Irish CFOs expect continued growth in 2026 as AI adoption accelerates – EY CFO Survey

• 94% of finance leaders in Ireland expect growth in 2026, with an average growth rate of 9%.
• AI adoption in finance jumps from 12% to 47% year on year, with six in ten respondents (59%) prioritising investment in AI, data and technology infrastructure
• Regulatory and compliance pressures (20%) and cybersecurity concerns (18%) are keeping CFOs up at night, ahead of access to capital and liquidity concerns (15%)
• 60% of finance leaders are investing in upskilling talent 

CFOs and senior finance leaders in Ireland are upbeat about the year ahead, with almost all respondents expecting their organisations to grow strongly in 2026 despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty and rapid technological change. According to EY Ireland’s CFO Survey 2026, 94% of senior finance leaders anticipate growth this year, with an average growth rate of 9%.

The report conducted at the beginning of the year, surveyed 200 CFOs and senior finance leaders in Ireland across sectors including Government and Infrastructure, Consumer and Health, Telecommunications, Technology and Energy.

AI adoption reaches a breakthrough moment in finance

A key shift highlighted in this year’s findings is the rapid move from piloting AI to scaling into implementation. The proportion of CFOs using AI within the finance function has grown almost four-fold year-on-year up from 12% last year to 47% this year. Over half of respondents (59%), say they are prioritising investment in technology infrastructure, AI and advanced data analytics, up sharply from 20% in 2025.

Automation remains the primary driver of adoption, with finance leaders using AI to streamline manual processes, enhance risk management and improve fraud detection. Finance teams are also increasingly using AI for higher‑value decision support. 42% of organisations are investing in or intending to invest in AI for financial planning, almost double last year’s level (22%).

When it comes to barriers to scaling AI, cyber and data privacy concerns top the list for CFOs (22%), and budget and time constraints (22%), followed by unclear ROI or business case (20%)

This acceleration mirrors findings from the most recent EY CEO Survey, where most CEOs reported that AI was already driving revenue growth and operational efficiency, with nearly all believing it will materially transform their organisations within two years.

What is keeping finance leaders awake at night

Our research asked CFOs to identify the number one issue that is keeping them up at night. Surprisingly, access to capital and liquidity concerns only ranked in third (15%) as both regulatory and compliance pressures (20%) and cybersecurity and data breach concerns (18%) ranked as great concerns.

Regulatory and compliance pressures top the list at 20%, likely reflecting the expanding regulatory burden, covering GDPR requirements such as data subject access requests, the Digital Services Act, NIS2, BEPS Pillar Two, country‑by‑country reporting and CSRD.

Cybersecurity and data breaches follow at 18%, likely as a result of the increasing scale, sophistication and impact of cyber breaches. Two concerns sit equally at 13%: attracting and retaining finance talent with digital and analytical capabilities, and managing liquidity and capital allocation amid unpredictable interest rates, inflation and geopolitical tensions.

Vickie Wall, Financial Accounting Advisory Services leader at EY Ireland, said:

“In spite of the challenging global trading landscape in 2025 which has continued into 2026, CFOs are upbeat about their growth prospects.

“The biggest shift in the past 12 months is the speed at which AI is being embedded into day‑to‑day finance operations. AI in finance is no longer something people are experimenting with on the side. It has moved increasingly into the core of how teams operate, with technology deployed where it delivers tangible business value.

“CFOs are focusing their investment where the value is clear, with real efficiency gains delivered via automation that free up people for higher‑impact work, and/or improvements that strengthen resilience. The organisations that prioritise high‑value use cases and build the right capabilities are already seeing the benefits.”

“While this research was conducted before the most recent outbreak of conflict in the Middle East, having been through a period of significant geopolitical upheaval over the past 12 months CFOs and Finance leaders have expressed optimism in their ability to navigate the rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape.”

Human leadership central to the CFO role

Elsewhere, the report highlights a shift in how some CFOs perceive their role, with rising expectations that they should combine technical rigour with human leadership. CFOs and finance leaders anticipate spending more time on real-time analysis, scenario modelling, data analytics, predictive analytics and decision modelling.

Almost a third (29%) expect to spend more of their time facilitating AI adoption across the finance function; however, 9% report they are not equipped to handle future challenges and 17% say they need extra training and development to meet the expanding scope of their role.

Cyber risk rises sharply on the agenda

Cybersecurity has moved from a background IT concern to a frontline finance risk, emerging as both a leading barrier to scaling AI and a broader enterprise risk. Nearly a quarter of CFOs (23%) identify strengthening cyber controls as a top priority for the next two years, almost three times the rate reported in 2025 (8%).

CFOs are also contending with the rising frequency and severity of cyber incidents globally, alongside the expanded attack surface created by cloud‑based finance systems and AI‑enabled workflows.

Yet despite this heightened awareness, confidence in relation to resilience remains mixed. Only 12% of organisations have tested third‑party outage scenarios, believing that they could continue operating without compromising revenue, trust or compliance.

Talent pressure intensifies as demand for digital finance capability grows

Finance leaders identify talent as a critical enabler of transformation. In 2025, just shy of half (47%) of our respondents said they intended to invest in upskilling existing people or talent; this has now jumped to almost two-thirds (60%). Investment in new talent has also increased, from 50% last year to 62%.

On top of this, developing future leaders and retaining talent continue to be priorities for CFOs. Nearly two-thirds (59%) are investing in upskilling and reskilling, 22% are using secondments to build capability, 19% are recruiting specialist talent, and a third (33%) are outsourcing specialised skills to ensure operational stability.

Talent retention and succession planning remain high on the agenda, with 28% citing it as a key concern raised by boards.

Katie Burns, Consulting Partner at EY Ireland, said: “Demand for AI‑literate, data‑driven and strategically aligned finance roles is rising as teams reshape for the future. We are seeing real pressure on capacity, with many organisations needing time, skills and structured plans to keep pace with the scale of change.

“Sustained investment in talent and upskilling is now essential to embed the mindsets, approaches and capabilities required. This is particularly important as CFO responsibilities expand, from leading AI adoption to supporting wider long‑term organisational transformation.”

-ENDS-

Notes to editor:

To read the report please visit: How CFO confidence in Ireland is holding firm in a volatile world

About EY

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About the Survey / Methodology

The EY Ireland CFO Survey 2026 was conducted during December 2025 and January 2026. The study used Computer-Aided Telephone Interviews (CATI) to gather insights from 200 senior finance leaders in Ireland, including CFOs and Directors of Finance. All respondents held senior financial decision-making responsibilities. The survey encompassed a diverse range of sectors that included Government and Infrastructure, Consumer and Health, Telecommunications and Technology, Industrial and Energy.