CFOs Face Pressure to Deploy AI Quickly While Managing Risk is a Top Challenge from Latest Deloitte Q2 2026 CFO Signals Survey

As AI becomes further embedded across organizations, CFOs cite cost transparency, litigation related to the use of protected or private content, and cybersecurity as key concerns

NEW YORK, July 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ --

Key takeaways

• 96% of finance chiefs say they are somewhat or very confident in their company's AI governance framework, and 93% say their organizations use AI across key operations.
• One in five (19%) CFOs say they have greatest responsibility for AI governance at their companies, emphasizing their growing role in managing cross-functional AI-related risk.
• Balancing pressure to deploy AI quickly while managing potential risks is CFOs' top challenge to developing effective enterprise-wide AI governance frameworks, cited by 59%.

Why this matters
Deloitte's quarterly CFO Signals report is a barometer of CFO sentiment and forward-looking strategies.  Deloitte's CFO Signals reports offer insight into how the stewards of corporate strategy are thinking, investing, and planning for what's next. This quarter's Spotlight article examines how CFOs are approaching AI governance as AI becomes increasingly integrated into finance operations and broader enterprise workflows. The findings show AI is becoming embedded in the business, but governance confidence, cost visibility, and full insight into AI tools and use are posing challenges.

CFOs are scaling AI while managing risk
AI has moved quickly from experimentation to enterprise-wide use, with 93% of CFOs saying their organizations now use it for key operations. In a CFO Signals survey conducted in the first quarter of 2024, 66% of respondents said their companies were experimenting with Generative AI or simply reading and talking about it. In the span of less than three years, nearly all CFOs (93%) now say their organizations use AI across multiple key functions and operations.

Asked to identify the biggest challenges to developing and implementing an effective enterprise-wide AI governance framework, 59% of CFOs cite balancing business pressure to deploy AI quickly while still managing risks. Followed closely by more than half (51%) reporting a lack of governance authority and 43% pointing to insufficient visibility into AI tools or use.

Cost transparency is CFOs' top internal AI concern; litigation and cybersecurity lead external worries
Many surveyed CFOs are focused on whether they have enough transparency to manage AI-related costs and performance. Nearly half (46%) cite cost uncertainty or transparency as their biggest internal concern related to their organization's use of AI.

CFOs are also weighing the external risks that come with enterprise-wide AI adoption. Forty-three percent cite potential litigation stemming from the use of protected or private content as their top external concern related to their organization's use of AI. Cybersecurity ranked second, cited by 41%, while just over a third of respondents (36%) point to regulatory complexity.

More cross-functional responsibilities mean more day-to-day focus on AI
CFOs are already using AI across a wide range of finance operations. More than half of respondents (51%) say their finance functions use AI for operational productivity tasks, such as meeting transcripts, email drafts, and other administrative work. Forty-four percent say they use AI for financial planning and budgeting, and 41% use it to analyze financial data.

As AI's role within the finance function and beyond continues to grow, CFOs may be called on to play a greater role in governance. While CISOs and CIOs were the top two cited owners of AI governance within their organizations, 19% of CFOs then pointed to themselves, ahead of the CEO, boards, and chief risk officers, suggesting finance leaders are increasingly part of the governance conversation as AI becomes further embedded in core business operations.

Key quote
"As AI moves beyond experimentation to everyday use, CFOs are walking a difficult line: how to capture the technology's potential while building the right governance to manage its risks at scale. Our latest CFO Signals Spotlight shows that CFOs are facing a variety of challenges, including balancing pressure to deploy AI quickly within their organizations as they manage risks, the need for clearer cost visibility, and a lack of visibility into how AI is being used across the enterprise. That tension is likely to put CFOs at the center of efforts to bring discipline and accountability to AI strategies."
-Ed Hardy, US Finance Services Leader

The Insights article can be read in full here.

About the report
Deloitte's CFO Signals Q2'26 report polled 200 North American finance chiefs working at companies with at least US $1 billion in revenues, conducted between May 22 and June 7, 2026. This second release of Q2'26 data highlights how CFOs are approaching AI governance.

Our previously released findings on economic sentiment revealed a mixed assessment among respondents, with 37% of CFOs rating the North American economy as "good" or "very good," down four points from last quarter. However, other metrics rose, with 59% saying now is a good time to take risks and 90% feeling positive about their organization's financial prospects over the next twelve months. Growth projections stayed mostly stagnant from Q1'26, with no metric rising or falling by a full percentage point.

The Q2 2026 CFO Signals interactive dashboard is available here.

About Deloitte
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SOURCE Deloitte LLP