Rebuild one recurring deliverable using AI yourself so you know from experience where it helps and where it fails.
Ben Murray
Founder, The SaaS CFO 
Rillion Finance Labs
The 2026 AI in Finance Report
Discover what 250 CFOs and finance leaders across the US really think about AI. And the gaps between adoption and true transformation.
Finance is living in an AI illusion
On paper, finance looks ready for AI. Adoption is widespread. Investment is growing. Most CFOs expect transformational change within three years.
Look closer, and the picture gets messier. Trust still has limits. Manual work continues behind automated processes. And the skills finance leaders say they'll need tomorrow aren't necessarily being built today.
The 2026 AI in Finance Report explores the gaps between AI ambition and reality, and what separates organizations moving forward from those falling behind.
The skills illusion
The blind spot
Only 21% of CFOs see a lack of internal AI expertise as a major barrier today. Yet 60% believe understanding AI tools will become one of the most important skills in finance. The skill everyone thinks they’ll need tomorrow is the skill few think they’re missing today.
The transformation illusion
When vision outpaces reality
Finance teams using AI widely are more than 3x as likely to expect transformational change as those still piloting or considering it (51% vs. 16%). Those at the beginning of the journey may be underestimating just how much change is still to come.
Voices from the report
Ben Murray
Founder, The SaaS CFO Make AI competence a job redesign program, not an additional training program.
Richard Paik
CFO, GitHubHumans will always be the ones responsible for finance decisions.
Wassia Kamon
CFO, ACE | Access to Capital for EntrepreneursAI scales whatever already exists, including the mess.
Nick Araco Jr.
Founder, CFO AllianceTransformation is about improving the business, not making finance faster.
Heather Harwood
SR Director Finance, Docusign
Inside the report
See where your finance function stands
Discover:
- How CFOs and finance leaders are using AI today
- Where trust in AI still breaks down
- Where automation still depends on manual work
- Which AI skills finance teams need next
- Where CFOs are placing their next AI bets
- What separates organizations that succeed with AI from those that get stuck
- Perspectives from CFOs, advisors, and AI experts
- A practical checklist to spot the AI illusions in your own finance function
Contributors to the report
About the report
The 2026 AI in Finance Report is Rillion's annual study of AI in the finance function, based on a survey of 250 CFOs and finance leaders across the US. Conducted in collaboration with Sapio Research, it explores how finance teams are using AI, the challenges they face, and how the function is evolving as adoption and automation increase.