Mid-market finance teams believe they are ahead of most other departments when it comes to AI adoption. This is according to new research commissioned by cloud accounting provider iplicit, which surveyed 250 UK-based mid-market finance leaders on their AI readiness, usage and concerns.
The survey found that the majority (83%) claim to have already adopted AI technology within their finance function, with 69% saying they are ahead of the HR department on this journey, 67% ahead of sales, 56% ahead of engineering and 55% ahead of IT.
High levels of AI adoption – and confidence in leading the charge – arrive at a time of significant strain for mid-market finance teams. Over half (51%) of finance leaders in smaller SMEs (50-249 headcount) report spending over five hours a week on manual work, with the most time-consuming tasks being manual data entry (42%), reconciling accounts and transactions (40%) and invoice processing (28%).
Finance team’s adoption gap
However, while headline adoption figures appear high, different levels of adoption and variations by finance role reveal a more complex reality.
While 83% claim to have adopted AI in some capacity, only a third (35%) claim they’ve fully adopted it within their finance function. Almost half (48%) admit they’ve only partly adopted AI.
When it comes to full AI adoption within the finance function, over half (51%) of the CFOs surveyed believe they have achieved this, compared with just 19% of Financial Controllers (FCs).
This perception gap persists when looking at department comparisons, too, with 32% of CFOs and 34% of VPs / FDs believing they are significantly ahead of marketing in their AI adoption, compared with just 13% of FCs. When comparing finance with IT: 39% of CFOs and 45% of VPs/FDs believe they are significantly ahead, versus just 23% of FCs.
Rob Steele, CFO of iplicit, says: “We’re witnessing a fundamental disconnect between what leadership believes is happening and what operational teams are experiencing.
“CFOs are measuring AI adoption by whether tools are available and being used. FCs are measuring it by whether their day-to-day operational work has fundamentally changed. That 32-percentage-point difference isn’t just a perception issue – it’s telling us that deployment and meaningful adoption are two very different things.”
When it comes to specific use cases, AI to support strategic decision-making was most popular amongst CFOs (48%). Using AI to support integration with other functions was also heavily skewed towards CFOs (56%) and VPs / FDs (55%), compared with just 16% of FCs.
“Senior leaders can see AI tools being used across the function and conclude adoption is happening”, adds Rob Steele. “But there’s a big difference between using AI to support board commentary or quick data analysis before a meeting with other departments, and people ‘on the ground’ experiencing true transformation in how core finance processes and managed.”
Andy Jackson, Financial Controller at iplicit, adds: “CFOs see AI generating board commentary and dashboards, so the strategic view looks highly automated. But from an operational perspective, many FCs are still spending days producing the underlying numbers before AI can even begin its analysis. Currently, AI is excellent at the presentation layer, but the foundational finance work – processing transactions, reconciling accounts, maintaining controls – still requires significant manual input.”
Confidence gap
Inconsistent patterns of AI adoption within the finance function have also created an AI confidence gap.
37% of all respondents consider themselves “AI champions” (actively testing and scaling AI tools). However, this skews heavily toward senior leaders, with 46% of CFOs and 38% of VPs/FDs identifying as champions, compared with just 26% of FCs.
Yet, despite high confidence from leadership, only 32% of respondents say they have received formal training on AI from their employer. The majority are teaching themselves by researching it online (60%) or learning by doing (51%).
“There’s understandable pressure on senior finance leaders to lead the charge on AI adoption, particularly in sectors such as Software and Technology”, adds Rob Steele.
“CFOs are often expected to be at the forefront of innovation and demonstrate leadership across technology initiatives. Naturally, they are eager to champion AI and show how finance can drive strategic value for the organisation.
“However, with formal AI training lacking, most implementations being partial and operational members of the finance team feeling less accomplished in their AI adoption, CFOs may be rushing transformation without ensuring the necessary foundations and support are in place for the entire team.”
Looking ahead
Despite current misalignment, across the board, mid-market finance leaders are committed to expanding their AI adoption.
When combining current usage with planned adoption over the next 12 months, 94% expect to be using AI for expense and spend management, 89% for anomaly and fraud detection and 85% for forecasting and scenario planning.
Speed and efficiency top the list of expected benefits at 52%, followed by accuracy and error reduction (46%), better workflow coordination (37%) and improved decision-making (35%).
Lyndon Stickley, CEO of iplicit, adds: “What this research reveals is that many finance teams are caught between ambition and reality when it comes to AI. The key is to approach this pragmatically rather than rushing in due to hype or pressure.
“Finance leaders should prioritise foundations first. You need to understand where your data lives, how it flows, what systems are touching it, and what your entire team’s comfort level is before venturing into AI. Rushing into AI adoption without those foundations will create more problems than it solves.
“My advice is to get your core systems right, understand your data architecture, establish your security protocols – then you can start to layer AI on top in a controlled and consistent way. That might feel slower, but it’s the right approach for long-term success. Finance leaders should feel energised about AI – not panicked – but what’s needed now is seeing through the hype and adopting the technology responsibly.”
