Latest research from Basware shows majority are investing in technology, but ROI remains elusive
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Calls from boards of directors and executive leadership to "do something with AI" are growing louder, and finance is struggling to answer them. According to a new report from Basware, a global leader in Invoice Lifecycle Management, nearly half of CFOs say they feel increased pressure from company leadership to implement AI across their operations. And while many are investing in agentic AI in response, a majority admit they are largely experimenting with the technology and flying blind when it comes to putting it into practice and delivering ROI.
As revealed in AI to ROI: Unlocking Value with AI Agents report, a global survey conducted by FT Longitude with support from Basware, six in ten (61%) of 200 finance leaders across the US, UK, France and Germany polled say their organization rolled out custom-developed AI agents largely as an experiment, simply to see what the technology could do. And one in four admit they still don't fully understand what an AI agent looks like in practice.
It's a vexing problem, and as they look to the year ahead, CFOs need to focus on solving it.
The Rise of Agentic AI
Two-thirds (66%) of respondents to the Basware survey say there is more hype around agentic AI than any previous technology shift, yet three-quarters are still figuring out the best way to leverage it. And the C-Suite is losing patience.
"We've reached a tipping point where boards and CEOs are done with AI experiments and expecting real results," said Jason Kurtz, CEO, Basware.
And as the Basware research makes clear, agentic AI is the key to delivering them. While overall AI return on investment (ROI) rose from 35% to 67% in the last year, survey data shows agentic AI far - and companies using third-party solutions already embedded with AI agents - outperformed all categories with an average ROI of 80%.
Scoring Easy Wins
"Finance teams that focus on areas where AI can have immediate impact, such as automating accounts payable, improving compliance, reducing errors, and detecting fraud, can deliver these results," Kurtz adds.
Respondents to the Basware survey confirm this, with 72% saying they see accounts payable (AP)-often the most manual and data-heavy part of the finance function-as the most obvious starting point for agentic AI. And it's an area where Basware can deliver quick wins. At the end of the day, AP is a data problem. and Basware is solving it with AI. Over the last 40 years, the company has built the industry's largest set of structured, high-quality AP data and processed more than two billion invoices. And it's applying AI to this data to train its AI agents and deliver context-aware predictions, enabling finance teams to spend less time analyzing and more time deciding and acting. Other areas where they will likely deploy agentic AI:
- Automating invoice capture and data entry (30%)
- Cash flow management (24%)
- Scenario modeling and forecasting (23%)
- Lower operating costs (21%)
- Running real-time risk and market analysis (20%)
- Automating financial reporting and reconciliations (20%)
- Streamlining compliance checks and regulatory filings (19%)
- Detecting duplicate invoices or potential fraud (19%)
- Reducing overpayments or duplicate payments (18%)
Build Vs Buy
Organizations that leverage intelligent platforms like Basware's Invoice Lifecycle Management that are embedded with agentic AI and uniquely designed to drive these processes can deliver the results they're leadership is expecting with greater speed and cost efficiency than cobbling together point solutions or attempting to build their own.
Take InvoiceAI, a solution delivered on the platform that intelligently and securely applies generative and agentic AI, natural language processing and deep learning across the entire invoice lifecycle. Leveraging embedded AI Agents, the solution goes beyond simple automation to autonomously processes invoices and deliver game-changing improvements in speed, accuracy and compliance.
From Hype to Reality - and ROI
But achieving these results requires clear strategies and governance to drive them.
According to the Basware survey, nearly three quarters (71%) of finance teams seeing the weakest returns from AI reported acting under pressure and without direction, compared to 13% of teams achieving strong ROI.
"Our research confirms what we see every day: AI for AI's sake is a waste," Kurtz said. "Agentic AI can deliver transformational results, but only when it is deployed with purpose and discipline. And that means embedding AI directly into finance workflows, grounding agents in trusted data, and governing them like digital employees. This is how AI moves from innovation to impact. And this is what Basware delivers for our customers."
To learn more about Basware's Invoice Lifecycle Management platform and the value it is delivering to enterprises around the globe, click here.
About Basware
Basware is how the world's best finance teams gain complete control of every invoice, every time. Our Intelligent Invoice Lifecycle Management Platform ensures end-to-end efficiency, compliance and control for all invoice transactions. Powered by the world's most sophisticated invoice-centric AI - trained on over 2 billion invoices - Basware's Intelligent Automation drives real ROI by transforming finance operations. We serve 6,500+ customers globally and are trusted by industry leaders including DHL, Heineken and Sony. Fueled by 40 years of specialized expertise with $10+ trillion in total spend handled, we are pioneering the next era of finance. With Basware, now it all just happens.
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