- Almost all companies plan to implement or scale AI in finance over the next year and a half
- Many already exceed expectations for ROI, but use cases must be defined
- Data security and privacy remain a major concern, cited by three out of five
New research from KPMG has claimed that while AI is now at the full-scale implementation stage, companies are now being urged to focus on security over AI implementation to ensure the best success going forward.
The findings come as nearly all (93%) US companies expect to implement or scale AI in finance over the next 18 months, with one in two planning more complex multi-agent AI systems.
In terms of returns, KPMG found that it has been a case of “so far, so good”. About three-quarters (74%) have either met or exceeded their ROI expectations, and those experiencing slower-than-expected returns don’t actually have problems with the capabilities of AI itself.
AI strategies must move into a next phase
The report explained that slow organizational adoption and change management are the biggest challenges, rather than the technology itself. Lack of clear, role-specific AI use cases (64%) and lack of hands-on practice environments (61%) were cited as two key obstacles by the more than 1,000 senior financial leaders surveyed.
In the future, KPMG calls for more practical training opportunities and targeted upskilling tailored to roles and AI use cases. And in terms of these use cases, predictive decision-making insights (45%) are important to finance managers, as well as vibe coding, which is piloted or used by 47% and evaluated by another 26%.
“Executives are leveraging sophisticated artificial intelligence to create a finance function that is predictive rather than reactive,” explained US and global audit head of digitization Thomas Mackenzie, discussing a “human-led, agent-driven” future.
That’s not to say AI doesn’t come without its challenges, with many still concerned about data security and privacy (60%), AI model performance and reliability (56%), and regulatory and compliance issues (53%).
The solution for continued AI success and ROI is to raise the profile of security in AI, which in turn increases trust and reduces the risk of threats.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews and opinions in your feeds.
