Finance teams struggle to unlock full AI potential amid risks
Finance teams are struggling to realise the full benefits of artificial intelligence as over half report only partial automation in their financial processes. According to recent survey results, many leaders in the sector are prioritising improvements in data accuracy and protection against increasing fraud risks, yet a significant number continue to rely on outdated technology and manual tasks.
Automation lag
The survey, which canvassed 450 finance leaders in the UK, US and Germany, revealed that 54.2% of respondents said their finance operations are currently only partially automated. As a result, organisations remain exposed to risks including duplicate invoices, fraudulent supplier requests, and undetected delivery shortfalls. One in ten finance teams reportedly still use manual data entry and spreadsheets as key tools within their workflows.
Accuracy challenge
Finance leaders are increasingly focused on improving the accuracy of their data. Almost a third, or 31.3%, are planning to deploy AI to bolster financial reporting and analysis. Enhancing data reliability is now regarded as a priority over speed, particularly as organisations look to implement predictive capabilities alongside existing controls.
Operational focus
Over a third (34.2%) of respondents measure AI success strictly in terms of operational key performance indicators, such as cost-per-invoice, processing speed, and error rates. Strategic value or anecdotal evidence are less important in these evaluations, reflecting a pragmatic approach to return on investment. Finance teams are primarily considering how AI can impact cash flow rather than pursuing wider business transformation.
Fraud risk
Ongoing reliance on legacy tools is creating blind spots for fraud detection. The report highlights that traditional methods often catch fraud only after the damage is done. AI offers the potential to identify unusual patterns or anomalies in invoice and supplier records that human reviewers might miss. Adoption of end-to-end automation remains limited, however, and leaders are aware they must demonstrate measurable benefits from AI within the next two years.
Security outlook
Despite these concerns, attitudes toward AI remain largely positive. Nearly half (43.8%) of those surveyed believe that the potential advantages of automation and AI outweigh the associated security risks. Appetite for adoption is high, although unease remains around the ability to deliver verifiable and accurate results at scale.
Industry response
"In the world of finance, the measure of AI's value is whether it can deliver accuracy, foresight and protect against fraud - not just speed. This maturity gap is a stark reminder that legacy tools simply can't handle today's complexity. It's been proven AI can eliminate manual data entry, but the next step is achieving verifiable accuracy and predictive power," said Petr Baudiš, CTO and Co-founder, Rossum.
