New Report Provides Insights Into CFO Adoption of Generative AI

As generative AI continues to transform industries, Billtrust, a B2B order-to-cash and digital payments market leader, today released a new report uncovering perspectives from U.S. CFOs on the adoption of generative AI.

Billtrust’s “Generative AI & The Office of the CFO” report surveyed 375 CFOs across the U.S., offering valuable insights into how financial leaders are leveraging generative AI to drive efficiencies, enhance decision-making and fuel growth within their organizations.

The findings reveal generative AI has moved well beyond the exploratory phase, with 65% of CFOs now integrating AI into their strategy, up from 42% in the previous quarter, according to Deloitte. However, the report also highlights a prevalent knowledge gap, as only 49% of CFOs feel “very knowledgeable” about generative AI’s capabilities, underscoring an urgent need for enhanced education. A further 34% believe it will take the next generation of finance leaders to fully scale the adoption of generative AI in finance.

Despite this knowledge gap, CFOs are pushing forward and beginning to realize tangible benefits from the adoption of generative AI. The report found organizations are seeing average efficiency gains of 32% in areas where they have applied the technology. Additionally, 61% of CFOs stated generative AI has improved the quality of their financial reporting and decision intelligence.

Key insights from the report include:

• Strategic Impact Areas: Generative AI is predominantly applied in guiding/recommending/personalizing actions or insights regarding financial transaction processing, buyer behavior and risk assessment and reporting, unlocking new levels of operational efficiency.
• Commitment to AI Innovation: 77% of CFOs plan to increase investment in generative AI technologies for financial operations within the next year to drive innovation.
• Overcoming Hurdles: Data privacy, system integration, and workforce training remain key challenges in maximizing generative AI’s potential within finance teams.

“Generative AI is revolutionizing the strategic landscape for CFOs, driving unprecedented operational efficiency and decision-making intelligence,” said Ahsan Shah, Senior Vice President of Data Intelligence, Billtrust. “However, our report also brings to light a significant knowledge gap among CFOs regarding generative AI’s full capabilities, emphasizing a critical need for further education. Despite these challenges, it’s clear that CFOs are keenly adopting generative AI, witnessing substantial efficiency gains and enhanced financial reporting quality, positioning their organizations for resilient and innovative growth.”

Download the full “Generative AI & The Office of the CFO” report.