Why CFOs must connect finance and technology teams to realize the full value of AI
Good morning. Many CFOs are investing in AI while continuing to take a measured approach, one that may seem overly cautious from the perspective of CIOs.
EY is newly released in 2025 Technology Risk Pulse Surveybased on responses from more than 400 U.S. executives at companies with more than $1 billion in annual revenue, reveals a growing gap between finance and technology leaders regarding AI priorities.
According to additional data shared with Everyday CFO56% of CFOs versus 70-72% of CIOs and CTOs say AI integration is a top priority over the next two to four years. This gap reflects financial prudence that can slow innovation and lead to isolation of AI development, increasing compliance risks and hindering progress, EY said. The survey also found that 77% of CFOs focus their AI efforts on financial reporting, while 83% of IT managers prioritize IT infrastructure.
Jim Okas, vice president of technology risk at EY Americas, and Darryl fundCFOs must act as strategic enablers of transformation, by aligning investment across finance and technology, the insurtech risk leader told me.
Okas warned that siled AI efforts could lead to compliance failures, excessive spending, and missed opportunities for innovation. To avoid this, CFOs, CIOs, and CTOs must align on common principles, jointly manage risks, and ensure that technology investments support the organization as a whole.
Box advises that CFOs can help scale AI by focusing on use cases that drive efficiency and strategic insight. By measuring AI’s ROI and tracking its impact on compliance, productivity and cost, finance leaders can also build trust across the executive suite, he added.
Governance and assurance take center stage
Despite the strategic promise of AI, governance remains a major concern. Overall, 81% of executives rated the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and internal control over financial reporting as “very important” or “extremely important,” and 78% indicated that System and Organizational Controls (SOC) reports are essential for audit preparedness. According to the report.
However, EY shared that among CFOs, the focus is even clearer: 90% of them rated SOC reporting as a high priority. The company describes this as a sign of “financial anxiety” – that is, a desire to strengthen oversight before expanding automation and adoption of artificial intelligence. The survey highlights a central tension: how to innovate responsibly without weakening cyber resilience or organizational integrity.
For CFOs, the question is no longer whether or not to embrace AI, but how to do so with control.
Cheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
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Leaderboards
Earl Ellis He was appointed CFO Panera breada chain of fast food restaurants. Ellis most recently served as Executive Vice President and CFO of ABM Industries. During his tenure, he led global finance, accounting, investor relations and procurement, helped shape the company’s strategic plan, and implemented a multi-year transformation including an enterprise resource planning (ERP) modernization. Prior to ABM, Ellis held senior financial leadership roles at Best Buy, including CFO of Best Buy Canada and Senior Vice President of U.S. Finance, Canada Tire, Campbell Soup Company, Kraft Foods and Coca-Cola.
Big deal
The outage began early in the morning when a wave of reports on Downdetector indicated widespread issues with AWS, which in turn affected hundreds of services that rely on its cloud infrastructure. The company later confirmed that the disruption was due to a Domain Name System (DNS) error affecting the US East 1 region.
Os to publish On its health dashboard it says “All AWS services have returned to normal operations” at 6:53 PM ET on October 20.
Go deeper
“Artificial Intelligence “Protesters”: A Hidden Danger“An analysis by Korn Ferry shows that when employees are asked to use AI, some feel pressure to fake or exaggerate their skills. But what is the cost to companies?
I heard
“With Apple on the verge of joining Nvidia in the $4 trillion market cap club, it’s clear to us that Cook & Co. has finally achieved success with the iPhone 17 and now the Street is waiting for the grand strategic roadmap for AI to be unveiled.”
– Wedbush Securities analysts wrote in a company report on tech giant Apple, released Monday evening. Apple is scheduled to announce its fourth-quarter 2025 earnings on October 30.
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