Singapore businesses view scaling AI as the biggest challenge: Forrester report
With difficulties in various areas, nearly a third of finance leaders do not plan to expand AI adoption in the coming year
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[SINGAPORE] Singapore businesses are viewing scaling artificial intelligence as a major challenge, says a report commissioned by fintech Airwallex and published by market research company Forrester.
It found that 30 per cent of finance leaders in Singapore do not plan to expand AI adoption over the next year, which signals a shift towards maximising value from existing AI investments.
The study covering 11 markets surveyed more than 1,200 finance decision makers, including 105 in the city-state.
In Singapore, 64 per cent of finance leaders identify fragmented or inconsistent data as a core barrier to scaling AI.
This is consistent with the global figure – 65 per cent of finance leaders across the world cite this as a key barrier.
However, Singapore finance leaders cite limited ability to monitor, test or validate AI outputs as a key technology challenge, above fragmented or inconsistent data.
Skill gaps or limited experience operating AI-enabled finance processes are the biggest barrier to scaling up AI use for both Singapore and global finance leaders.
This was followed by difficulty in building a business case beyond short-term productivity gain for Singapore; among global finance leaders, the issue is risk, compliance or reputational concerns.
Singapore is slightly ahead in AI adoption in finance workflows compared to global figures. In total, about 84 per cent of finance leaders confirm that AI has been adopted in some finance workflows. In Singapore, that number is slightly higher, at 86 per cent.
In Singapore, 46 per cent of finance leaders say that their organisation plans to expand adoption in the next 12 months, compared to 41 per cent globally.
The Republic is also leading in the autonomous AI front, with 18 per cent sharing that their organisation uses AI to execute with minimal human input, compared to 11 per cent globally.
In bookkeeping, close and reporting, 27 per cent of Singapore finance leaders run their AI autonomously with minimal human input, compared to 14 per cent globally.
The top expectation of AI from Singapore finance leaders in the next 12 months is to generate forecasts and what-if scenarios for human decision-making. This was followed by expectations that AI will identify patterns, trends and root causes, providing analysis for humans to make decisions.
The bulk of finance leaders here say that their organisation sources AI-enabled finance capability through a combination of in-house and external services. Seventeen per cent use only in-house teams; another 17 per cent outsource everything to third-party providers.
At wealth platform Endowus, AI is being used to bring previously outsourced finance functions in-house, while enabling the team to be kept small, at four members, said chief financial officer Dominic Ong.
AI has helped to deal with reimbursements, being able to scan receipts and suggest the accounts that the transactions can be parked under.
Endowus’ finance team also uses AI to double-check transactions as well. Ong uses AI for CFO work, creating his own tool with Claude to perform the usual end-of-month checks. “Where previously I would spend more time on basic checks, now I’m doing a CFO check for higher-level issues, where we can add value,” he added.
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