Research from cloud accounting provider illicit has found the majority of finance leaders feel AI could eventually be a threat to senior finance roles, including their own. The survey took place among 250 UK-based mid-market finance leaders on their AI readiness, usage and concerns.
Over half (51 per cent) feel AI is already a threat to entry-level finance jobs, with 52 per cent claiming AI could eventually impact senior finance roles, too. This opinion was considerably stronger amongst day-to-day operational roles such as Financial Controllers (74 per cent) vs. CFOs (48 per cent) and VPs / FDs (45 per cent).
The majority (92 per cent) surveyed admitted a degree of personal or professional concern about adopting AI within their finance function. Top worries included the need to learn new skills quickly to keep up (36 per cent), the impact on professional reputations if AI makes mistakes (34 per cent), and uncertainty about how it would change career paths (32 per cent).
Again, concerns varied significantly by job role and seniority. Over a third (35 per cent) of Financial Controllers fear feeling less connected to the strategic and analytical side of finance as a result of AI adoption (a fear shared by only 13 per cent of CFOs). The same percentage of Financial Controllers worry about their role being automated or reduced in scope (a fear shared by only 19 per cent of VPs / FDs).
“The data lifts the lid on how finance professionals are really feeling about AI today – and not everyone is on the same page,” commented Rob Steele, CFO of iplicit. “Senior leadership and those further up the chain of command are less fearful, possibly because they understand AI and its future implications better. In most cases, they’ve been exposed to AI earlier through exec leadership meetings and cross-functional collaboration.”