Key Findings

  • According to survey results released by Gartner this month, three-quarters (75%) of CFOs worldwide expecttechnology budgets to increase this year, with nearly half (48%) expecting increases of 10% or more.
  • Gartner stated in a February 10 press release and in a client report provided to CFO Dive that this growth reflects technology's role as a "strategic enabler," driven by ongoing digital transformation, accelerated AI adoption, and rising cybersecurity demands. Meanwhile, Gartner noted that employee-related spending is expected to contract.
  • "The real key is the collapse in expectations for headcount growth, dropping from 6% in 2025 to just 2% in 2026, with only 21% of CFOs planning to increase headcount by 4% to 9%, down from 31% last year," said Nauman Abbasi, vice president analyst in Gartner's Finance practice, in the press release. "This marks a structural shift from workforce expansion to optimization driven by automation and AI, which deliver productivity gains without proportionally increasing headcount."

Deeper Insights

Gartner forecasts that globalIT spendingwill reach $6.15 trillion in 2026, up 10.8% from the previous year.

KPMG, in a January report, said that U.S. companies'investment intensityin emerging technologies such as AI surpasses that of global peers, with average annual spending of $190 million compared to the global average of $174 million. KPMG surveyed 2,500 technology professionals worldwide from companies with revenues exceeding $100 million across multiple industries.

KPMG found that few U.S. companies have reached full operational maturity in technology implementation, with only 10% describing such projects as "fully scaled and continuously evolving," down from 25% last year.

Although IT remains the top budget priority for CFOs, Gartner's research shows that the magnitude of spending growth in this area varies by industry, with banking, technology, and healthcare seeing the most significant increases.

Gartner also found that most CFOs are setting aside room for AI within their finance technology budgets, but for most, investment levels remain moderate. Currently, 47% of CFOs allocate 1% to 5% of finance technology spending to AI, 25% allocate 6% to 10%, and only 7% allocate more than 20% of spending to AI.

However, Gartner said the outlook "clearly points to accelerating AI spending in finance," with nearly 60% of CFOs planning to increase AI spending by 10% or more. The research shows that cuts are "virtually nonexistent."

"As AI literacy improves and legacy systems are modernized, CFOs now view AI as a broader enterprise capability: automating close and reconciliation processes while enhancing planning through predictive analytics, scenario modeling, and real-time insights. CFOs should optimize before scaling, investing only where business cases are strong and results are measurable," the report said.

Gartner said it surveyed 303 CFOs and other senior finance executives between September and October, spanning multiple industries and regions.