Finance transformation is only accelerating. AI, automation, cloud technology, and advanced analytics are creating new opportunities for finance teams to improve forecasting, reporting, efficiency, and decision-making. But new research from Lucanet and Ascend2 suggests that the organizations best prepared for this future are distinguished by something more fundamental: the strength of their finance foundation beneath the technology.
To explore what defines finance maturity today, Lucanet partnered with the research firm Ascend2 to survey 425 senior finance decision-makers across France, Germany, the Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Respondents represented organizations with more than €50 million in annual revenue and included senior leaders across finance, accounting, treasury, tax, and related business functions. The survey ran May 1–15, 2026, and the findings are reported at a 95% confidence level.
The resulting report, The Future of Connected Finance: Building Finance Maturity Through Integration, Trusted Data, and AI, reveals both the progress finance organizations are making and the challenges that remain.
Fragmentation is creating real business costs
One of the clearest findings is that disconnected finance environments aren't simply an operational inconvenience; they can have a measurable financial impact.
61% of organizations have experienced financial losses or added costs due to unoptimized finance system infrastructure. Among organizations experiencing these impacts, 44% estimate the cost at €500,000 or more in the past 12 months.
At the same time, fewer than half (47%) of finance leaders fully trust the financial and operational data they use to make key business decisions.
Connected finance is emerging as the foundation for maturity
Across the research, four capabilities consistently distinguish more mature and future-ready finance organizations: modern cloud infrastructure, a single source of truth, connected finance processes, and trusted data. Together, these capabilities form the foundation of connected finance.
The importance of a single source of truth is especially striking. Organizations operating from a unified data source are nearly twice as likely to be very confident in their overall technology stack as organizations without one: 81% compared with 42%.
Finance leaders are also backing transformation with investment. 81% expect their finance technology and system integration budgets to increase over the next 12–24 months.
AI readiness begins before AI
The key takeaway is that successful AI adoption isn't simply about adopting AI.
Organizations operating from a unified data source are more than twice as likely to strongly trust AI-driven financial insights and recommendations: 60% versus 28% among organizations without a unified data source.
The research points to a clear path forward: organizations that want to realize greater value from automation, analytics, and AI first need to reduce fragmentation, improve data quality, integrate finance processes, and establish trusted information foundations.
Download the full Future of Connected Finance report to explore the findings, regional insights, investment priorities, AI trends, and the four pillars that are shaping the next generation of finance.
