Dive Brief:
- A majority (65%) of CFOs in the U.S. are now actively integrating generative AI into their strategy, according to a recent survey by Billtrust, a provider of business-to-business digital payments services.
- Billtrust said the number shows progress in light of a Deloitte survey from the third quarter of last year finding that 42% of finance chiefs were experimenting with GenAI and 15% were building it into their strategy.
- “Generative AI is revolutionizing the strategic landscape for CFOs, driving unprecedented operational efficiency and decision-making intelligence,” Ahsan Shah, senior vice president of data intelligence at Billtrust, said in a press release.
Dive Insight:
The study indicates that many CFOs have now “moved well beyond the exploratory phase” of GenAI adoption, according to Billtrust, which polled 375 finance chiefs across the U.S.
“[H]ype is turning into reality as teams seek out more strategic decision-making, operational efficiencies, and predictive analytics to bolster their operations,” a report on the findings said.
Over three-quarters (76%) of respondents reported significant gains in efficiency and process speed as a result of GenAI adoption, and 36% said the technology is already adding value and impacting their revenue streams, with an additional 40% expecting it to do so within the next year.
But the study also found a significant knowledge gap, with only 49% of CFOs saying they felt “very knowledgeable” about GenAI's capabilities. Data privacy, system integration, and workforce training were among other key implementation challenges cited by respondents.
Some of the specific areas where GenAI is being deployed by CFOs include financial transaction processing (77%), risk assessment and management (65%), financial reporting and analytics (59%), and accounts receivable and collections (44%), the research found.
