Tipalti’s 2026 Global Finance Outlook Index Reveals AI Adoption Has Tripled, Yet Finance Teams Remain Unprepared for Global Complexity

Despite rapid advances in automation, 86% of finance professionals face increasing workloads, while trust, security, and readiness remain critical challenges

FOSTER CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tipalti, the agentic AI platform built for finance, today released its 2026 Global Finance Outlook Index, revealing a growing disconnect between the rapid adoption of AI and organizations’ ability to navigate an increasingly complex global economy.

Now in its second year, the annual research surveyed more than 2,100 finance professionals across North America and Europe. The findings point to a significant transformation underway: fully automated accounts payable (AP) operations have more than quadrupled in the past year, rising from 7% in 2025 to 31% in 2026. Adoption of AI-powered tools and agents has followed a similar trajectory, surging from 14% to 46%.

That progress, however, has yet to alleviate the mounting pressures on finance teams. More than eight in ten finance professionals report increasing workloads, and fewer than one in four (23%) feel very prepared to manage the financial complexity of international growth. As AI plays a greater role in finance, the findings also point to a growing need to balance automation with the trust, security, and control teams need to confidently navigate change.

“As AI becomes more deeply embedded in finance, the conversation needs to shift from what technology can automate to what businesses can confidently entrust it to do,” said Rob Israch, President of Tipalti. “Adoption is accelerating, but many organizations are still grappling with the same inefficiencies, fragmented processes, and limited visibility that have held finance teams back for years. True transformation isn’t measured by how much AI a business adopts, but by its ability to translate that technology into greater accuracy, efficiency, control, and adaptability in an increasingly unpredictable global economy.”

AI Adoption Accelerates, Raising the Stakes for Trust and Control

The pace of AI adoption signals a fundamental shift in how organizations approach finance automation. Nearly half (46%) of finance teams have implemented AI-powered tools or agents, a 224% increase from 2025. However, a closer look reveals the disconnect between perceived automation and AI maturity, and day-to-day reality. Although 31% describe their AP operations as fully automated, 66% say their automation primarily involves OCR and invoice digitization, with just 6% having achieved fully automated operations powered by agentic AI. These findings suggest that many organizations are still using AI to automate individual tasks rather than transforming end-to-end finance processes.

The benefits of automation are already becoming tangible for organizations implementing these technologies: 48% report time savings, 33% have experienced faster invoice coding or approvals, and 30% cite faster month-end close, a 31% increase from 2025.

Greater adoption also brings heightened expectations around trust and control. Data security (36%) and accuracy (33%) are among the leading barriers to AP automation, with another 30% citing concerns specifically related to control and trust in AI. The findings suggest the next stage of adoption will depend not simply on what organizations can automate, but whether finance leaders can trust those systems to operate accurately, securely, and with the appropriate level of oversight.

Economic Volatility Raises the Stakes for Finance

External pressures are making that need for trusted, adaptable finance operations increasingly urgent. Global economic and policy shifts have introduced greater volatility in financial forecasts over the past year for more than three-quarters (78%) of respondents. Meanwhile, uncertainty surrounding trade policy and tariffs has slowed investment and growth plans for 52% of organizations. Just 30% plan to expand into new countries over the next 12 to 24 months, down 14% from 2025.

The challenges extend beyond economic uncertainty to an increasingly complex regulatory and risk environment. 61% say increasing regulatory and compliance complexity has prompted them to reconsider how they manage AP. Cyber threats (73%) and fraud (63%) are also growing concerns, but confidence in existing safeguards remains limited: only 21% are very confident their existing processes would detect a fraudulent vendor payment change before funds are disbursed. This underscores the gap between awareness of emerging risks and confidence in organizations’ ability to manage them.

That uncertainty extends to broader operational resilience. Only 23% feel very prepared to manage the financial complexity of international growth, and confidence drops even further when it comes to navigating disruption—just 17% believe their current finance systems could absorb a significant economic or policy shift and adapt quickly.

More Responsibility Is Landing on Finance Teams

As external complexity grows, finance teams are simultaneously being tasked with taking on a more strategic role. More than three-quarters (77%) say finance is being asked to play a greater role in driving business growth, even as 66% have experienced an increase in manual work over the past year. Finance professionals still spend an average of 10 hours per week on manual AP tasks, equivalent to approximately 65 working days annually.

Inefficient processes are also creating broader consequences. 30% have experienced delayed monthly closes due to inefficient AP processes, a 31% increase from 2025. Another 30% report resulting compliance or risk issues, up 28% year-over-year, and nearly one in five (19%) say finance team members have left their organizations due to inefficient processes.

Addressing this operational strain requires more than additional headcount: 90% agree that effectively scaling AP requires the right technology, as well as staffing.

Finance Leaders Are Building for What Comes Next

Even amid these mounting pressures, organizations are taking meaningful steps toward building more resilient finance operations. More than half (57%) have a clear plan to modernize AP within the next 12 months, prioritizing overall AP automation, AI, and data security and privacy as the three most critical investments for the future.

Early indicators suggest more advanced automation could play an important role in improving organizational readiness. Compared with the overall respondent average, organizations with fully automated, agentic AI-powered AP operations were 91% more likely to feel very prepared for global growth and 184% more likely to believe their systems could adapt quickly to major economic or policy changes.

These investment priorities also reflect a growing emphasis on measurable business outcomes. With adequate investment, 45% anticipate greater AP efficiency, 42% expect less manual work, and 38% foresee a reduced risk of fraud. Taken together, the findings suggest that organizations are increasingly focused on translating technological progress into the trusted, adaptable finance operations needed to support future growth and navigate disruption.

To explore the complete findings from The 2026 Global Finance Outlook Index, visit here.

Research Methodology

The 2026 Global Finance Outlook Index was conducted in partnership with Kickstand between August 3 and August 24, 2026. The survey included 2,116 full-time finance, procurement, and AP professionals employed at organizations with at least 20 employees across the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands. The research was conducted at a 95% confidence level with a margin of error of ±2.1%.

About Tipalti

Finance complexity shouldn't slow business down. Tipalti's trusted agentic AI platform gives mid-market businesses the speed, control, and confidence to scale, processing $100B+ in annualized total payment volume in 120 currencies for 6,500+ customers across 200+ countries and territories. Spanning accounts payable, mass payments, procurement, expenses, cards, and treasury, we simplify the complexity so finance teams can focus on what matters. Tipalti partners with Citi, Wells Fargo, J.P. Morgan, and Visa to pay millions of suppliers and payees worldwide. Learn more at: https://www.tipalti.com.