Gartner for Finance Leaders

4 AI Implementation Lessons
From Leading Organizations
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a Based on our survey, Gartner
growing importance for finance, defines leading AI finance
yet CFOs are still learning when organizations based on four
and how to successfully
criteria:
implement it.
We conducted the 2022 Gartner • AI initiatives moving as fast
for Finance Leaders AI Survey or faster than expected
to help CFOs better understand • AI initiatives being as impactful
how the finance practice is
implementing AI and how they or more impactful than expected
can achieve success in their own • Delivered finance function
AI initiatives. outcomes (e.g., greater
We identified organizations that accuracy, shorter process times)
are currently leading the most
successful AI deployments, • Delivered business outcomes
as well as the decisions they are (e.g., new product introduction,
making to achieve that success. monetization).
 AI Implementation Lessons

Leading AI finance 4 AI Must-Do’s for CFOs

organizations aren’t always
the organizations investing Actions Results
the most in AI, or the ones
that have utilized AI the
longest.
1 Hire External AI Talent Scale Faster

Only 30% Instead, leading AI finance

organizations are most likely
of finance to be those that invest in 2 Purchase AI-Enabled Tech Greater Impact
functions specific ways or specific
capabilities and more readily
are leading experiment. Experiment Broadly
3 Create Efficiencies
AI finance These leading organizations
take four specific actions to
With Early Pilots

organizations. generate their results.

Choose an Analytical
4 Transform Business
AI Leader

© 2023 Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. CM_GBS_2105719
01 Hire external AI talent
Organizations that focus
their talent strategies on
hiring outside AI-skilled staff
to 10% of other finance
organizations deploying AI.
AI-specific staff bring invaluable
Primary Talent Strategy for Implementing AI
Leaders Nonleaders

50%

36%
AI Implementation Lessons

40%
are significantly more likely experience in working with the 32% 32%
to become leading AI finance nuances of AI, which allows the
organizations. Thirty-two organization to overcome inertia
percent of leading AI finance in working with AI applications
organizations primarily hire and shorten the technical 10%
outside talent compared learning curve.

Hire New Talent Upskill Existing Borrow

Finance Talent Corporate IT
Talent

© 2023 Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. CM_GBS_2105719
02 Purchase AI-enabled tech
Organizations that purchase
software with embedded AI
capabilities are significantly
allows organizations to more
easily experiment with AI and
apply it to more finance use
AI Implementation Lessons

Purchase of Software With Embedded AI

84%

more likely to be leading AI cases; they can more easily

finance organizations than those build pilots for unique business 42%
that do not. Specifically, 84% of problems. By contrast, building
leading AI finance organizations in-house AI solutions for all
do so, compared to only 42% of finance processes creates far
the rest of the finance field. more work and reduces finance’s
Importantly, purchasing software bandwidth to explore new pilots
with embedded AI capabilities or use cases.
AI-Leading Non-AI-Leading
Organizations’ Organizations’
Purchases Purchases

© 2023 Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. CM_GBS_2105719
03 Experiment early and broadly
with pilots
AI-leading organizations deploy
twice as many pilots in the first
With more early pilots come
more uses of AI.
Top AI Uses in Finance (% Deployed)
Leaders Nonleaders

Accounting Processes
Financial Analysis
38%
35%
AI Implementation Lessons

68%
68%
65%
year (a median of eight) as the Leading AI finance organizations Back-Office Processing 35%
rest of the finance organizations are able to not only deploy 61%
Cash-Flow Forecasting 35%
(a median of four). The benefits more use cases through more
experimentation, but also deploy Financial Statement Forecasting 61%
of early experimentation include: 27%
more use cases faster. After Error Detection/Auditing 58%
• Reinforcing an environment of 19%
the first 12 months, leading AI
experimentation, which allows Expense Forecasting 55%
finance organizations doubled 17%
finance to consider deploying their average number of AI use 45%
Scenario Planning 33%
AI in new areas cases from four to seven, while
• Establishing that, with AI in its Demand or Sale Forecasting 48%
nonleaders only managed to add 33%
infancy, not all pilots will be one additional use case, moving Customer Payment Forecasting 45%
successful from three to four. 4%

© 2023 Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. CM_GBS_2105719
04 Choose an AI implementation leader
CFOs must select the
appropriate person to head AI
deployment in order to realize
Heads of FP&A and finance
analytics are successful in leading
AI due to their strong analytical
Finance Roles Chosen to Lead AI Development
Leaders Nonleaders

Head of FP&A

Head of Finance Analytics

15%
AI Implementation Lessons

35%
45%

AI benefits. Leading AI finance and data backgrounds. They rely

organizations favor two roles less on understanding traditional or VP Finance Analytics 29%
for AI deployment, the head finance processes and more on 3%
of FP&A and the head of finance understanding the complexities Controller 25%
analytics, whereas the majority of AI in a business setting. In
of nonleaders have selected particular, an AI implementation 3%
FP&A Director or Manager
6%
another finance employee leader must have a strong
to lead the charge. Finance foundation in both finance 3%
Finance Data Scientist(s)
organizations that choose to analytics and data literacy. 6%
have a controller lead the push
Finance Analyst(s) 3%
are significantly less likely to
4%
be a leading organization.

© 2023 Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. CM_GBS_2105719
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© 2023 Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. CM_GBS_2105719