The state of finance: AI and automation in finance operations
Based on a survey of 687 finance and operations leaders, this is a look at how finance teams are using AI today, why trust still holds automation back and what separates the teams already seeing results
-
Key insights
How AI adoption breaks down across company size and industry — and where the gaps are widest
-
Why trust in AI accuracy, not cost, is the top barrier finance leaders name and how the most mature teams are handling it
91% of finance teams are still stuck on implementation — our adoption framework shows exactly how to get started and scale from there, no project team required
-
Summary
Finance teams want more from AI, but execution hasn’t caught up to the interest. For PEX’s 2026 State of Finance report, we surveyed 687 finance and operations leaders and found that just 31% use AI in finance today, and only 9% run it broadly across their teams. Trust is what’s holding the rest back: 36% name trust in AI accuracy as their top barrier to expanding automation — the single biggest reason cited, ahead of integration and cost — and that holds true across every company size and industry.
The gap closes fast once teams get past that barrier. Organizations running AI at scale are 19x more likely to report ROI than those who haven’t started, and comfort with AI decisions triples along the way, from 17% to 51%.Â
Our State of Finance report breaks down what’s driving that gap, why the mid-market is positioned to be the next tipping point and what to automate first if you want to close it. Get the full data and see where your team stands.
