Finance Professionals Rank GenAI Top Skill, Few Get Training

Editorial Staff

23 July 2026

Generative AI tools will be the highest-ranked critical skill for finance professionals in Southeast Asia over the next five years, cited by 39 per cent of respondents, according to a report from ACCA and Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ). The finding comes even as most organisations in the region provide no formal training to build the capability, the report said.

Data visualisation ranked second among critical skills, cited by 34 per cent of respondents, followed by process automation (29 per cent), data storytelling and executive communication (27 per cent), real-time dashboard creation and monitoring (25 per cent) and predictive analytics (24 per cent). More traditional technical skills ranked far lower, including database management (16 per cent) and programming (11 per cent).

The findings, drawn from a global survey of 1,600 finance professionals for the Enabling Finance Insight report, have been released as regulators sharpen their focus on AI governance in financial services. In Singapore, the Monetary Authority of Singapore's FEAT principles and Veritas initiative, together with the Infocomm Media Development Authority's AI governance framework, have pushed financial institutions to formalise their adoption and oversight of AI systems.

The survey also points to a shift in the way finance teams work with data and technology functions, with almost 60 per cent of respondents reporting close collaboration with data and IT teams, against a backdrop of traditional silos breaking down. Globally, strategic priorities (45 per cent) and regulatory requirements (43 per cent) were cited as the main drivers of increased data analysis for business insight.

Despite this, 93 per cent of finance professionals said they were concerned about the integrity and verifiability of AI-generated insights, citing hallucinations, inaccuracies, incomplete data sets, lack of transparency and bias. The report identified data quality issues (42 per cent), a lack of appropriate skills (42 per cent) and difficulty integrating multiple data sources (40 per cent) as the main obstacles finance functions need to address.

Ainslie van Onselen, chief executive officer of CA ANZ, said AI was now part of the finance toolkit but was not a shortcut. "CFOs and finance teams need to use it to sharpen judgement and generate real value, not just speed up old processes," van Onselen said. "That means investing in structured learning and working more closely with IT and data teams. Upskilling isn't optional. It's how you manage the risk."