Bain Survey: 42% of CFOs Plan to Boost AI Budgets by 30% or More

In a press release, Bain & Company reported that 42% of CFOs globally plan to increase their AI budgets by 30% or more over the next two years. The survey, which included more than 100 CFOs, found that 83% expect to raise enterprise-wide AI spending by over 15% during the same period.

More than half of respondents said they are already increasing AI budgets by over 15% this year, with 21% anticipating growth above 30%. The majority of new AI investment in finance functions is directed toward financial planning, analysis, and reporting.

Bain noted that CFOs who have deployed AI at scale report higher satisfaction with results—over 40% compared to 25% among those still piloting projects. Satisfaction rises above 60% among companies with advanced AI maturity. However, only 15% to 25% of CFOs have scaled AI across finance departments.

The report identified four priorities for CFOs to achieve sustained performance gains from AI: treating speed as a strategic objective, building scalable systems, addressing workflow inefficiencies before deploying AI agents, and avoiding reliance on early pilot outcomes.