New research from the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV), conducted in collaboration with Oracle, highlights how finance functions are shifting structurally—from retrospective scorekeepers to active drivers of enterprise performance—as organizations adapt to AI-driven business models and increasing market volatility. This shift is creating a widening performance gap between finance organizations that operate with speed and strategic influence, and those still constrained by traditional models.
Based on a global survey of 600 finance leaders across 15 geographies and 18 industries, only 12% of organizations demonstrate advanced maturity in both strategic influence and digital agility—two capabilities that increasingly define finance’s role in modern enterprises.
These leading organizations are going beyond tracking outcomes to shaping them, embedding finance into decision-making processes and enabling faster, more adaptive responses to change.
Decision Orchestration
The report frames a fundamental redefinition of finance. Rather than focusing primarily on reporting and control, finance is becoming a decision-centric function that guides investment, prioritization, and execution across the enterprise.
Finance teams are now expected to dynamically allocate capital, model evolving risks and opportunities, and continuously evaluate whether transformation initiatives are delivering value. This is particularly critical in an AI-driven environment, where not all initiatives deliver equal value and the ability to distinguish between short-term gains and long-term bets becomes a competitive advantage.
However, adoption of this model remains uneven. The report shows that while 35% of finance teams regularly collaborate on innovation planning, only 13% play a true strategic role in guiding transformation.
Performance Divide
The research identifies a stark divide between advanced finance organizations and their peers. Those that combine strategic influence with digital agility outperform across multiple dimensions.
They execute strategy more effectively (63% versus 46%), make innovation-funding decisions 19% faster, and achieve higher returns from ERP and EPM modernization investments.
The underlying difference lies in how finance operates. Advanced organizations embed finance directly into transformation governance, investment prioritization, and technology decision-making. Per the report, 80% operate with dedicated finance leadership in transformation offices, and 92% report strong alignment between finance and technology functions.
This integration allows finance to influence what gets funded, how initiatives are sequenced, and which programs scale, shifting its role from oversight to orchestration.
Free from Rigid Planning Models
One of the most significant barriers to this evolution is the persistence of traditional financial planning structures.
Despite growing market volatility, most organizations still rely on fixed budgets and annual planning cycles. Only 8% of finance functions operate with fully dynamic planning processes, according to the report, while the majority remain only partially adaptive.
Advanced organizations take a different approach. They adopt agile budgeting and continuously reallocate capital to higher-value opportunities, often in near real time. This shift toward value-based finance enables faster responses to changing conditions and closer alignment between strategy and execution.
Technology plays a central role in enabling this transition. Modernized enterprise performance management (EPM) platforms integrate data, automate workflows, and provide near-real-time insights. As a result, 82% of advanced organizations report improved decision-making timeliness, with many also achieving faster and more accurate forecasting.
AI as Driver and Dependency
While many organizations are still piloting AI in isolated use cases, only 7% have fully operationalized AI-powered forecasting at scale, per the report.
In contrast, advanced finance organizations are embedding AI directly into planning, forecasting, and performance management workflows. Approximately 86% have integrated AI with planning systems, enabling faster, more informed decision-making.
This integration is supported by strong governance and workforce transformation. Nearly all advanced organizations prioritize reskilling for AI, with 62% already training staff in data and digital capabilities. Over time, this is expected to reshape finance roles, with a significant portion augmented by AI-driven tools.
Crucially, finance also plays a central role in evaluating AI investments. Leading organizations move beyond traditional financial metrics, incorporating broader measures such as customer impact, employee experience, and risk mitigation to assess value.
The emerging model of finance is defined by speed, integration, and adaptability. It replaces static planning with continuous reallocation, siloed decision-making with cross-functional coordination, and retrospective reporting with forward-looking intelligence.
For the majority of organizations still operating in traditional models, the challenge is not simply adopting new tools but fundamentally rethinking how finance contributes to enterprise value.
What This Means for ERP Insiders
Finance is a decision engine, not just a reporting function. Leading organizations embed finance into transformation governance and investment decisions, enabling it to shape strategy and execution rather than evaluate outcomes after the fact.
Dynamic planning is replacing static budgeting, but adoption remains limited. While only a small percentage of organizations operate fully dynamic financial models, those that do gain a significant advantage in reallocating capital and responding to change in real time.
AI and finance transformation are mutually reinforcing. Scaling AI in finance improves forecasting and decision-making, but also depends on integrated data, governance, and workforce readiness—making finance a critical enabler of enterprise-wide AI adoption.
