---
title: "Esker delivers an AI in finance barometer: 72% of budgets exceeded — Marsanne Studio AI watch"
description: "A global Esker barometer shows that 72% of finance departments have exceeded their AI budget, with benefits that are hard to quantify."
url: "https://marsanne.studio/en/ai-watch/esker-delivers-an-ai-in-finance-barometer-72-of-budgets-74c0e3/"
lang: "en"
---

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Data study · 25 September 2026

# Esker delivers an AI in finance barometer: 72% of budgets exceeded

Original title, in French: “Esker livre un baromètre de l'IA en finance : 72 % des budgets dépassés - Le Journal des Entreprises”

**Publication**

Le Journal des Entreprises (France)

**Author**

Unsigned

**Published on**

25 September 2026 · read in the page structured data

## Summary

Lyon-based software vendor Esker has published its 2026 global barometer on finance leaders' trust in AI, based on a survey of 137 chief financial officers (CFOs) and 201 other finance leaders in the United States, the United Kingdom, the EU, Australia and Canada. According to the survey, 72% of respondents spent more than planned on AI initiatives, 65% of CFOs struggle to link the use of AI to tangible results, and 66% suspect their teams of using unapproved AI tools. CFOs are more cautious than other respondents about the autonomy given to AI, particularly for revenue or headcount decisions. The article points out the methodological limits of this self-reported vendor survey, which has no breakdown by European country.

Summary based on the full text of the article.

[Read the article on Le Journal des Entreprises →](https://www.lejournaldesentreprises.com/article/esker-livre-un-barometre-de-lia-en-finance-72-des-budgets-depasses-2147704)

## Figures cited

-   72 %
    
    share of respondents who spent more than planned on AI initiatives over 12 months
    
    338 finance leaders, CFOs and others, August 2026
    
    > « 72 % des répondants indiquent que leur entreprise a dépensé plus que prévu dans des initiatives d'IA sur les douze derniers mois. »
    
    Source: Baromètre mondial 2026 sur la confiance des directions financières, Esker
    
-   75 %
    
    share of CFOs reporting higher costs for AI-related software and subscriptions
    
    CFOs, Esker 2026 barometer
    
    > « Les DAF sont les plus touchés : trois quarts d'entre eux (75 %) signalent un alourdissement des coûts de logiciels et d'abonnements liés à l'IA, contre 45 % pour les autres profils interrogés. »
    
    Source: Baromètre mondial 2026 sur la confiance des directions financières, Esker
    
-   65 %
    
    share of CFOs struggling to link the use of AI to business results
    
    CFOs, Esker 2026 barometer
    
    > « Une proportion comparable, 65 % des DAF contre 40 % des autres répondants, reconnaît avoir du mal à rattacher l'usage de l'IA à des résultats métier tangibles. »
    
    Source: Baromètre mondial 2026 sur la confiance des directions financières, Esker
    
-   32 %
    
    share of finance leaders using AI to recommend actions that their teams then carry out
    
    respondents to the Esker 2026 barometer
    
    > « Selon l'étude, 32 % des responsables financiers utilisent l'IA pour recommander des actions, ensuite exécutées par leurs équipes. »
    
    Source: Baromètre mondial 2026 sur la confiance des directions financières, Esker
    
-   66 %
    
    share of leaders suspecting the use of unapproved AI tools
    
    respondents to the Esker 2026 barometer
    
    > « Enfin, deux tiers des responsables (66 %) savent ou soupçonnent que des collaborateurs de la fonction finance ont recours à des outils d'IA non approuvés par leur entreprise. »
    
    Source: Baromètre mondial 2026 sur la confiance des directions financières, Esker
    

## Classification

**Country**

United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada

**Company size**

Large companies, Mid-sized companies

**Industries**

Banking, insurance, asset management, finance departments

**Companies**

Esker (study author)

**Keywords**

finance department, ai barometer, finance automation, ai budget, ai governance, esker

Entry written by Marsanne Studio from the cited article, with the help of an AI model (claude-sonnet-5). The rights to the article and its illustrations belong to Le Journal des Entreprises. Entry translated from French by Claude Sonnet 5.5.