Drivetrain Releases Report on the State of AI in FP&A
AI-native business planning platform Drivetrain released its report on the State of AI in FP&A on August 26, 2025, based on a targeted survey of 258 finance professionals, showing that 79% of FP&A teams already use AI tools, but most applications remain limited to quick-win scenarios such as Excel automation. The report notes that finance teams are preparing for deeper AI integration by adjusting their hiring strategies, and that new roles such as AI analysts will become standard within the next 2-3 years.
San Francisco, August 26, 2025 — Drivetrain, the AI-native business planning platform, today released the "State of AI in FP&A" report, the industry's first in-depth exploration of how financial planning and analysis (FP&A) teams are applying artificial intelligence in real business scenarios.
Based on a targeted survey of 258 certified finance professionals, the report reveals a finance function in transition. The survey shows that 79% of FP&A teams are currently using AI tools, but most deployments remain limited to quick-win areas such as Excel automation and report polishing. The real transformation lies in how finance teams are fundamentally adjusting their hiring strategies to prepare for deeper AI integration.
"Global finance leaders are telling us that in 2025 they need to hire AI specialists," said Alok Goel, CEO and co-founder of Drivetrain.ai. "For the first time in decades, the most critical new finance roles no longer require a finance background—they need technical skills that barely existed when today's CFOs were starting their careers."
Key Findings of the Report
- Emergence of New Roles:Positions such as AI analysts and AI systems specialists are expected to become standard on finance teams within the next 2 to 3 years.
- Attitude-Action Gap:90% of respondents are optimistic about AI, but 65% spent less than 5 hours learning about AI last month.
- Lagging Governance:Only 28% of companies have formal AI usage policies, raising concerns about compliance and decision integrity.
- Tool Landscape:Large language models like ChatGPT and Google Gemini drive 93% of AI applications, but FP&A teams are beginning to experiment with AI-native finance tools.
The report aims to help CFOs and finance leaders benchmark their AI adoption strategies against peers, identify where AI is already saving time—and where gaps remain—and rethink future talent, organizational structures, and governance mechanisms.
As AI reshapes the financial services landscape, this report serves as both a wake-up call and a strategic roadmap. While experimentation is widespread, true transformation remains rare, and the gap between the two is widening. For finance professionals, this is a pivotal moment: those who invest in upskilling, governance, and specialized tools will define the next generation of strategic finance. For businesses, the message is clear: AI will not replace your finance team, but it will fundamentally change what it takes for finance teams to succeed.
For the full results and insights, professionals can visitState of AI in FP&A Report | Drivetrainto download the full report.
About Drivetrain
Drivetrain is an AI-native business planning platform that helps finance teams plan, forecast, and model with greater speed, accuracy, and strategic impact. Built for modern high-growth companies, Drivetrain connects data across systems and centralizes metric logic through its proprietary modeling language (DTML). With AI-driven forecasting, real-time budget-vs-actual tracking, and natural language insights, Drivetrain enables autonomous, always-on FP&A. Trusted by companies in over 17 countries, the platform integrates with hundreds of tools including ERP, CRM, HRIS, and BI systems. Drivetrain is headquartered in the United States with global teams in Toronto, New York, and Bangalore. For more information, visitdrivetrain.ai。
