Active use of artificial intelligence in the finance function more than doubled since 2024, according to a recent study by KPMG.
The 2026 Global AI in Finance: The Decision Advantage survey revealed that organisations are reporting significant improvements in decision-making quality speed, and forecast accuracy, as assurance-ready organisations report three to six times higher rates of error reduction and greater confidence in AI scaling.
Seventy-one percent of surveyed leaders say AI is meeting or exceeding ROI expectations, with the strongest returns appearing in decision-making quality, forecast accuracy, and responsiveness.
KPMG notes that AI is currently pushing finance beyond basic process automation and into areas where judgment matters most such as forecasting, planning, and risk assessment, but performance varies sharply by sector.
It is being highlighted as well that stronger data foundations are what enable judgment-driven AI use cases to scale and perform.
Moreover, the survey finds that 36% of organisations cite data quality as both their biggest barrier and opportunity, pointing to improvements in data integration and system interoperability as key to unlocking more value from AI in finance.
Because of this, most organisations are zeroing in on upskilling their existing finance and internal audit teams, while fewer are choosing to hire for new skills.
