All of the Top FP&A Surveys and Stats of 2025

Top FP&A surveys and stats of 2025 reveal a finance function under pressure to deliver faster insights, stronger forecasts, and real business impact amid rising complexity. Data from leading studies show a clear pattern: finance teams are adopting AI at unprecedented speed, yet many still struggle with data quality, fragmented planning, and execution gaps. From AI-driven productivity gains and cautious CFO sentiment to persistent manual workloads and uneven AI ROI, these surveys collectively highlight where FP&A is advancing and where structural challenges continue to hold teams back.

Datarails‘ 2025 AI in Finance Executive Report

The 2025 AI in Finance Executive Report by Datarails reveals that artificial intelligence (AI) adoption in finance is far more advanced and accelerating faster than many leaders expected. Based on responses from 389 finance executives, the study reveals that AI has progressed beyond experimentation and is now being actively utilized by organizations. Eighty-four percent of finance leaders personally use generative AI, and 65% are using it within company-approved programs, signaling strong institutional buy-in rather than shadow usage.

Notably, 63% of organizations have adopted AI in finance within the last 12 months, highlighting the recent and rapid nature of this shift. Leadership plays a critical role: CEOs are the primary drivers of AI initiatives (44%), followed by CFOs (28%), reinforcing that AI adoption in finance is largely a top-down strategic decision rather than a grassroots movement.

In terms of where AI is delivering the most value, data-intensive finance functions are leading the charge. FP&A teams overwhelmingly use AI for data analysis (88%), followed by reporting narratives (66%) and planning and modeling (63%). Accounting teams rely on AI heavily for analysis (71%), AR/AP automation, and process efficiency, while Treasury and Audit functions focus on risk management, fraud detection, and anomaly identification, where AI’s pattern-recognition strengths are most impactful.

The report also makes clear that productivity, not headcount reduction, is the dominant benefit: 92% of respondents expect productivity gains of at least 11%, yet only 43% anticipate comparable reductions in headcount, suggesting AI is being used to scale output and insight rather than simply cut costs.

Key highlights at a glance:

• AI adoption is mainstream – 63% of finance teams adopted AI in the past year.

• Leadership-driven –  CEOs (44%) and CFOs (28%) are leading AI initiatives.

• Top use cases –

• FP&A: Data analysis, forecasting, planning

• Accounting: AR/AP automation, analysis

• Treasury & Audit: Risk management and anomaly detection.

• Productivity over layoffs –

• 95% report positive personal productivity impact.

• 68% report strong productivity gains at the organizational level of finance.

• Strategic implication –  The next competitive advantage lies in measuring ROI, governing data, and embedding AI into core finance workflows, not just experimenting with tools.

The study positions AI as a structural shift in how finance teams operate, with the greatest gains coming to organizations that move quickly from experimentation to disciplined, measured deployment.

Deloitte 2025 CFO Survey

The Deloitte 2025 CFO Survey, based on responses from more than 650 CFOs across 14 countries in Central Europe, paints a picture of cautious optimism paired with elevated risk awareness. While macroeconomic uncertainty has begun to ease compared with prior years, CFOs remain highly risk-averse and selective in how they pursue growth. Inflation expectations are moderating, yet remain a dominant concern shaping financial planning and capital allocation decisions.

Several themes stand out in CFO priorities and outlook:

• Inflation expectations are declining but still elevated, with CFOs forecasting average domestic inflation of around 4.0% versus 2.9% in the Eurozone, reflecting lingering pricing and cost pressures.

• Risk management dominates the agenda, with unpredictable inflation, geopolitical instability, and cyber threats ranked among the most severe risks to business continuity.

• Capital expenditure plans remain cautious, as more than one-third of CFOs expect to increase CAPEX, while over a quarter anticipate reductions—levels comparable to crisis periods such as COVID-19 and the Ukraine invasion.

At the same time, the survey highlights a structural shift in the CFO role. Nearly 64% of CFOs report increased influence at the board level, particularly in areas such as risk management and digital transformation. Responsibilities are expanding beyond traditional finance into strategic decision-making, resilience planning, and technology leadership, underscoring the CFO’s advancing position as a central architect of long-term enterprise stability rather than a purely financial steward.

CFO Survey by Grant Thornton

The Grant Thornton’s CFO Survey paints a picture of finance leaders navigating rising uncertainty while doubling down on technology as a long-term stabilizer. Economic optimism among CFOs dropped sharply, with only 47% expressing confidence in the U.S. economy, a dramatic 21-percentage-point decline quarter over quarter and the lowest level in ten quarters. Tariffs, inflation concerns, and labor uncertainty were the primary drivers behind this shift, making planning more difficult and forcing CFOs to run constant “what-if” scenarios instead of focusing on growth initiatives.

Despite this pessimism, CFOs are not retreating, instead, they are reallocating. Technology and digital transformation emerged as the top spending priority, overtaking cost optimization. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of respondents expect IT and digital transformation spending to increase over the next 12 months, signaling a strong belief that modernization can offset volatility. Finance leaders see technology as a way to improve efficiency, manage costs, strengthen customer experience, and support better decision-making even in turbulent conditions.

Notably, 71% of CFOs said customer experience plays a major role in their digital transformation decisions, highlighting a shift from purely back-office efficiency to growth-oriented tech investments. At the same time, the survey reveals structural challenges that may slow progress. Confidence in meeting key operational goals has fallen across the board:

• Supply chain confidence dropped to 41%, the lowest since mid-2022.

• Labor needs confidence fell to 41%, reflecting hiring and retention concerns.

• Cost control confidence declined to 43%, underscoring margin pressure.

Data readiness also remains a constraint. Only 38% of CFOs believe their data is fully adequate to support digital transformation, while nearly one-third admit their data needs significant improvement. This gap reinforces a central theme of the report: technology investment alone is not enough. CFOs must pair modernization with data quality, cloud adoption, governance, and workforce enablement to realize returns. Even as optimism sinks, the survey makes clear that CFOs view technology, not austerity, as the most reliable path to resilience and long-term performance.

FP&A Trends Survey 2025 by OneStream

The FP&A Trends Survey 2025 reveals a profession at a turning point. Finance teams are increasingly expected to guide decisions, anticipate risk, and support strategy—but most are still constrained by manual work, fragmented planning, and slow execution. While FP&A’s influence within organizations continues to rise, the gap between aspiration and reality remains wide. Only 2% of FP&A teams consider themselves fully optimized, and nearly half of FP&A time is still spent on low-value data collection and validation instead of insight generation and decision support.

Key findings highlight this execution gap:

• 46% of FP&A time is consumed by data collection and validation, the highest level in five years.

• Just 31% of the time is spent on high-value activities like insight and action.

• 45% of teams are recognized by senior leadership, but only 9% act as true strategic partners.

• Only 11% of organizations have fully integrated strategic, financial, and operational planning.

What Separates Leading FP&A Teams from the Rest

The survey clearly shows that integration, data quality, and driver-based models are the strongest predictors of FP&A performance. Organizations that invest in these areas produce faster forecasts, higher accuracy, and more data-driven decisions. For example, 77% of teams using dynamic or fully driver-based models rate their forecasts as good or great, compared to just 27% among teams using basic or non-driver models. Similarly, companies with high-quality data are 3.5x more likely to deliver reliable forecasts and spend significantly more time on strategic work rather than manual preparation.

Notable performance differentiators include:

• Teams with strong data quality spend 42% of their time on insight and action, versus 19% in poor-data environments.

• Organizations running scenarios quickly are 3x more likely to base decisions on data.

• FP&A teams using modern cloud platforms consistently outperform spreadsheet-centric teams in forecast quality and agility.

While interest in advanced analytics and AI continues to grow, adoption remains cautious. In 2025, only 8% of organizations actively use machine learning for forecasting, and 18% use generative AI, primarily for narrative reporting and automation rather than predictive modeling. At the same time, modernization is slowing, with 30% of organizations having not upgraded their planning systems in over five years, creating technical debt that limits FP&A’s ability to scale insight and responsiveness.

McKinsey’s The State of AI in 2025

McKinsey’s 2025 global AI survey shows that artificial intelligence is now firmly embedded across organizations, but real enterprise value remains uneven. Nearly nine in ten respondents say their companies use AI regularly in at least one business function, yet almost two-thirds are still stuck in experimentation or pilot phases rather than scaling AI across the enterprise. The gap between adoption and impact is clear: while 64% report AI is enabling innovation, only 39% see measurable EBIT impact, and most say that contribution is still below 5%. In short, AI is everywhere, but few companies are turning it into sustained financial results.

One of the report’s most notable developments is the rise of agentic AI, systems that can plan and execute multi-step workflows. While interest is high, maturity is not. McKinsey found that:

• 62% of organizations are experimenting with AI agents, but

• Only 23% are actively scaling them, usually in just one or two functions.

• Agent use is most advanced in IT and knowledge management, with corporate finance and strategy beginning to see early traction. This reinforces a broader pattern: companies are testing powerful capabilities, but few have redesigned workflows deeply enough to unlock enterprise-level gains.

The clearest signal of success comes from a small group McKinsey calls “AI high performers” with about 6% of respondents. These organizations stand apart not because they deploy more tools, but because they aim higher and operate differently. They are far more likely to:

• Treat AI as a growth and innovation lever, not just a cost-cutting tool.

• Redesign workflows around AI rather than layering it onto existing processes.

• Enforce human-in-the-loop validation, ensuring accuracy and trust.

• Demonstrate visible senior-leader ownership, with executives actively championing AI.

The takeaway is clear: AI success in 2025 is less about technology availability and more about ambition, governance, and organizational change. Companies that pair AI with leadership commitment and process redesign are the ones converting experimentation into a durable competitive advantage.