The relationship to money has changed considerably in recent years, and probably even more so last year. Artificial intelligence, digital assistant, bot, the tools are now numerous to manage one’s finances. According to a study by Farnoosh Torabi, an American journalist and recognized expert in financial management, consumers are now more confident in using an AI for this type of operation.

The Oracle survey was conducted among more than 9,000 consumers and executives in 14 countries including France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the United States, India and Brazil. It reveals that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased financial anxiety, sadness and fear among citizens around the world. Confidence has also shifted, particularly with regard to financial management. The study highlights this shift in the role and focus of corporate finance teams and consumer financial advisors.

“Financial management is difficult at the best of times, and the financial uncertainty of the global pandemic has exacerbated financial problems in professional and personal settings,” said Farnoosh Torabi, an expert on personal finance topics and host of the So Money podcast.

“Robots are in a good position to help – they’re good with numbers and don’t have the same emotional connection as humans have to money. This doesn’t mean that financial professionals will disappear or be 100% replaced, but research suggests that they should focus on developing additional soft skills as their role evolves.

COVID-19, responsible for more anxiety, sadness and fear about financial issues

The pandemic has had a negative impact on people’s relationship with money both at home and at work.

• Among French executives, finance-related anxiety and stress increased by +400% and sadness by +160%; among consumers worldwide, this stress and anxiety more than doubled to 70%.
• 90% of executives in France are worried about the impact of VIDOC-19 on their company, with the most common concerns focusing on the slow economic recovery or recession (47%), budget cuts (31%) and bankruptcy (31%).
• 85% of French consumers have financial concerns, including the loss of their savings (40%), the loss of their job (39%), and never being able to pay off their debts (27%).
• These concerns keep people awake at night: 30% of French consumers reported losing sleep because of their personal financial situations. There are 40% in the world who have trouble sleeping because of this issue.

“Financial processes in our personal and professional spheres have been highly digitized for many years and the events of 2020 have accelerated this trend,” says Juergen Lindner, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing, Oracle.

“Digital is becoming the norm and technologies such as artificial intelligence and chatbots are playing an increasingly important role in financial management. Our study shows that consumers trust these technologies to accelerate their financial well-being rather than human financial advisors. Business leaders are realizing that this trend is changing the role of financial professionals in the workplace. Organizations that do not make these changes risk falling behind their competitors, undermining employee productivity and well-being, and having difficulty attracting the next generation of financial talent who are more accustomed to working with artificial intelligence.

AI seems to be the human being’s best ally for financial management

The financial uncertainty generated by VIDOC-19 has shaken confidence in financial management capabilities. To cope better with financial complexity, consumers and executives are increasingly relying on technology rather than people to help them.

• 56% of consumers and executives in France trust an AI more than a human to manage their finances. They are 67% internationally to think so.
• 73% of executives in France trust an AI more than they trust themselves to manage their finances, and 76% trust an AI more than their own financial teams.
• 86% of French executives believe that an AI can improve their work by detecting fraud (29%), creating invoices (20%) and performing cost-benefit analyses (21%).
• 53% of consumers worldwide trust an AI more than they do themselves to manage their finances; 63% trust an AI rather than personal financial advisors.
• 66% of consumers think that an AI can help them manage their personal finances by helping them detect fraud (33%), reduce expenses (22%) and make stock market investments (15%).

The role of financial teams and financial advisors has changed forever
To adapt to the growing influence and role of technology, corporate finance professionals and financial advisors must accept that their jobs will evolve and develop new skills.

• 52% of French executives believe that AI will replace corporate finance professionals in the next five years. They are 56% worldwide.
• 85% of executives want IA to help them with their financial tasks (79% in France), including approving financing (43%), budgeting and forecasting (39%), reporting (38%) and compliance and risk management (38%).
• Executives want finance professionals to focus on communicating with clients (40%), negotiating discounts (37%) and approving transactions (31%).
• 42% of consumers worldwide believe that AI will replace personal financial advisors in the next five years.
• 76% of consumers want AI to help them manage their finances by freeing up time (33%), reducing unnecessary expenses (31%) and increasing the timeliness of payments (25%).
• Consumers want financial advisors to guide them in making important purchase decisions, such as buying a home (45%), a car (41%) and planning for retirement (38%).

A relationship with money that has changed in the face of a more financially demanding AI

The events of 2020 have changed the way consumers think about money. It has also increased the need for businesses to rethink the way they use AI and other new technologies to manage financial processes.

• 60% of consumers worldwide say the pandemic has changed their buying habits. In France, only 45% think so.
• 87% of the world’s top executives say that organizations that do not rethink their financial processes will face risks, including falling behind their competitors (44%), more stressed workers (36%), inaccurate reporting (36%) and lower employee productivity (35%).
• 72% of consumers say the events of 2020 have changed their perception of cash, with people feeling anxious (26%), fearful (23%) and dirty (19%) when touching cash. More than a quarter (29%) of consumers now say they are running away from stores that only accept cash.
• But companies have reacted quickly. 69% of executives have invested in digital payment capabilities and 64% have created new forms of engagement with customers, or even changed their business models in response to VIDOC-19.
• Globally, 51% of companies are already using AI to manage their financial processes, compared to 27% of consumers.
• In France, 83% of executives say that organizations that do not review their financial processes face risks, including lagging behind competitors (41%), inaccurate activity reports (27%), more stressed employees (23%), and reduced employee productivity (23%).

Methodology

The results of this study are based on a survey conducted by Savanta, Inc. between November 10 and December 8, 2020, in which 9,001 respondents from 14 countries (United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands, France, China, India, Australia, Brazil, Japan, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Mexico and Saudi Arabia) took part. The survey focused on the attitudes and behaviours of consumers and executives towards money, finance, budgets, and the role and expectations of artificial intelligence (AI) and robots in financial tasks and management.

To read the complete study: Money & Machines, 2021 Global Study

Translated from Utiliser l’IA pour gérer les finances : 56% des Français selon une étude Oracle