"Building these digital capabilities may feel daunting, especially for those finance functions that are early in their digital journeys," the report said. "CFOs must understand the emerging digital implementation 'enablers' that will make digital implementation easier going forward."

Another critical challenge is learning to better tie digital initiatives to an enterprisewide strategy.

"Although digital spending has been accelerating, many CFOs are left wondering about the returns on these investments," according to the report. "To realize returns from digital spending, CFOs must act less like passive reviewers of digital investment proposals and take on a more activist role."

A more activist approach includes working with technology leaders to help them understand how digitalization drives business and financial outcomes. It also means prioritizing funding toward initiatives that impact business key performance indicators, according to Gartner.

Automating the finance function

The survey shows that progress has been slow toward automating the finance function. Still, by 2023, 50% of large finance organizations will use AI to create short-term financial forecasts, according to Gartner.

In addition, Gartner forecasts that by 2025 the top skills sought for financial analysts will include advanced analytics, such as using AI and machine learning, and finance organizations will shave 30% to 50% off the close cycle timeline by using AI to automate decision-making.

"Companies learning how to apply AI to their business objectives today will pull ahead of their competitors, carving out a performance gap that laggards may never be able to fill," the report said. "Prioritizing an AI program in finance now requires little upfront costs and eliminates the risk of falling behind competitors and becoming technologically obsolete when the function is fully autonomous."

Of the CFOs surveyed, 82% expected to spend more time on advanced analytics technology and tools in 2022, but 78% expect it to be difficult to achieve their goals for the tech and tools. When investing in predictive insights for the business, Gartner said CFOs "must separate hype from reality in analytics by gaining a holistic understanding of the underlying innovation trends and the capabilities required for success."

6 considerations in directing digital investments

Looking ahead, Gartner said finance continues to lag behind other fields in incorporating technology innovations to benefit the business. Gartner pointed to six themes that it believes will help CFOs direct their digital investments going forward. Those themes are:

• Investor pressure for ESG outcomes.
• Labor market shortages and lack of digital skills across finance professionals.
• Blockchain use cases in accounting and auditing.
• Digital currency adoption, risks and regulations.
• Profit opportunities from the metaverse and emerging token economy.
• Cybersecurity strategy for autonomous operations.

In the report, Alexander Bant, chief of research for CFOs at Gartner, said 2022 would be a "make-or-break" year for CFOs hoping to take advantage of the value in artificial intelligence (AI), hyper-automation, digital skills, continuous processes and data management. "CFOs who continue to drive toward the future of autonomous finance will unlock immense value for their organization in the years to come," Bant said.