IBM: 6 in 10 CFOs now steer AI, tech strategy

The IBM study arrives alongside a separate Deloitte report that also examined AI's impact on finance leaders, suggesting the shift in CFO responsibilities is drawing attention from more than one research shop. Deloitte found that 54% of finance leaders take charge of cross-enterprise AI and technology capital allocation, while 48% oversee AI and technology spending and cost controls. Among respondents who have taken on these responsibilities, more than two-thirds said they had done so within the past three years.

IBM's data points to a gap between adopting AI and redesigning around it. Its survey of 1,500 CFOs found finance is developing AI capabilities faster than it is redesigning workflows, and only 6% of finance organizations said they are transformation-ready. IBM said "AI-first CFOs" go beyond technology upgrades to redesign how finance operates, so intelligence can scale across workflows and decision processes; organizations with such leaders achieved revenue growth rates 23% higher than peer organizations from 2022 to 2024. In AI-first organizations, capital allocation follows value signals continuously, rather than being tied to planning cycles, annual budgets or periodic approvals, according to the report.

The stakes appear to hinge on whether finance chiefs can move from approving AI spending to reworking how their own departments operate. IBM Consulting's Neil Dhar frames AI as a capital allocation issue, noting companies must decide where and how to allocate, when to turn it off, and when to add more money. The prospect of faster reinvestment may depend on whether finance teams can show meaningful results in three-to six-month intervals, as Dhar described the best companies doing.