RGP CFO Survey Shows Growing Divide Between AI Ambition and AI Readiness

Data, technical debt, governance, and skill gaps are among the biggest barriers to AI ROI according to RGP’s latest research

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--RGP® (Nasdaq: RGP), a global professional services firm, today released its latest flagship study, The AI Foundational Divide: From Ambition to Readiness, a comprehensive report examining the widening gap between soaring AI expectations and the operational readiness required to realize measurable value. The findings reveal a finance landscape that is racing toward an AI-powered future, yet constrained by fragile data foundations, legacy systems, slow-maturing governance, and widening workforce capability gaps.

The report surfaces a striking contradiction at the center of modern finance: although 66% of CFOs expect significant AI ROI within two years, only 14% report meaningful value today. Based on insights from 200 U.S. CFOs across the technology, healthcare, financial services, and CPG/retail industries, the study finds that optimism persists despite deep structural barriers, from data trust issues (only 10% fully trust enterprise data), to technical debt (86% say legacy systems limit AI readiness) and skills shortages that threaten to slow adoption.

“AI ambition is accelerating, but enterprise foundations have not kept pace,” said Scott Rottmann, President of Consulting Services at RGP. “CFOs are emerging as the orchestrators of enterprise transformation, but turning AI’s promise into performance requires strengthening the systems, data, and talent that make AI scale with confidence.”

Key insights uncovered in the report include:

CFOs have emerged as enterprise AI integrators across strategy and cross-functional change: Nearly half of CFOs (48%) say they are ultimately responsible for ensuring AI delivers measurable value – more than any other C-suite role. CFO influence is rapidly expanding across investment, risk, talent strategy, and digital transformation.

Data remains the single greatest inhibitor of AI success: More than one-third of CFOs (35%) cite data trust as their top barrier to AI ROI, yet investment in data foundations remains limited. This disconnect between recognition and resourcing increases the likelihood that AI initiatives will stall before they scale, undercutting long-term impact and slowing enterprise adoption.

Governance is emerging, but uneven: While 69% of CFOs report advanced or established AI risk governance frameworks, 31% still report developing or ad hoc/informal frameworks, leaving room for continued growth and maturity. As AI becomes more deeply embedded in operations, decision-making, and customer-facing workflows, organizations will need to continue establishing coordinated governance approaches to improve consistency, clarity, and risk awareness at scale.

Workforce readiness is falling behind AI ambition: More than two-thirds of CFOs (68%) cite skills gaps among the most significant challenges to achieving AI ROI, while CFO-CHRO collaboration has weakened for one in four organizations. This shift threatens the talent foundation required for AI transformation.

The performance gap between the largest enterprises and mid-market firms is widening: CFOs at $10B+ companies report stronger data foundations, more mature governance, faster AI adoption, and earlier and higher ROI, creating a competitive divide that smaller firms must close deliberately.

The Path Forward: Strengthen Foundations to Unlock AI ROI

The research outlines specific actions CFOs can take now to close the divide between vision and execution, including modernizing data architecture, reducing technical debt, establishing clear governance ownership, building cross-functional talent strategies, and shifting from cost-centric to performance-driven AI metrics such as forecast accuracy, decision velocity, and risk reduction.

“The message for 2026 is clear: CFOs who lead boldly, modernize intentionally, and build the cross-functional muscle for AI adoption will define the next decade of enterprise performance,” said Rottmann. “AI readiness is not just a technology mandate – it’s a new blueprint for finance leadership.”

ABOUT RGP

RGP (Nasdaq: RGP) is an award-winning global professional services firm with three decades of experience helping the world’s top organizations navigate change and seize opportunity. With three integrated offerings—On-Demand Talent, Consulting, and Outsourced Services—we provide CFOs and other C-suite leaders with the flexibility to solve today’s most pressing challenges on their terms, uniting strategy, execution, and talent across accounting and finance, digital transformation, data, and cloud, at a global scale. Our people-first approach continues to drive innovation across industries worldwide.

Based in Dallas, TX, with offices worldwide, we annually engage with over 1,600 clients around the world from 41 physical practice offices and multiple virtual offices. As of May 2025, RGP is proud to have served 88 percent of the Fortune 100 and has been recognized by U.S. News & World Report (2024-2025 Best Companies to Work for) and Forbes (America’s Best Management Consulting Firms 2025, America’s Best Midsize Employers 2025, World’s Best Management Consulting Firms 2024).

The Company is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, the exchange’s highest tier by listing standards. To learn more about RGP, visit: http://www.rgp.com. (RGP-F)