AI-powered insights vs. security and trust: must a CFO choose?
To say we’re living in trying times is a woeful understatement. From tariffs and geopolitical tensions, to increased scrutiny and budgetary pressures, it’s a daunting time to lead a business–or hold responsibility for its financial success.
And yet, we’re also seeing incredible technological advancement, including warranted excitement around the promise of generative AI. Amid the uncertainty we face–who wouldn’t jump at the chance to integrate new technologies to deliver faster data and streamline time-intensive processes?
While AI has transformed industries from healthcare to ecommerce, the shift is far more measured in the finance and treasury space.
CFOs are cautious–and rightly so. Ensuring legal and regulatory compliance, safeguarding sensitive data, and protecting stakeholder interests means constantly managing risk. Eager as leaders may be to embrace innovation, we cannot afford to rush automation in the name of efficiency–certainly not without ensuring compliance, safety, and transparency.
Within this study, you’ll find insightful global perspectives on how finance leaders are grappling with the many opportunities and challenges of AI adoption. What I find most notable is the clear divide–what we’ve dubbed “The Trust Gap”–between the promise of AI-driven financial transformation and the fear of security risks impacting an organization’s financial health.
Despite what some say, embracing AI to automate and optimize manual treasury processes doesn’t have to mean sending highly-sensitive data to a third-party. And it certainly doesn’t mean replacing humans.
At Kyriba, we reject this false dichotomy and believe finance and treasury professionals deserve the gold standard in trust, transparency, and control. For us, that means building a thoughtful, on-premise, embedded LLM–powered by 20+ years of unmatched global liquidity data–and high data security without third-party integrations. Embedding our agentic AI-driven solution directly into our platform ensures our customers’ data adheres to rigorous security, compliance, sovereignty, and transparency standards, empowering finance leaders to make faster, smarter decisions–with human judgment at the center.
As you read this CFO survey report, I challenge you to think about what level of trust you expect from your colleagues, customers, and technology partners. When the stakes are higher than ever, is it time to demand more from the tools you rely on to manage complex financial challenges and drive strategic growth?
For me, I welcome customers to hold my organization–and our AI-powered solutions–to a higher standard. Let’s push for what is quite reasonable at the end of the day: security, transparency, and trust.
Executive summary: balancing innovation and trust in AI adoption
Artificial intelligence is reshaping how CFOs and senior financial decision-makers approach strategy, operations, and growth. However, a significant challenge exists with a trust gap between the untested promise of AI and the wariness of security and privacy risks. With financial leaders unable to afford AI-driven miscalculations, many are understandably cautious about adopting AI without the assurance of robust safeguards to protect their organization’s financial health. This cautious approach is understandable given the unique pressure finance teams face; their decisions directly affect cash flow, compliance, and corporate reputation, making the margin for error exceedingly small.
Conducted across the United Kingdom, France, Japan, and the United States, our CFO survey captured perspectives from 1,000 CFOs and senior financial decision-makers, offering a global view of the evolving role of AI in financial leadership. While the promise of AI is undeniable, a deep trust gap persists, with 76% of financial leaders concerned about security and privacy risks undermining their organization’s financial health. This caution has the potential to hinder adoption, highlighting the need for financial leaders to strike a careful balance regarding innovation, governance, and transparency.
This trust gap, while considerable, exists alongside the undeniable opportunities AI offers to enhance efficiency, accuracy, and strategic decision-making. From automating routine processes to driving critical insights in investment analysis, many CFOs (53%) are excited about the transformational impact of AI. The findings spotlight a critical moment in finance, as 96% of CFOs prioritize the integration of AI while grappling with these trust concerns. To thrive in this evolving environment, leaders must address these challenges head-on, implementing robust safeguards and ensuring transparency in their AI-driven solutions.
To bridge the trust gap, the role of trusted AI is pivotal. Built with transparency, security, and accountability at its core, it provides the assurances finance leaders need to confidently adopt AI-driven strategies. By addressing these high-stakes concerns, trusted AI enables smarter, faster decisions and also ensures financial resilience in an unpredictable landscape.
This CFO survey report uncovers the complexities of AI adoption and use in finance, examining the strategic importance of its integration and offering key insights into how financial leaders are navigating this transformation. With AI at the center of change, the decisions made today will shape the future of financial leadership, setting the stage for agility, resilience, and long-term success.
Three key trends driving CFO sentiment
CFOs highlight security concerns with AI adoption and use: CFOs show caution in terms of their confidence in AI-driven solutions. More than 3/4 of CFOs report security/privacy as a major worry, indicating a large gap in trust between the enthusiasm for these tools and belief in their security. CFOs also identify security and ethical issues as significant adoption hurdles by nearly one-third (32%). For AI use, security/leaking of information is the top concern (41%), followed by accuracy (37%), and regulatory compliance (37%).
AI drives evolution in financial leadership: Despite the trust gap, AI is rapidly emerging as a key driver of transformation in financial leadership: 96% of CFOs and senior leaders prioritize integrating AI into business operations and 63% deem it a high priority. Currently, 86% have implemented AI in most or some financial decision-making processes, highlighting its integral role in transforming financial leadership. Reflecting these views, 53% of CFOs/senior financial decision-makers see AI as driving the greatest transformation in their role over the next five years. Most CFOs also see AI/technology skills as crucial for future CFOs and treasurers (59%). This evolution will likely redefine financial leadership, emphasizing AI literacy and creating competitive advantages for early adopters while reshaping industry standards.
CFOs plan to embrace AI for strategic initiatives: CFOs are excited about time savings for strategic initiatives (53%), increased accuracy (50%), and easier regulatory compliance (48%). As far as how they plan to use AI, the majority of CFOs highlight strategic endeavors, with a focus on investment analysis (39%), strategic planning (38%), decision-making enhancement (37%), and risk management (37%). Very few (8%) intend to use AI for automation only. CFOs also intend to use AI to mitigate external factors like market volatility, tariffs, and political instability. With a focus on AI for strategic tasks, CFOs signal a shift from viewing AI as a tool for operational efficiency to a driver of high-level decision-making, reflecting a broader vision beyond mere automation.
Note: Many survey questions prompted respondents to select more than one answer.
Note: Due to rounding, percentages may not always appear to add up to 100%.
CFOs highlight security concerns with AI adoption and use
CFOs voice concerns over AI’s security and accuracy
CFOs and senior financial decision-makers report significant concerns when considering AI adoption and use for finance, highlighting a clear distrust rooted in security, privacy, and ethical challenges. When asked about adopting AI technologies in finance operations, nearly one-third (32%) identify security and ethical issues as major hurdles. When considering AI use, 41% of CFOs cite the security and potential leaking of confidential information as the top concern, reflecting fears around the mishandling of sensitive financial data. With additional concerns about accuracy (37%) and regional compliance (37%), it’s clear that trust in AI systems is a critical barrier to adoption.
Regional nuances further highlight the diverse nature of challenges related to AI adoption. In the UK, the primary issue is ensuring accuracy (47%), while in Japan, employee perception is the focus (33%).
CFO spotlight
“AI is redefining the CFO’s mandate as we speak–enabling us to automate repetitive, manual tasks so that our teams can focus on enabling revenue, strengthening controls, and proactively managing risk. Rather than replacing judgment, AI strengthens it by giving us more timely, accurate insights. As the stewards of trust, CFOs should lean into AI literacy, champion strong governance, and ensure technology serves our people and shareholders–not the other way around.
With the right foundation, I don't believe AI widens the trust gap; it closes it.”
CFOs report security and privacy as a top external concern
This trust gap is further widened by general concerns about security and privacy. When identifying external impacts, CFOs and financial decision-makers see security/privacy as a major issue (76%), alongside inflation (78%) and interest rates (75%). These apprehensions show that CFOs are both wary of AI-specific risks and also view security as a broader issue impacting their organizations.
The implications of this distrust are significant–and understandable when even a minor AI miscalculation could result in material financial losses, liquidity mismanagement, or regulatory non-compliance. Without addressing these security and privacy concerns, organizations may struggle to fully harness AI’s potential. Building confidence through robust security measures is essential to closing the trust gap. By implementing stronger security protocols, CFOs can confidently adopt AI to drive innovation, enhance decision-making, and adeptly navigate the complexities of modern finance. Without such measures, the trust gap will continue to stall AI adoption.
Security/privacy concerns are top of mind in all regions:
France: 82%
USA: 78%
UK: 77%
Japan: 68%
The Kyriba view: trust and transparency in AI-driven finance
What causes the trust gap in AI adoption for financial leaders?
The trust gap in AI adoption among financial leaders is primarily due to the opaque nature of many AI systems, which are often perceived as "black boxes." This lack of transparency makes it difficult to understand how decisions are made, particularly in sensitive areas such as fraud detection and credit scoring. Additionally, security and privacy concerns further complicate trust in AI. To bridge this gap, it's crucial to integrate trusted innovation with disruption, ensuring AI systems are both innovative and reliable.Moreover, finance professionals need to be able to explain how AI arrived at its answers in much the same way they can elucidate the steps involved in an Excel calculation. This capability to demystify AI processes will help build trust and confidence in AI systems, allowing financial leaders to rely on them with the same assurance they have in traditional methods.
What strategies can organizations use to address the trust gap in AI?
To effectively address the trust gap, organizations should focus on several key strategies: using Explainable AI (XAI) to enhance transparency, strengthening data governance through encryption and anonymization, conducting regular audits to ensure fairness and accuracy, embedding privacy safeguards into AI development, and aligning AI practices with global regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Furthermore, clear communication and ongoing education for stakeholders are essential to build and maintain trust.In addition to these strategies, developing new AI-focused skills is crucial. These skills include prompt engineering, which involves crafting effective queries to obtain accurate AI responses; debating your AI, a skill that involves interrogating AI outputs to validate how the AI arrived at its conclusions; data storytelling, which helps in effectively communicating insights derived from AI analysis; and the capability to understand and contextualize Explainable AI (XAI). These skills will empower finance professionals to confidently work with AI technologies and bridge the trust gap by ensuring decisions made by AI systems are transparent and understandable.
How can AI enhance decision-making for financial leaders despite the trust gap?
AI can significantly enhance decision-making for financial leaders by processing massive datasets in real-time and providing actionable insights that are beyond the reach of human analysis alone. By combining human expertise with AI's analytical capabilities, organizations can make more informed decisions. AI-driven market analysis helps identify trends and risks, while anomaly detection capabilities enhance fraud and risk management.
AI drives evolution in financial leadership
CFOs prioritize AI integration and use
Despite the trust gap, CFOs and senior financial decision-makers report a strong commitment to AI adoption. For 96% of CFOs, integrating and using AI in business operations is a priority, with 63% identifying it as a “significant” priority. Currently, nearly 42% have integrated AI into most financial decision-making processes, with another 44% using it in some processes. Looking ahead, 88% feel prepared to adopt AI technologies and tools in treasury and finance, while 71% anticipate integrating AI into treasury and finance operations within the next 2 years. This widespread adoption is set to accelerate innovation, improve accuracy, and redefine financial processes. For those still exploring AI’s potential, the momentum within the industry presents an opportunity to align with emerging best practices and position their organizations to thrive in a rapidly changing environment.
Financial leaders worldwide prioritize AI, with CFOs in the UK (99%), USA (98%), France (95%), and Japan (92%) recognizing its importance. However, AI integration is more advanced in the UK (50%) and USA (56%), where CFOs have incorporated it into most financial processes, compared to Japan (25%) and France (36%).
CFO spotlight
“Every technological breakthrough is a terrific driver of opportunities as well as a source of potential new risks. This duality is particularly true for AI, which is changing our lives so fast. As CFOs of innovative organizations, we must define the rules to leverage AI without exposing ourselves to threats. This approach involves identifying the DOs and DON'Ts, choosing reliable partners for supporting AI adoption, and fostering the culture of exploring what AI can already deliver to us in terms of efficiency and growth.
Above all, we need to ensure that a secure and transparent foundation is solidly in place.”
CFOs see AI as a key driver in role evolution
CFOs and financial decision-makers see AI as the largest driver of transformation in their roles over the next five years. Just over half (53%) of CFOs anticipate AI will significantly change their roles, more so than workforce shifts (44%), C-suite succession (41%), and–unsurprisingly, given their responsibility for overseeing risk mitigation–the frequency/impact of security incidents (38%). Reflecting these trends, AI literacy is becoming a core competency for CFOs, evolving their role to increasingly use AI as a strategic driver of transformation. CFOs also see AI/technology skills as crucial for future CFOs and treasurers by nearly 60%. The growing focus on AI is a call to action for CFOs to allocate time and resources toward understanding its potential to reshape their organizations and drive long-term success.
CFOs' role evolution is driven by different priorities across regions. In Japan, security incidents (39%) are the top factor, slightly surpassing AI (38%) and reflecting a focus on mitigating risks. By contrast, AI is the predominant driver in the USA (72%) and the UK (67%), highlighting a more forward-looking emphasis on leveraging technology to shape strategic decision-making and financial leadership. These differences reveal the varying regional focus on immediate risk management versus technological transformation.
The Kyriba view: trust, transformation, and the CFO-AI connection
- From your perspective as a CFO, what is the most significant hurdle in building trust for AI-driven financial solutions, and conversely, what do you think will convince CFOs to integrate AI-driven insights?
The biggest hurdle is ensuring these systems are transparent and auditable. CFOs need to clearly understand how algorithms process data, the outcomes they drive, and whether those outcomes can withstand scrutiny. Without this clarity, skepticism from finance teams and stakeholders will remain. Adoption will be driven by evidence of AI’s reliability and value. Running pilot programs, demonstrating measurable returns, and ensuring compliance with regulatory standards are key steps. AI’s potential is vast, but aligning it with risk management and financial integrity is essential. - What steps can organizations take to ensure their financial strategies evolve to align with AI-driven innovations?
It starts with people. Upskilling teams is key to unlocking AI’s value. Finance-IT collaboration is crucial for seamless integration with existing systems. Starting small by focusing on use cases like predictive cash flow analysis or compliance monitoring minimizes risk and showcases AI’s potential. Proving benefits first makes scaling easier across the organization. - How can integrating AI-driven financial solutions transform an organization’s ability to identify trends, manage risks, and uncover opportunities that might be missed with traditional methods?
AI processes vast amounts of data in real time, enabling it to identify emerging risks or opportunities far earlier than traditional methods. Predictive modeling allows organizations to act proactively rather than reactively, prioritizing insights to tackle challenges ahead of time. The ability to uncover and act on trends dynamically positions businesses to make smarter, more strategic decisions. - In what ways can leveraging AI enhance a company’s competitive edge and drive innovation within financial functions, particularly in shaping strategic priorities?
AI boosts competitiveness by automating routine tasks, allowing finance teams to shift their focus to strategy and innovation. AI-powered scenario modeling can stress-test cash flow, liquidity, and risk management, preparing organizations for various eventualities. Additionally, AI enables personalized financial solutions, improving customer interactions and driving efficiency, which builds stronger client relationships and solidifies competitive advantages. - How do you see the adoption of AI reshaping the traditional responsibilities of a CFO?
Traditionally focused on compliance and reporting, CFOs are now becoming strategic advisors. AI reduces transactional tasks, enabling us to interpret predictive insights and guide long-term strategies. The role is evolving from number-crunching to connecting data with broader organizational goals.
CFOs plan to embrace AI for strategic initiatives
CFOs identify top opportunities for AI integration
As their organizations evolve workplace strategies to embrace AI capabilities, CFOs expect to gain time, accuracy, and agility. For treasury and beyond, AI is expected to increase productivity (56%), free employees from manual tasks (52%), and change the skills and experience organizations look for when making new hires (50%). Very few CFOs (2%) anticipate no impact from AI, meaning the majority see AI capabilities as transforming organizational efficiency, productivity, and future readiness.
CFOs in the UK (95%) and USA (94%) feel prepared for AI, while readiness is lower in France (83%) and Japan (81%). Overall, CFOs in the UK and USA also report shorter timelines for adoption (within the next 12 months), whereas CFOs in Japan and France take a more gradual approach (up to 2 years), reflecting differences in readiness and confidence.
CFOs anticipate AI's potential benefits
While CFOs are wary of AI’s security and privacy shortfalls, they are simultaneously excited about its advantages. The top three potential benefits cited by CFOs are time savings to focus on more strategic tasks/initiatives (53%), increased accuracy (50%), and easier to manage regulatory compliance (48%). CFOs recognize strengths in certain aspects of AI, with 46% expressing confidence in the security and compliance measures of current AI solutions. Even though the majority (54%) are still cautious, the excitement in AI’s potential benefits highlights a growing anticipation to leverage AI for improvements and innovations in financial operations—indicating that as the trust gap closes, those slow to adopt may risk falling behind.
While most regions identify strategic initiatives as the top benefit, AI’s potential impact on revenue (40%) ignites the most interest for CFOs in France.
CFOs plan to harness AI for strategic advantage
With CFOs seeing potential benefits in AI capabilities, it’s no surprise that most CFOs plan to leverage AI far beyond simple automation. When asked how their organization plans to use AI for treasury operations throughout 2025 and into 2026, CFOs cited investment analysis (39%), strategic planning (38%), decision-making enhancement (37%), and risk management (37%) as their top areas to gain agility and competitive advantage.
CFOs also aim to use AI to mitigate the impact of external factors (48%), such as market/currency volatility, tariffs, and political instability, on their organization’s financial health and outlook. While concerns about security and privacy remain, CFOs increasingly recognize the value of leveraging AI to drive strategic growth, enhance decision-making, and navigate complex regulatory landscapes with growing confidence, signaling that AI is becoming indispensable for maintaining resilience and competitiveness.
Leveraging AI is #1 for all regions as the top tactic to navigate external factors impacting financial health.
CFOs balance vision, strategy, and caution
Our CFO survey reveals a pivotal moment for CFOs as they straddle the trust gap between the promise of AI-driven insights and the fear of security and privacy risks. While AI-powered solutions call for cautious adoption, the excitement about AI’s benefits is undeniable. Globally, CFOs see AI as a key driver of efficiency, better decision-making, and strategic advantages across finance and treasury functions.
AI is redefining financial leadership, from automating routine operations to enhancing investment analysis and risk management. With 96% of CFOs prioritizing the integration of AI and 86% already using it in decision-making, there is strong momentum toward embracing AI as a catalyst for innovation and competitive advantage. Time savings, improved accuracy, strategic planning, and adaptability to mitigate external challenges further highlight AI’s role in strengthening financial resilience and helping businesses thrive in an unpredictable world.
That said, AI-driven errors are a risk financial leaders cannot afford to take. Even the smallest misstep can lead to significant financial setbacks, liquidity challenges, or breaches in regulatory compliance. Security and privacy concerns remain top of mind, with 76% of CFOs concerned about the potential implications of AI-driven solutions on their organization’s financial health. Fostering confidence through transparency, accountability, and dependable systems is essential for maximizing AI capabilities. To address these concerns, CFOs call for trusted AI solutions built on high-quality, real-time financial data to mitigate risks and safeguard their organizations’ financial health.
This survey shows that CFOs, while cautious, are optimistic and forward-thinking about the integration of AI in treasury and finance operations. By aligning technological innovation with strategic vision, they are shaping a new era of financial leadership focused on agility, precision, and liquidity performance. Building trust in AI systems will be key to unlocking their full potential.
Discover how Kyriba’s AI-driven solutions empower CFOs with seamless data integration, lightning-fast analysis, and actionable insights.
About the CFO survey
This CFO survey collected data from 1,000 CFOs and senior financial decision-makers working at companies with $100M+ in revenue. The survey consisted of 15 questions that explored how AI is shaping the financial sector, the strategic benefits, and the challenges faced.
The survey included 250 respondents each from the United Kingdom, France, Japan, and the United States. The majority (48%) of respondents fell within the 35-44 age group. The 25-34 age group represented 23%, followed by those aged 45-54 at 20%. Additionally, 7% of respondents were from the 55+ age group, and 3% of respondents belonged to the 18-24 age group.
The survey was conducted February 18 to March 3, 2025 by CensusWide. This report represents key findings.
