Between 2024 and 2026, the active use of artificial intelligence (AI) across finance functions more than doubled, a rapid adoption that’s already yielding significant gains and improvements for organizations, according to a new study by KPMG.
The survey, conducted in March 2026 and involving more than 1,000 global senior leaders C-suite executives and direct reports in finance, risk and audit, technology and general management roles, revealed that 75% of organizations are either deploying and scaling AI. This represents a remarkable 150% increase from the 30% adoption rate in 2024, indicating a substantial rise in the use of AI among finance functions in recent years.
The majority of organizations are already experiencing tangible benefits from their AI initiatives. Notably, 71% of respondents reported that AI is meeting or exceeding their return on investment (ROI) expectations in their finance functions, underlying how the technology is driving productivity, efficiency, and competitive advantage.
The most significant improvements are observed in decision-making quality (70%), forecast accuracy (64%), and responsiveness (71%), suggesting that AI is delivering the greatest value in judgement intensive, cognitive tasks, augmenting executives’ core strategic thinking rather than merely automating routine operations.
Across main AI categories, the study found that agentic AI adoption remains nascent. However, organizations that have successfully implemented AI agents are already witnessing substantial performance improvements, reporting at least 32% stronger performance across key finance metrics. This rises to nearly 40 points on forecast accuracy and ROI.
Only 40% of organizations reported deploying or scaling agentic AI, against 64% for generative AI. The latter is unsurprisingly the most mature AI technology across enterprises.
Technological and talent challenges
Despite the rapid growth in AI usage, the study revealed significant operational constraints hindering AI adoption. Notably, data quality emerged as the most cited barrier, with 36% of organizations identifying improving data quality, integration and system interoperability as their greatest opportunity to extract more value from AI in finance.
Another crucial constraint to AI adoption is workforce capability, with very few organizations adopt a comprehensive workforce approach. 38% of the executives polled by KPMG are upskilling their finance and internal audit teams on AI-enabled processes, only 28% are hiring for different skillsets.
These findings align with other research which highlight the critical shortage of AI skills. A survey conducted in 2025 by McKinsey, the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), and Tech in Asia polled over 300 executives across Southeast Asia and revealed that one in five of these business leaders viewed talent as the single biggest challenge in scaling AI initiatives.
Technological challenges, including complex integration with existing systems, also pose a significant barrier, ranking as the second biggest obstacle preventing AI initiatives from achieving scalability and measurable impact, cited by 16% of respondents in Southeast Asia.
AI adoption in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia has witnessed a remarkable surge in AI adoption. The 2025 survey by McKinsey, EDB, and Tech in Asia found that nearly half (46%) of Southeast Asian firms have moved beyond AI pilots, compared with 35% globally.
The study further highlighted that 8% of Southeast Asian companies have fully scaled AI initiatives, surpassing the global average of 6% and the Asia-Pacific (APAC) average, outside China and India, of just 2%.
In Southeast Asia, Singapore and Indonesia are standing out as leaders in AI adoption, with 56% and 51% of respondents, respectively, reporting progress toward scaled adoption.
Accelerated adoption of AI in Southeast Asia is being driven by the technology’s potential to enhance efficiency and productivity for enterprises and stimulate economic growth. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) projects that AI could boost the region’s gross domestic product by 10% to 18%, potentially adding US$1 trillion by 2030 across efficiency and productivity gains, innovation, and value creation.
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by magnific via Magnific
