Much like its state-side version of the conference back in June, Gartner’s CFO and Finance Executive Conference in London this week has artificial intelligence as its focal point. According to the event hosts, 80% of large enterprise finance teams will use internal AI platforms by 2026. Gartner experts also predict that CFOs and other finance leaders will see changes in enterprise resource planning (ERP) and travel and entertainment solutions (T&E).
Though CFOs are starting to realize it will take time to integrate AI tools, consultants are pushing finance leaders to incorporate autonomous finance functions or at least prepare their companies to do so. Many finance chiefs, whose recession fears have mostly subsided and who are focused on other areas to close out the year, may not be ready for a digital transformation of their business.
“Boards and C-suites are impressed with the potential for innovative generative AI use cases to drive growth and profitability,” said Alexander Bant vice president of Gartner Finance, in a Q&A at the event. “If implementing generative AI can make the finance function more agile and provide higher quality analysis and better strategic support to the business, it could be a significant source of competitive advantage for leading adopters.”
Bant and Gartner also highlighted most of the basics AI can already do. Things like coding, policy review, budget variance explanation, and basic bookkeeping will all be ways finance leaders leverage AI in the future, Bant explained. According to him, although AI has its benefits, adopting it for the sake of beating out competition isn’t the best approach.
“Naturally, leadership teams don’t want to fall behind peers; however, as the chief steward for an organization’s financial health, CFOs must balance the risks and rewards of tools like generative AI,” said Bant. “Fewer than 10% of finance organizations talking to Gartner are using generative AI in production currently. Within a few years, however, the distribution is likely to follow the curve of enterprise adoption.”