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Finance professionals expect artificial intelligence (AI) to significantly disrupt the profession over the next two years, but few feel equipped to harness the full potential of those tools.
New data from the AICPA and CIMA’s Future-Ready Finance: Technology, Productivity, and Skills Survey Report revealed a significant gap between finance professionals’ expectations of AI’s impact and their organisations’ readiness to adopt it.
The majority of respondents (56%) said generative AI has become the most prominent skills gap for their organisations in 2025. Overall, IT/tech skills also emerged as a leading priority (47%) this year, despite being considered a secondary concern (20%) in 2021.
“This highlights a strategic shift towards using advanced technology as a means of enhancing value and efficiency, rather than simply supporting operations,” the survey said.
However, many organisations are still struggling to shift gears. The survey found that while 88% believe AI will be the most transformative technology trend in accounting and finance over the next 12 to 24 months, only 8% said their organisation is “very well prepared” to manage this transformation.
The AICPA and CIMA surveyed more than 1,400 members in senior finance and accounting roles globally in August and September.
The biggest barrier to technology adoption for companies this year was a lack of human capital, skills, and talent (50%), followed by safety and security concerns (47%) and doubts about technology maturity (42%).
“The advance of AI tools in the last two years is enabling a paradigm shift in how finance teams operate and the work they can do to generate value for their organisations,” Andrew Harding, FCMA, CGMA, chief executive–Management Accounting at the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, said in a news release. “While professionals recognise the potential on offer, many today feel underprepared and under-skilled. There’s a clear gap between anticipating disruption and taking action.”
To address skills gaps in finance teams, organisations favoured internal training programmes (62%) ahead of external training programmes (45%) and hiring new talent (35%), according to respondents. On-the-job training was ranked the most effective upskilling approach (61%) amongst finance professionals.
Internal training can be flexible, hands-on, and adaptive, often developing through experimentation and adjustment. But while hiring can be seen as a reactive strategy that does not solve the industry-wide skills shortage, the survey said, it is often a necessary step for driving innovation, especially when internal capabilities are limited.
Other key findings from the survey:
Productivity deficits hold back adoption. Lack of skills (41%) and low motivation (37%) were the top barriers to productivity, the release said, followed by incompatible technology systems and poor coordination in tech implementation (both at 32%).
Skills shortages extend beyond gen AI. Broader technology skills (AI, big data, cloud, Internet of Things, robotics) remain a concern (37%), alongside data and analytics (36%), the release said. Significant gaps also persist in areas such as communication, influencing, and critical thinking (33%) and business partnering (32%).
Learning preferences should guide skills strategy. “The dominance of internal training and the strong preference for on-the-job learning indicate a clear path forward,” the survey said. “Strategic investment must be channelled into practical, accessible, and continuous upskilling programmes and collaborative projects to bridge the readiness gap and unlock productivity gains.”
— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Steph Brown at Stephanie.Brown@aicpa-cima.com.