Key Findings

  • According to Protiviti's 2025 Global Finance Trends Report released on Tuesday, the use of artificial intelligence (especially generative AI) in finance functions has doubled compared to last year. Combined with growing demand for data-driven insights, expanding cybersecurity and economic uncertainty, talent and modernization in financial planning and analysis (FP&A) are receiving unprecedented attention.
  • The survey, which covered more than 940 executives and finance leaders globally, found that 72% of finance organizations report using AI, up from 34% in 2024. The adoption of AI has also led to a corresponding rise in concerns among finance leadership about cybersecurity and data privacy, while they still face ongoing economic uncertainty that could impact profitability—areas where mature FP&A functions play a critical role.
  • The report states: "CFOs must drive the maturity and sophistication of FP&A, evolving from basic, siloed, spreadsheet-dependent capabilities to well-defined, collaborative business processes supported by robust technology ecosystem tools and resources."

Deeper Insights

As global executives continue to navigate an uncertain economic environment and the evolution of technologies like AI, the importance of the FP&A function has gained more attention.

The focus on FP&A skills and leadership may also stem from the impact of tariffs—an issue still weighing on finance executives' minds: 62% of respondents believe that finance organizations' ability to produce reliable financial reports and forecasts has been "at least moderately impacted" by new tariffs and tariff changes.

Within finance and accounting functions, FP&A also ranks at the top of areas requiring focus due to tariff impacts, according to 39% of surveyed leaders. Companies that need to keep up with tariff and trade policy changes must have access to real-time information about their effects, placing greater delivery pressure on FP&A teams.

Christopher Wright, global leader of Protiviti's CFO Solutions and Business Performance Improvement practice, told CFO Dive: "Securing talent and ensuring stability so they can confidently produce the data the broader finance organization increasingly demands becomes a logical move."

The survey also found that the proportion of full-time employees in FP&A rose in 2025, reaching 75% of total staff, compared to 40% in 2024 (and 78% in 2023). Wright noted that the three-year data suggests the 2024 figure may have been "more of an anomaly."

Wright said that full-time employee ratios across finance functions, including accounting operations and general ledger, appeared to decline in 2024 but have rebounded to normal levels this year. He also noted that these figures may be influenced by changes in respondent demographics—this year's survey included a larger share of respondents from U.S. companies compared to last year, and the mix of public and private company respondents also shifted.

Beyond tariffs, in the age of AI, accessing fast and accurate reporting has become a top concern for finance organizations—AI brings new opportunities but also a set of challenges.

Wright said that although AI's ranking among CFOs' annual priorities rose only slightly (from 15th last year to 13th in 2025), AI shows "strong correlations" with all of the top ten priorities listed by finance and executive leaders in the survey, including data security and privacy—which was ranked as the top priority among all respondents and CFOs.

Wright said: "CFOs in all types of organizations recognize that cybersecurity is costly, risky, and interconnected with their other work, such as AI, earnings releases, information generation, or protecting company assets."

However, Wright said AI "is also becoming a tool that can be used for FP&A and strategic planning"—which may help alleviate the "supply and demand" challenges caused by talent shortages in accounting and finance functions.

He said: "When you think about the new generation entering the workforce, there may be a 'generational partnership'—they may know more about how to operate AI, but they will work for those who understand how AI should and should not be used." This collaboration, along with AI itself, will enable companies to "perhaps attract more people into finance because they can be both accountants and data scientists, and keep them in finance roles beyond the typical one-to-two-year trajectory." Wright added.