Coupa: Why Teams Struggle to Translate AI Ambition into ROI

Businesses across the UK are facing an unprecedented barrage of challenges – with mounting economic and operational pressures such as cybersecurity threats, regulatory complexity and geopolitical instability ranking among the top concerns for finance leaders.

As a result, CFOs are being pushed into an increasingly strategic role, balancing cost control with the need to invest in innovation and long-term growth.

The AI implementation gap

There is also the rise of AI, which is rapidly evolving in front of our eyes, and it is becoming more and more vital for the agenda in the corporate world.

New research from Coupa’s latest Strategic CFO Report reveals that while adoption is accelerating, many organisations are struggling to demonstrate its value.

Four in five (80%) UK finance leaders say difficulty quantifying ROI is significantly or moderately hindering further AI investment, highlighting a growing disconnect between ambition and execution.

“CFOs are under intense pressure to deliver both efficiency and growth in an increasingly volatile environment,” says Joao Paulo da Silva, Coupa Regional President, EMEA and APAC.

“AI is now a strategic priority, but without a strong data foundation, it’s difficult to move beyond experimentation.

“Organisations need real-time visibility and control over their spend to unlock the full value of AI and drive measurable outcomes.”

UK business strategy has been transformed by AI, with the tool embedded in the majority of teams.

As well as this, 88% of organisations say it will play a key role in their financial strategy in 2026.

Adoption is already widespread. 70% of UK organisations are using AI in at least some finance and procurement processes. Only 9% have fully integrated it across these functions.

Along with this, confidence in the tools' near-term returns remains limited.

Just 17% of UK organisations expect to realise measurable ROI from AI within the next 12 months, with most anticipating it will take one to two years or longer.

But Coupa’s research suggests it is not AI presenting the challenge, but the data foundations which underpin it.

Overcoming fragmented data

For UK organisations, the path to digital maturity is being blocked by a familiar foe: fragmented data.

According to recent findings, 54% of respondents identify poor data quality and siloed information as the primary hurdles to their digital transformation.

This isn't just a backend IT issue – it’s a systemic lack of visibility that cripples daily financial management.

Currently, 45% of leaders admit they are unable to make informed decisions due to these data limitations, while 17% cite a total lack of spend visibility as their single greatest challenge.

This "data blindness" has a significant domino effect on emerging tech.

Without a unified, real-time view of spend data, companies are finding it impossible to scale AI effectively or accurately measure its return on investment.

In short: you cannot automate what you cannot see.

These internal struggles are playing out against a volatile global backdrop.

Cybersecurity remains the top external threat – cited by 20% of organisations – closely followed by the pressures of geopolitical instability and a tightening regulatory landscape.

The stakes are high.

More than a quarter (26%) of UK finance leaders are "very or extremely concerned" about hitting their financial targets this year.

This creates a palpable tension between the need to maintain immediate profitability and the long-term necessity of investing in transformation.

A dual strategy for growth

To navigate this, UK firms are adopting a dual approach strategy: tightening the belt through financial controls while simultaneously betting big on efficiency-driving tech.

The priorities are clear:

• Intelligence: 65% are doubling down on data-driven insights to sharpen sourcing
• Efficiency: 62% are deploying AI and automation to strip away manual labour
• Connection: 62% are focusing on deeper supplier collaboration to gain better cost control.

The incentive for solving the data puzzle is substantial.

Organisations estimate that by consolidating all spend data into a single, unified platform, they could save an average of 21 hours per month.

In an era of shrinking margins and rising threats, reclaiming nearly three full workdays every month could be the competitive edge that defines the coming year.

“AI has the potential to transform how organisations manage spend, mitigate risk and improve resilience,” Joao Paulo adds.