Finance and accounting are fertile grounds for technology solutions to propagate. However, even with the variety of promises artificial intelligence (AI) offers, multiple data points indicate CFOs are hesitant around AI, boards don’t view finance as an area ripe for AI innovation and most accounting teams aren’t using the technology yet.
However, even as finance and accounting lags, employees at all levels across industries have begun using AI, according to new data from Microsoft’s 2024 work trend index (WTI). Their survey of over 31,000 employees across 31 countries found three-quarters (75%) of all employees are using AI at work in some capacity.
Bring Your Own AI (BYOAI) is happening across organizations because many employees are not willing to wait for their employers to provide the tools to them. Nearly eight in 10 (78%) of AI users are bringing their own AI to the workplace. A slightly higher amount (80%) are doing at small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).
Over half of employees who are using AI are afraid to admit they’re using it because of the importance of the tasks that are being done with the help of AI (52%), and because they’re worried their AI use will make them look replaceable (53%).
Employees credit AI as a remedy to help avoid burnout — something 46% said they currently feel. Struggling with the pace and volume of their work was also a reason why over two-thirds (68%) of employees supplement their work with AI.
However, employee use may be increasing the pressure felt by CFOs and other leaders to incorporate AI into their practices, possibly regardless if the business is ready for it to be implemented. Only 41% of business leaders told surveyors they plan to redesign business processes “from the ground up” with AI.
CFOs playing AI catch-up
Other recently published data from SAP Concur’s recent CFO Insights report highlights how CFOs are approaching AI use on their finance teams. While 51% of CFOs said they were investing in AI (compared to 15% in August of 2023), the areas it’s used in seem to be drawn to ease of implementation rather than the inherent value of the tech.
The top areas for use for AI by CFOs were areas that included journal and bookkeeping (65%), financial planning (59%), risk scenario planning (53%) and monitoring for fraud (50%). Areas that involve more intricate experience and attention to detail were of less interest. Management accounts (28%), creating new pricing models (28%) and tax and legal accounting (23%) were the least popular areas where CFOs are using AI right now.
However, when it comes to large and possibly legacy organizations, AI adoption happens at a much slower rate. Only 30% of large companies have automated bookkeeping with AI-powered tools, compared to 57% of smaller companies. Despite its ambiguity at the moment, many CFOs and finance leaders continue to attest to its game-changing potential down the line.
AI’s impact on talent
When Microsoft asked about AI experience, two-thirds (66%) of all respondents in leadership positions said they wouldn’t hire someone without “AI skills,” even as the newness of the technology would limit it as a base skillset for many workers. While the surveyors don’t identify what AI skills are specifically, it’s a trait that doesn’t eliminate many employees from the mix given the amount that are BYOAI’ing.
Upskilling, something employees in finance and beyond have said is important for retention and encourages engagement, isn’t on the radar for most organizations. Only a quarter (25%) of respondents said their companies are planning to offer any sort of training on how generative AI works at some point this year.
Microsoft and LinkedIn looked at how AI will reshape work and the labor market broadly, identifying labor and hiring trends from LinkedIn and analyzing trillions of Microsoft 365 productivity signals as well as research with Fortune 500 customers.
SAP Concur surveyed 300 chief financial officers and senior finance leaders for its latest CFO Insights report.
