Two-thirds of finance teams now use AI tools, CFO Connect survey finds
Finance departments are cutting back on software while AI use climbs, according to a Spendesk-backed poll of 215 executives.
September 29, 2026 - 10:00 am
Credit: ijeab via Magnific
AI is now a standard feature in finance departments, with 67% of finance teams currently using one or more AI tools, up from 56% the previous year and 31% in 2024.
This is the main finding of a poll by CFO Connect, a community for finance leaders run by the expense management company Spendesk. The survey was conducted in June and July among CFOs and other senior finance staff in France, the UK, Germany, and the US. Respondents ranged from startups to large firms, choosing their tools from a list or naming their own. Spendesk, Oracle NetSuite, and Remote sponsored the report.
General-purpose AI leads
General-purpose assistants dominate the market, with Anthropic’s Claude securing 41% of the vote, edging out Microsoft’s Copilot, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and Google’s Gemini. While finance-specific AI tools are still emerging, they are gaining traction.
The primary uses of AI include:
- Financial analysis (20%)
- Reporting, modeling, and forecasting (each 12%)
- Reconcilitations (9%)
- Data queries and workflow automation (each 8%)
Instead of purchasing separate AI products for each task, teams are integrating AI features into the systems they already use. This allows them to search through spreadsheets, finance software, and documents, streamlining routine tasks.
In July, a Deloitte survey of 58 large-company CFOs in the UK revealed 73% optimism about AI, although spending remained cautious.
"It’s obvious that finance teams aren’t chasing more software,” said Pauline Babel, Spendesk’s chief financial officer. Babel added that teams want a unified workspace and that AI is replacing manual jobs, freeing up staff for higher-level decisions.
Reducing Software Applications
Finance departments are reducing the number of software applications they use. Over 90% operate with six or fewer tools, with 41% able to function with one to three tools, and half using four to six.
Few plan significant expansions: two-thirds intend to maintain their current setup or purchase just one or two additional tools next year. Almost a quarter aim to consolidate their processes onto a single platform.
Persistence of Spreadsheets
Cloud accounting is now the norm for most companies, with smaller businesses choosing tools tailored to their needs and larger firms seeking software managing multiple entities and currencies.
Despite advancements, spreadsheets remain prevalent:
- Planning and forecasting: Four out of five teams still conduct this mainly in spreadsheets, while an additional 7% have no dedicated planning tool.
- Cash tracking: 55% track cash in spreadsheets, with 17% relying on no dedicated system.
- Procurement: Nearly two-thirds of companies do not use a dedicated procurement tool.
- Invoicing: 41% have no standalone billing tool and instead utilize billing features within their accounting or ERP software.
Payroll and human resources are the most digitized areas, with 87% of companies using dedicated systems.
Spend management, however, remains largely untapped: almost two-thirds of companies do not use a dedicated spend management tool.