A analytics manager (32%).
“Many FP&A teams are still finding their footing and the right talent,” Vena wrote in its study report. The survey asked participants about impediments to the FP&A function, and their responses included newly formed teams still formalizing roles and processes, team members covering FP&A alongside other accountabilities, gaps in skill distribution across teams and recruitment freezes.
FP&A professionals have a clear motivation to acquire or improve their AI skills, as one result of their efforts to increase AI usage within finance could be freeing up time for more strategic contributions. However, only 31% of survey respondents said their company leaders perceive FP&A as a strategic business partner, while 61% view it as a “transactional/reporting function” or a “reliable adviser on financials.”
Only 9% said top executives view the function as a “critical driver of growth.”
Vena counseled that to get value from AI, FP&A teams will need more than automation alone; they’ll also need governed data, connected workflows and enough control to trust the decisions AI helps accelerate. “These are all objectives finance teams will need to address within their tech stack,” Vena wrote.
Vena’s survey was conducted in October 2025 in partnership with Benchmarkit, a research analyst firm.
