AI-generated data is now the single most important tool in financial leaders’ decision-making process, according to new research from Taulia, a working capital management solution and part of SAP Group.
Just over two years after the official launch of ChatGPT, the use of AI continues to rapidly grow across industries. It has now reached the point when AI is no longer viewed as a peripheral tool but is becoming foundational for strategic decision-making among finance leaders.
Taulia found that 57 per cent of global financial leaders are currently using AI-generated insights to inform key decisions, making it significantly more likely to be used than internal (48 per cent) and external (46 per cent) data points alone, their judgment calls (35 per cent), and inputs from colleagues (32 per cent).
Because of this, finance leaders are anticipating that the role AI-generated insights will play within their function will become more critical, with 85 per cent of leaders expecting AI’s influence on their decision-making to increase within the next 12 months.
Cedric Bru, CEO of Taulia
Cedric Bru, CEO of Taulia, comments: “Our findings highlight a significant shift in the way that successful finance functions run, with AI no longer an emerging technology, but a core component of strategic decision making. Generative AI has the power to simplify access to insights and empower finance leaders.
“Financial leaders are already placing significant trust in AI-generated data, utilising it for business-critical decisions and valuing it above all other inputs.
“It’s clear the role of AI within the finance function is only going to increase, meaning those able to understand and harness it effectively will have a substantial competitive advantage. Successful financial leaders are already exploring a range of AI-powered solutions and partners to ensure they don’t fall behind the innovation curve.”
AI growth set to continue
AI-generated data insights have quickly become central to finance functions globally, with 60 per cent of leaders currently sitting in teams that use AI in some capacity and 92 per cent believing they will be using AI-generated data insights within the next 12 months.
The most common applications of AI-generated data insights being put to use are inventory and supply chain management (48 per cent) and process automation and efficiency (46 per cent).
When asked specifically where AI data has had the most influence on decision-making so far, 47 per cent of financial leaders said that it was key to improving process automation, closely followed by cash forecasting (45 per cent). The larger the business, the more likely AI was to feature heavily in the decision-making process, with 62 per cent of large businesses (over 1000 employees) using AI data for guidance compared to 39 per cent of businesses with 249 to 500 employees.
Around 90 per cent of global finance leaders agree that AI has had a positive impact on their ability to make informed decisions, while 36 per cent say it’s had a massively significant positive impact.
The value of AI insights is not lost on financial leaders, and as the importance of AI continues to grow within the financial function, financial leaders have already started to reshape their team structures around the value it can provide. In fact, almost half (45 per cent) of finance functions are planning to hire dedicated AI experts in the near future.
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