Signal Strategy-leading finance leaders outpace supporting peers on cloud, AI value, and agent integration

Summary

Deloitte compares finance leaders who lead strategy with those who only support it and finds the leaders further ahead on technology. Nearly half of the strategy leaders, 48%, deploy cloud solutions to optimize costs, compared with 33% of supporters. They are also more likely to use AI and automation to close productivity gaps, at 43% against 36%. More than a third, 37%, say their AI investments already deliver clear and measurable value, versus 17% of supporters. The widest gap concerns agents, with 48% reporting AI agents fully integrated into specific finance areas against 18%, a 30-point difference. The report argues that such systematic use of technology helps these leaders manage a wider scope and reposition finance as a proactive partner.