Signal 41% of early-stage teams cite legacy technology as an AI barrier against 31% of AI leaders

Summary

Deloitte finds that outdated technology weighs more heavily on finance teams early in their AI journey. Among these early-stage teams, 41% name legacy technology as a barrier to AI adoption, compared with 31% of those the report calls AI leaders. AI leaders, numbering 182 respondents, have fully deployed AI, delivered measurable value and integrated agents into the finance function. The early-stage group of 1,048 has not yet fully deployed AI use cases or shown measurable value. The report observes that these earlier adopters are struggling with the burden of legacy infrastructure, and several interviewees are working through ERP modernization. Unclear return on investment is another obstacle that falls more heavily on the early group.