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Only 31% of chief financial officers in the UK primarily lead investment decisions where financial returns are long term, indirect, or uncertain, new research shows.
The study by professional services firm EY revealed that just 25% of finance leaders believe their department is viewed as a strategic partner within their business. In contrast, 38% of respondents reported that their finance function is seen primarily as an operational enablement or regulatory compliance department.
The data, which surveyed 170 finance chiefs at UK companies with annual global revenues of at least £1bn, highlighted that limited artificial intelligence adoption restricts the strategic influence of finance teams. Only 8% of firms have fully integrated AI insights into daily finance operations.
A substantial technology maturity gap has opened across the corporate sector, with 43% of larger organisations earning over £10bn reporting advanced AI integration, compared with 12% of smaller firms.
Concerns regarding data quality, algorithmic bias, and internal capability gaps remain the primary barriers to securing corporate investment for new automated financial tools.
Partner of UK finance transformation at EY, Ben Castell, said: “While UK CFOs are closely involved in investment decisions, relatively few are leading their organisation’s thinking on long-term investments at an uncertain time when strategic choices about resilience, transformation and growth arguably matter most.
“The limited maturity of AI across UK finance teams compounds this challenge, restricting their ability to deliver predictive insight and support decisions that look beyond short‑term performance.”
UK value performance management leader at EY, James McElhone, added: “AI is fundamentally changing how finance supports decision-making across the business. Rather than looking backwards, finance teams can now use advanced analytics to generate real-time, predictive insights that help organisations evaluate options, understand trade-offs and respond dynamically to changing market conditions.”
