Avalara Survey Finds Finance Leaders Deploying AI Faster Than Governance Can Adapt

Avalara announced in a press release that finance leaders worldwide are moving quickly to implement AI agents, often outpacing their organizations’ governance capabilities. The company’s new report, Agents of Change: How the Race to Deploy AI Agents is Outrunning Financial Governance, surveyed more than 1,500 CFOs and senior finance leaders across the United States, United Kingdom, India, and Australia.

The survey found that 92% of finance leaders feel pressure to demonstrate ROI from AI investments, with half describing the pressure as significant. Seventy-one percent said their organizations are focused primarily on deployment speed, while only 7% prioritize governance over rapid implementation. Just under half of respondents were confident they could explain an AI agent’s actions to an auditor or regulator.

Avalara noted that 30% of organizations have not updated internal controls in the past year to account for AI agents, and nearly one in four respondents said accountability for a major AI agent error would be unclear. The report also revealed a shortage of expertise, with 76% of organizations lacking dedicated in-house specialists able to understand AI agent behavior.

Finance leaders indicated they are seeking ways to build trust alongside adoption. The most valued capabilities include audit-ready documentation of AI actions, validation against compliance requirements, and outputs grounded in verified financial data. These features were seen as essential for scaling automation responsibly in tax and compliance workflows.