Organisations that adopting artificial intelligence (AI) in finance and operations are growing annual profits 80 per cent faster, according to the Enterprise Strategy Group and Oracle.

The companies surveyed 700 finance and operations leaders across 13 countries and found that emerging technologies - AI, Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain and digital assistants - have passed the adoption tipping point and are now creating significant competitive advantage.

The research revealed that errors in finance organisations have been reduced by 37 per cent on average, while 72 per cent of those using AI have a better understanding of overall business performance.

Meanwhile, 83 per cent of executives believe AI will completely automate financial close processes within the next five years.

Organisations using AI in their supply chains have seen order fulfillment reduction by an average of 6.7 business days, while applying IoT data to supply chain processes helps organisations reduce fulfillment errors by 26 per cent on average.

Those using digital assistants in their supply chains have increased employee productivity by 28 per cent and the speed of analysis by 26 per cent. A further 87 per cent of organisations using blockchain have achieved or exceeded return on investment expectations, with 82 per cent expecting to see significant business value within the next year.

The report found that 78 per cent of executives believed the ability to verify supply chain monitoring with blockchain will reduce incidents of fraud in their supply chain by half or more over the next five years.

Oracle stated that so-called emerging technologies have now become mainstream and 84 per cent of organisations are using at least one of AI, IoT, blockchain or digital assistants.

The survey showed 82 per cent of organisations using three or more emerging technologies are ahead of competitors, compared to only 45 per cent of organisations using none. Those using multiple emerging technologies were 9.5 times more likely to have market-leading financial and operational accuracy.

Companies are also two to three times more likely to purchase pre-built emerging technology solutions than build them on their own, with almost all respondents (91 per cent) considering software-as-as-service applications to be a key enabler of emerging technology.

“This study makes it clear that emerging technologies have passed the trial phase and are moving toward a state of widespread adoption,” said John McKnight, executive vice president of research and analyst services of Enterprise Strategy Group. “The business case for these technologies in areas such as finance and operations is maturing at a rapid pace – and in most cases benefits exceed expectations.

“Furthermore, the research shows that emerging technologies complement and amplify the benefits of one another, which underscores the importance of taking a holistic approach.”

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