Finance leaders struggle to link AI spend to results

CloudZero has published research showing that 78% of finance executives cannot fully connect AI spending to business outcomes, highlighting growing pressure on finance teams to prove returns on AI investment.

The findings are based on a survey of 260 senior finance professionals, more than half of whom were Chief Financial Officers. The research found that 87% of finance leaders need to tie AI spending to business results within the next year, but only 22% can do so today.

The gap appears to be widening as boards demand clearer evidence that AI projects are delivering value. Two-thirds of boards represented in the survey now make further AI funding conditional on proof of return, while 43% of finance leaders said they are already being asked for a figure they cannot provide.

That pressure is affecting day-to-day financial management. Nearly half of respondents (46%) said managing AI spending is now the most stressful part of their job.

Spending pressure

The research suggests many organisations are increasing AI budgets without the measurement systems needed to assess whether that spending is justified. Some 60% of respondents said they strongly agree or agree with the statement, "We're spending more on AI than we can currently justify with measurable outcomes."

For many finance teams, the issue is not just the scale of spending but the budget structures used to govern it. Traditional budgeting methods become less reliable as AI accounts for a larger share of corporate expenditure, the survey found.

Over-budget spikes rise from 7% to 64% as AI takes up more of the total spending. At the same time, the size of those overruns does not appear to reliably predict whether an initiative will be shut down, suggesting companies are still struggling to decide which projects deserve continued backing.

That uncertainty is affecting investment decisions. Three-quarters of teams that cannot measure AI outcomes have held back on AI investment, while 35% have ended an initiative altogether.

ROI gap

The survey also found that 64% of respondents believe outcome-based return on investment would fundamentally change how they invest in AI. The figure underscores how many finance leaders view measurement not as a reporting exercise but as a prerequisite for deciding where to allocate additional spending.

Access to faster spending data appears to influence the willingness to invest. Finance teams receiving AI spend data within a day were twice as likely to invest aggressively as those waiting for a monthly bill, according to the survey.

They were also four times as likely to plan for at least 50% growth in AI spending. The finding suggests visibility into costs is shaping not only oversight but also the pace at which companies are prepared to expand their AI programmes.

The data reflects a broader shift in how finance departments are being drawn into decisions around AI deployment. While technology and product teams often lead implementation, boards and senior management are increasingly turning to finance leaders to judge whether those deployments are producing measurable business results.

In practice, that means finance departments are expected to move beyond tracking invoices and budget lines. They are being asked to establish a direct link between AI spending and outcomes such as revenue, efficiency, customer activity or product performance, even when the systems needed to make those links remain incomplete.

CloudZero, which focuses on cloud cost and AI spending analysis, framed the issue as one of measurement and visibility. As AI use spreads across organisations, established financial controls are proving too slow or too broad to show what individual initiatives cost and what they deliver, it argued.

"Being able to tie AI spend to business outcomes is about far more than tying numbers. Finance teams that have visibility into AI ROI from day one invest more confidently in AI initiatives, get surprised less often, and can build sustainable AI initiatives to drive the business forward. Progress is being made, but organizations need strong, accurate measurement tools now," said Dan Carducci, Vice President of Finance, CloudZero.

The results add to growing evidence that companies face a governance challenge as AI spending becomes more common. Boards appear willing to continue funding projects, but the survey suggests they want clearer evidence that investment decisions are tied to measurable returns rather than to experimentation alone.

For finance leaders, that leaves a narrow window to build systems that can account for AI costs in greater detail and relate them to operational or commercial outcomes. Without that visibility, many companies may continue to slow investment, overspend without confidence, or stop projects before they can show whether they work.

Among those surveyed, one statistic captured the challenge clearly: fewer than a quarter of finance leaders said they can currently tie AI spending to business results.