Limelight Software today released its 2026 FP&A Statistics Report, revealing that finance teams are increasing technology spending to record levels while nearly 100% still rely on spreadsheets for monthly planning. The report, which compiles more than 50 benchmarks from sources including Gartner, PwC, and AFP, shows CFOs sponsoring AI adoption and lifting budgets, yet 61% cite inaccurate forecasting as their biggest cost-control problem.
Key findings indicate that 77% of CFOs plan to increase FP&A technology spending in 2025, with 47% expecting a 10%+ rise over 2024. 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 12 months; currently, 28% of finance departments use AI in forecasting, and another 39% plan to adopt it within the next year, according to PwC. The AI in FP&A market is expected to grow at a 34.8% CAGR through 2034.
Despite these investments, spreadsheets remain near universal. Over half of FP&A teams now manage eight or more data categories and 10-plus reporting tools each quarter. Forecast accuracy is the top cost-control obstacle, with 82% of companies making decisions based on stale information and 85% saying outdated data leads directly to lost revenue. Transformation programs are stalling, with 69% progressing slower than planned and 30% failing to hit 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 seeing themselves as primary drivers of business growth. 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% are already using Gen AI in 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 https://www.golimelight.com/blog/financial-planning-analysis-stats.
