AI Transformation Opens Door for Finance Professionals to Build Future-Ready Skills, AICPA and CIMA survey finds

Findings highlight urgent need for upskilling to unlock AI's full potential in finance.

NEW YORK, Dec. 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The AICPA and CIMA today unveiled findings from their Future-Ready Finance: Technology, Productivity, and Skills Survey, revealing a significant gap between finance professionals' expectations of AI's impact and their organizations' readiness to adopt it. The results highlight a opportunity for finance teams to strengthen capabilities and position themselves for success in an AI-driven future.

The survey of 1,446 global senior finance and accounting leaders and managers highlights challenges in the organizational readiness for AI:

• 88% of respondents believe AI will be the most transformative technology trend in accounting and finance over the next 12–24 months.
• Yet only 8% feel their organization is very well prepared to manage the AI trend, while 21% feel their organization is well prepared.
• 56% of respondents identified Generative AI (GenAI) as the most prominent skills gap. This reflects a broader shift in the skills landscape, with IT and technological capabilities moving from a secondary concern (20% in 2021) to the top priority today (46%).

The survey also highlights key barriers to technology adoption, with half of respondents (50%) citing a lack of human capital, skills, and talent as the biggest challenge, closely followed by safety and security concerns (47%) and doubts about technology maturity (42%).

"AI is here and reshaping finance, creating opportunities for finance professionals to build future-ready skills," said Tom Hood, EVP of Business Growth & Engagement at AICPA & CIMA. "Organizations that invest in talent and technology today can turn disruption into a competitive advantage and be best positioned to lead the way tomorrow."

Other key findings of the survey:

• Barriers to productivity: Lack of skills (41%) and low (organizational productivity) motivation (37%), followed by incompatible technology systems and poor coordination in tech implementation (both at 32%), not only hinder organizational productivity but also slow the adoption of new technologies.
• Skills gaps beyond GenAI: Broader technology skills (AI, big data, cloud, IoT, robotics) remain a concern (37%), alongside data and analytics (36%). Significant gaps also persist in key areas such as communication, influencing, and critical thinking (33%) and business partnering (32%).
• Addressing skills gaps: On-the-job training ranks highest (61%) for effective technology upskilling, reflecting a strong preference for practical, just-in-time learning that integrates with daily work.

About the research

AICPA and CIMA's Future-Ready Finance: Technology, Productivity, and Skills Survey gathered insights from 1,446 senior finance and accounting leaders and managers, who are also members of either CIMA or the AICPA, in organizations across the world between August and September 2025. The resulting report, which forms the first phase of a wider study, highlights key trends, skills gaps, and barriers to technology adoption among finance professionals.

About the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, AICPA, and CIMA

The Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (the Association) advances the reputation, employability, and quality of CPAs, CGMA designation holders, and accounting and financial professionals globally. Founded in 2017 by the AICPA and CIMA, it represents 580,000 AICPA and CIMA members, candidates, and registrants in more than 150 countries and territories, advocating for the public interest and business sustainability on current and emerging issues. 

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SOURCE AICPA & CIMA