A growing number of leading finance organizations are pulling ahead of their peers by leveraging generative artificial intelligence to reshape how work gets done, according to new research released by The Hackett Group.
The 2025 edition of the consulting firm’s Digital World Class Finance report reveals that top-performing finance departments — dubbed “Digital World Class” — operate at 45% lower cost as a percentage of revenue, deliver executive insights 74% faster, and produce forecasts 57% more quickly than their peers.
These organizations aren’t just cutting costs; they’re reallocating effort toward activities that create value. They spend 68% more time on forward-looking analysis and 42% less time gathering data, using Gen AI to streamline manual tasks and focus on strategic decision-making, according to the report.
Where They Excel: The research identifies five key performance areas in which Digital World Class finance organizations outperform:
- Business Effectiveness: They have 48% lower days sales outstanding and 83% lower average days delinquent.
- Digital Enablement: Customers are 6x more likely to have online account access; suppliers are 7x more likely to use self-service tools.
- Customer & Stakeholder Experience: 42% more stakeholders view finance as a valued business partner, while billing errors are nearly cut in half.
- Operational Efficiency: Close cycles are up to 57% shorter; FTEs in core functions like accounting and planning are reduced by up to 42%.
- Business Process Automation: 99% of journal entries and 80% of accounts payable workflows are fully automated.
Closing the Gap: To help others catch up, the report recommends six levers for modernizing the finance operating model in the Gen AI era:
- Service Design – Redesign processes for agent-assisted and customer-centric workflows.
- Technology – Replace legacy systems with cloud-first platforms and apply Gen AI to analytics and reporting.
- Human Capital – Upskill teams to work with AI and cultivate a culture of innovation.
- Analytics & Information Management – Lead data governance efforts to ensure an AI-ready data foundation.
- Service Partnering – Outsource transactional tasks and work with ethical AI vendors.
- Organization & Governance – Flatten hierarchies and create cross-functional, AI-powered service models.
The report frames Gen AI not as a future investment, but as a current imperative. “Gen AI can’t wait. Neither can you,” it warns, noting that early adopters are already achieving significant performance gains and competitive advantages.
