A survey of 1,505 CFOs and senior finance executives commissioned by tax software firm Avalara found nearly all of them under pressure to prove that AI spending pays off, while half report only limited measurable return so far. Most said their organizations lack the internal expertise to understand how their AI systems work, and few require records showing how an automated decision was reached. The survey was run in June among companies with at least $10 million in revenue in the US, UK, Australia and India, all of which already use or are testing AI agents.

• 92% of finance leaders feel pressure to show AI returns
• 76% say their organization lacks in-house expertise to understand how their AI works
• 1,505 CFOs and senior finance executives surveyed in June
• only 28% require documented audit logs of AI decisions
• 50% report only limited measurable return from AI agents