Global Finance Leaders Utilize Ai-Generated Data To Guide Key Business Decisions
- AI-generated insights are relied on more than judgement calls and wider team input for making commercially important decisions
- 85% of finance leaders are expecting AI’s influence on their decision-making to increase within the next 12 months
- Nine in ten leaders believe AI has already had a positive impact on their ability to make decisions
- 45% of finance leaders are planning to invest in AI talent by recruiting dedicated AI specialists to their team
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, DECEMBER 04 2024 – Research from Taulia, a leading provider of working capital management solutions and part of SAP Group, reveals AI-generated data has become the single most important tool in financial leaders’ decision-making process. These findings indicate AI is no longer viewed as a peripheral tool but is becoming foundational for strategic decision-making among finance leaders.
Over half (57%) of global financial leaders are currently using AI-generated insights to inform key decisions, making it significantly more likely to be used than internal (48%) and external (46%) data points alone, their judgment calls (35%), and inputs from colleagues (32%). Because of this, finance leaders are anticipating that the role AI-generated insights will play within their function will become more critical, with 85% of leaders expecting AI’s influence on their decision-making to increase within the next 12 months.
AI-generated data insights have quickly become central to finance functions globally, with 60% of leaders currently sitting in teams that use AI in some capacity and 92% believing they will be using AI-generated data insights within the next 12 months. The most common applications of AI-generated data insights being put to use is in inventory and supply chain management (48%) and process automation and efficiency (46%).
When asked specifically where AI data has had the most influence on decision-making so far, nearly half of financial leaders (47%) said that it was key to improving process automation, followed closely (45%) by cash forecasting. The larger the business, the more likely AI was to feature heavily in the decision-making process, with 62% of large businesses (over 1000 employees) using AI data for guidance compared to 39% of businesses with 249-500 employees.
Global finance leaders largely agree (90%) that AI has had a positive impact on their ability to make informed decisions, with over a third (36%) saying it’s had a massively significant positive impact. The value of AI insights is not lost on financial leaders, and as the importance of AI continues to grow within the financial function, financial leaders have already started to reshape their team structures around the value it can provide. Almost half (45%) of finance functions are planning to hire dedicated AI experts in the near future.
Cedric Bru, CEO, Taulia, comments: “Our findings highlight a significant shift in the way that successful finance functions run, with AI no longer an emerging technology, but a core component of strategic decision making. Generative AI has the power to simplify access to insights and empower finance leaders. We are excited to support finance leaders by providing AI-powered analytics to create effective working capital management strategies. Financial leaders are already placing significant trust in AI-generated data, utilizing it for business critical decisions and valuing it above all other inputs.
“It’s clear the role of AI within the finance function is only going to increase, meaning those able to understand and harness it effectively will have a substantial competitive advantage. Successful financial leaders are already exploring a range of AI-powered solutions and partners to ensure they don’t fall behind the innovation curve.”
Notes to Editors
Research conducted by Opinium between 14 August to 28 August 2024, surveying 600 Directors and decision makers in finance and treasury functions of their business. All respondents from mid to large corporations (250+ employees) and in key industries.
About Taulia
Taulia is a fintech provider of working capital management solutions headquartered in San Francisco, California. Taulia helps companies access value tied up in their payables, receivables, and inventory. Taulia’s platform and network of millions of businesses enables customers to execute their working capital strategies, support their suppliers with early payment, and contribute to building sustainable supply chains. Taulia processes more than $500 billion each year and is trusted by the world’s largest companies, including Airbus, AstraZeneca, and Nissan. In March 2022, Taulia became part of SAP. For more information, please visit www.taulia.com.