Less than a third of UK CFOs say they take the lead in long-term investment projects

• Just 31% of UK CFOs say they lead long‑term investment decisions where returns are indirect or uncertain 
• Only 25% say the finance function is viewed as a strategic partner in their organisation, while 38% are viewed primarily as enablement or stewardship functions 
• Half of UK finance teams are still developing AI readiness and just 8% say AI is fully integrated into finance operations and decision making 
• A substantial AI maturity gap has opened with larger organisations in the lead 

While volatile market conditions are creating opportunities for finance leaders to shape their organisation’s strategic direction, only 31% of UK CFOs say they currently lead investment decisions where returns are long-term, indirect or uncertain, according to new EY research. The findings highlight the potential for CFOs to play a more influential role as organisations seek to balance market uncertainty with the need to invest in long-term growth and resilience. 

The EY DNA of a CFO report surveyed 170 CFOs and Heads of Finance at UK companies with annual global revenues of at least $1bn. The results reveal that, while many UK finance leaders are often involved in assessing their organisation’s investment decisions in some way, only a minority act as the primary leader or decision maker in these discussions.

Forty per cent of respondents say they are playing an active role in guiding investment decisions where returns are uncertain, indirect or long term, while a further 26% say they provide input when asked. 

This pattern extends to other areas of strategic influence. According to the EY research, only 30% of respondents surveyed say they lead in shaping how strategic initiatives are assessed, including emerging and non‑financial value drivers, compared with 39% who say they play an active role. Similarly, only 21% say they lead in explaining how investment decisions and long‑term priorities align with the value drivers most important to investors, while 43% report an active but non‑leading role. 

The research also highlights how the finance function is perceived across some organisations. Just 25% of respondents surveyed said the finance function is viewed as a strategic partner in creating value or shaping business strategy. 

In contrast, 38% say finance is seen within their organisation as either an enablement function supporting day-to-day operations and transactions, or as a stewardship and control function focused on regulatory compliance and cost discipline. Respondents cite a focus on technology investment focused on efficiency rather than insight-generation (52%) and limited diversity of experience within finance teams in areas such as data (40%) as key factors influencing this perception. 

Ben Castell, EY UK Finance Transformation Partner, said: “While UK CFOs are closely involved in investment decisions, relatively few are leading their organisation’s thinking on long-term investments at an uncertain time when strategic choices about resilience, transformation and growth arguably matter most. The limited maturity of AI across UK finance teams compounds this challenge, restricting their ability to deliver predictive insight and support decisions that look beyond short‑term performance. 

“Market volatility and rapid advances in AI present CFOs with an opportunity to redefine finance as a strategic business partner and exert greater influence. This will require investment in AI‑enabled tools that deliver insight, not just efficiency, alongside broader skills and experience within teams. The CFOs who get this right will be better equipped to shape long‑term investment decisions and guide their organisations through uncertainty.” 

AI seen as high potential, but scaling remains a challenge 

While CFOs recognise the potential of AI to drive value, EY’s research suggests that most UK finance teams are still at an early stage of adoption. More than half (51%) of the UK CFOs and Heads of Finance surveyed say their organisation is still at best developing AI readiness and has yet to apply the technology at scale in a practical way. 

A further 25% say their finance team is at a functional stage, with the data, tools and capabilities in place to apply AI, but still focused on optimisation. Just 16% describe their finance function as ‘advanced’, with strong data and analytics capabilities supporting decision-making, while only 8% say they are in a ‘leading’ position, with AI insights fully integrated into finance operations, influencing pricing, resource allocation and growth decisions. 

James McElhone, EY UK Value Performance Management Leader, added: “AI is fundamentally changing how finance supports decision-making across the business. Rather than looking backwards, finance teams can now use advanced analytics to generate real-time, predictive insights that help organisations evaluate options, understand trade-offs and respond dynamically to changing market conditions. Those that harness this effectively will be better positioned to make smarter, faster decisions that drive long-term value.” 

Larger organisations appear significantly more advanced in their AI adoption. Among respondents from businesses with more than $10bn in global annual revenue, 43% say their finance team is at an advanced or leading stage of AI adoption, compared with just 12% of respondents from organisations with less than $10bn in revenue. 

Overall, while respondents are cautiously optimistic about AI, fewer than a quarter see very high potential in deploying this technology across their finance processes. Financial forecasting is seen as the area of greatest opportunity, with 32% citing high potential and 24% very high potential, followed by fraud detection (41% high, 14% very high), risk assessment (37% high, 14% very high) and data analysis (33% high, 16% very high). 

Concerns around data quality and the risk of bias were seen as the most significant barriers to securing investment in new AI tools for finance teams. More than a third (35%) of the UK finance leaders surveyed describe this as a significant challenge, while a further 24% consider it to be very significant. 

Capability gaps are also a key constraint. Around a third (31%) say a lack of skills, resources or capacity within finance teams makes it difficult to fully leverage AI investment. Similarly, 32% highlight the challenge of building a compelling business case, with the benefits of AI often seen as long-term, indirect or difficult to quantify. 

There is however optimism around AI’s immediate potential in the broader organisation. Four in five (81%) UK finance leaders expect new AI-enabled business models to feature in their organisation to a significant or moderate extent during the next 12 months, while 77% expect fast decision-making enabled by real-time data and analytics to feature in their organisation to a significant or moderate extent during the next 12 months. Three in five (61%) recognise that productivity gains will depend on combining technology investment with a focus on people and skills.