Limelight Software released its 2026 FP&A Statistics Report on May 26, revealing a finance function caught between rising technology investment and legacy workflows. The report, which compiles more than 50 benchmarks, shows that 77% of CFOs plan to increase FP&A technology spending in 2025, with 47% expecting a 10%+ increase. The FP&A software market is projected to grow from $3.9 billion in 2023 to $9.7 billion by 2031. Despite this, nearly 100% of finance professionals still use spreadsheets for monthly planning, and 82% make decisions based on stale data.
AI adoption is set to more than double within the next 12 months. Currently, 28% of finance departments use AI in forecasting, while another 39% plan to adopt it within the year, according to PwC. The AI in FP&A market is projected to grow at a 34.8% CAGR through 2034. However, 61% of CFOs cite inaccurate forecasting as the biggest barrier to controlling costs, and 85% say outdated data leads directly to lost revenue.
Transformation programs are stalling, with 69% progressing slower than planned and 30% failing to meet goals entirely, often due to poor change management. The CFO role continues to expand, with 82% reporting a significantly broader remit and 81% 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 variances, and 55% of retail and CPG finance leaders already using Gen AI in forecasting.
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." 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. Limelight Software is a cloud FP&A platform used by organizations including TED and Conservation International.
