RGP CFO Survey Shows Growing Divide Between AI Ambition and AI Readiness
Data, technical debt, governance, and skill gaps are among the biggest barriers to
The report surfaces a striking contradiction at the center of modern finance: although 66% of CFOs expect significant
“AI ambition is accelerating, but enterprise foundations have not kept pace,” said
Key insights uncovered in the report include:
CFOs have emerged as enterprise AI integrators across strategy and cross-functional change: Nearly half of CFOs (48%) say they are ultimately responsible for ensuring AI delivers measurable value – more than any other C-suite role. CFO influence is rapidly expanding across investment, risk, talent strategy, and digital transformation.
Data remains the single greatest inhibitor of AI success: More than one-third of CFOs (35%) cite data trust as their top barrier to
Governance is emerging, but uneven: While 69% of CFOs report advanced or established AI risk governance frameworks, 31% still report developing or ad hoc/informal frameworks, leaving room for continued growth and maturity. As AI becomes more deeply embedded in operations, decision-making, and customer-facing workflows, organizations will need to continue establishing coordinated governance approaches to improve consistency, clarity, and risk awareness at scale.
Workforce readiness is falling behind AI ambition: More than two-thirds of CFOs (68%) cite skills gaps among the most significant challenges to achieving
The performance gap between the largest enterprises and mid-market firms is widening: CFOs at $10B+ companies report stronger data foundations, more mature governance, faster AI adoption, and earlier and higher ROI, creating a competitive divide that smaller firms must close deliberately.
The Path Forward: Strengthen Foundations to Unlock
The research outlines specific actions CFOs can take now to close the divide between vision and execution, including modernizing data architecture, reducing technical debt, establishing clear governance ownership, building cross-functional talent strategies, and shifting from cost-centric to performance-driven AI metrics such as forecast accuracy, decision velocity, and risk reduction.
“The message for 2026 is clear: CFOs who lead boldly, modernize intentionally, and build the cross-functional muscle for AI adoption will define the next decade of enterprise performance,” said Rottmann. “AI readiness is not just a technology mandate – it’s a new blueprint for finance leadership.”
ABOUT RGP
RGP (Nasdaq: RGP) is an award-winning global professional services firm with three decades of experience helping the world’s top organizations navigate change and seize opportunity. With three integrated offerings—On-Demand Talent, Consulting, and Outsourced Services—we provide CFOs and other C-suite leaders with the flexibility to solve today’s most pressing challenges on their terms, uniting strategy, execution, and talent across accounting and finance, digital transformation, data, and cloud, at a global scale. Our people-first approach continues to drive innovation across industries worldwide.
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The Company is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, the exchange’s highest tier by listing standards. To learn more about RGP, visit: http://www.rgp.com. (RGP-F)
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Source: RGP
