CFOs Embrace AI Leadership With Massive Budget Increases for 2026

Chief financial officers are stepping out of their traditional roles and taking the lead on AI strategy decisions, with dramatic budget increases signaling their commitment to enterprise AI adoption. According to the latest Forbes Research 2025 AI Study, CFO involvement in AI decision-making has skyrocketed from just 1% in 2024 to 38% in 2025.

This shift places CFOs among the top five decision-makers for AI initiatives, surpassing board members, data scientists, and business line managers who previously held more influence in AI strategy.

Key Financial Commitments to AI Growth

The numbers tell a compelling story about CFOs' confidence in AI investments:

• 67% of CFOs expect AI budgets to increase by at least 2.5% over the next two years, up from 53% in 2024
• Budget increases of 10% or more tripled from 3% to 11% year-over-year
• Zero CFOs anticipate decreasing AI spending, a stark contrast to 2024 when 15% expected reductions

Strategic Focus Areas for AI Implementation

CFOs are targeting AI for core financial operations with clear priorities:

• Risk management (73%) and reporting compliance (70%) lead implementation plans
• Cost optimization (68%) and forecasting (65%) follow closely
• Regulatory compliance, resource allocation, and ROI measurement each garnered 63% adoption intentions

Unlike other C-suite executives, CFOs show the most optimism about AI's impact on employment, with only 18% planning staff reductions due to AI automation. Most finance leaders (62%) predict fewer than 2% of jobs will be eliminated by AI over the next two years.

The research surveyed 1,075 C-suite leaders, including 215 CFOs, revealing that financial leaders view measuring ROI as their second-biggest AI challenge, reflecting their results-focused approach to technology adoption.

🔗 Read the full Forbes Research study: CFOs Take A Seat At The AI Strategy Table