Limelight Software released its 2026 FP&A Statistics Report, drawing from more than 50 benchmarks to reveal a finance function caught between rising technology investment and legacy workflows. The report, based on research from Gartner, PwC, AFP, and others, shows that while CFOs are increasing FP&A technology spending and accelerating AI adoption, nearly 100% of finance professionals still rely on spreadsheets for monthly planning, and 82% make decisions on stale data.
Key findings include that 77% of CFOs and senior finance leaders plan to increase FP&A technology spending in 2025, with 47% expecting a 10%+ increase versus 2024, according to Gartner. The FP&A software market is projected to grow from $3.9 billion in 2023 to $9.7 billion by 2031. AI adoption is set to more than double within the next 12 months; currently, 28% of finance departments use AI in forecasting, with another 39% planning to adopt it within the next year, per PwC. The AI in FP&A market is projected to grow at a 34.8% CAGR through 2034.
Despite these investments, spreadsheets remain near universal. Over half of FP&A teams now manage 8+ data categories and 10+ reporting tools each quarter. Forecast accuracy is the top cost-control obstacle for 61% of CFOs, who cite inaccurate forecasting as the single biggest barrier to controlling costs, according to SAP Concur. Additionally, 85% say outdated data leads directly to lost revenue. Transformation programs are stalling, with 69% of finance transformation initiatives progressing slower than planned and 30% failing to hit their goals outright, often due to poor change management.
The CFO role continues to expand, with 82% saying their remit has grown significantly over the past five years, and 81% now see themselves as the primary drivers of business growth. Half are planning a finance restructure. AI is reshaping forecasting first, with 66% of finance leaders saying generative AI will have the biggest immediate impact on explaining forecast and budget variances. In retail and CPG, 55% of finance leaders are already using Gen AI in their forecasting workflows.
Rosie Shea, BDM at Limelight Software, commented: "Finance leaders in 2026 are being pulled in two directions. They're expected to drive strategy, sponsor digital transformation, and accelerate ROI, while still spending most of their week pulling numbers out of spreadsheets. The teams pulling ahead have stopped tolerating that gap. They've centralised their planning data, automated the manual work, and put AI on real forecasting problems rather than treating it as a science project." She added: "What the data really shows is a distance between intent and infrastructure. CFOs are committing larger budgets to FP&A technology and accelerating AI adoption. But nearly 100% of finance professionals are still working in spreadsheets, and 61% point to forecast accuracy as their biggest cost-control problem. Closing that gap is the work of the next two years."
The full report is available at Limelight's FP&A Statistics Report. The implications for the industry are significant: as finance teams invest heavily in new technology, the persistent reliance on spreadsheets and stale data highlights a critical need for integrated, real-time planning environments to improve forecast accuracy and drive business growth.
