Nearly 72% of survey respondents to Esker’s 2026 Global Finance AI Trust Index say AI spending exceeded plans, increasing pressure on finance leaders to demonstrate value, strengthen governance, and maintain human oversight before expanding AI autonomy.
In fact, findings suggest the next phase of finance AI will be defined less by whether organizations adopt AI and more by how much decision-making authority they are prepared to give it and what evidence and safeguards AI must demonstrate to earn that trust.
“Finance leaders are wired to ask what could go wrong, what the return will be, and what controls need to be in place before making an investment,” says Scott McDermott, CFO at Esker. “That mindset is shaping the next phase of AI adoption. CFOs aren’t rejecting greater AI autonomy but considering the guardrails needed to increase their confidence in AI tools. They want evidence of financial value, clarity around how decisions are made, and confirmation that people will remain in control when human judgment matters most.”
Key takeaways:
- 32% use AI to recommend actions that teams execute manually and 29% allow AI to act with human approval. Compared to other leaders, CFOs are significantly more likely to say AI should not execute decisions around setting revenue targets (78% vs. 11%) or allocating headcount and hiring budgets (74% vs. 17%).
- When asked where they’re seeing the biggest benefits of AI, a majority of finance leaders pointed to improvements in productivity (58%), but fewer could cite direct financial gains like stronger cashflow (48%). 70% of CFOs also say AI has improved productivity, versus only 50% of other finance leaders.
- 72% say their organization has spent more than planned on AI initiatives over the past year. 75% of CFOs report increased AI software and subscription costs compared with 45% of other finance leaders, and 65% report difficulty connecting AI usage to specific business outcomes versus 40% of their peers.
- Nearly half (48%) cite data quality as a barrier to expanding AI’s role, followed by insufficient integration between finance systems and AI tools (42%). Integration is a particular concern for CFOs, with 58% citing it as a barrier compared to 31% of other finance leaders. 66% of leaders also know or suspect finance employees are using unapproved AI tools.
