SAP sponsored a survey where 66% of CFOs said AI outpaces workforce change. Only 16% aim to cut labour costs.
Economist Enterprise surveyed 2,015 C-suite executives at midsize companies, with revenues of $50 million to $1 billion, in research sponsored by SAP and published on 6 November.
Sixty-six percent of CFOs said AI adoption is moving ahead of workforce transformation.
Cutting labour costs ranked last among CFOs' AI goals, at 16%. Operational efficiency led at 41%, followed by faster innovation at 31%. Modernising legacy systems came in at 30%. Capital availability and financing costs are among the most pressing concerns for 41% of finance leaders.
BCG, cited in SAP's article on the research, puts 70% of the effort in an AI transformation down to people and processes.
For CFOs, an efficiency-led return depends on the workforce change the survey says is lagging. That work sits in the budget the CFO signs. Only 4% of operations leaders said AI and workforce change are advancing as one programme.
Sources
Our file on SAP
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