AI Data Gaps Stall Tax Teams, EY Survey Finds
An EY survey of 1,600 finance and tax leaders across 30 jurisdictions finds insufficient AI-ready data is the top barrier to AI initiatives.
Updated on Nov. 13, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence
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A 2026 EY Tax and Finance Operations Survey of 1,600 CFOs and senior finance and tax leaders across 30 jurisdictions found that 64% cite insufficient AI-ready data as the greatest barrier to advancing AI initiatives. Only 16% consider their tax function highly effective at accessing, organizing, using and reusing data.
Why it matters
The findings suggest that many organizations are still at an early stage of AI maturity, with 71% of respondents at a nascent or exploratory level. Data quality and governance appear to be determining how far AI ambitions can move into execution.
The EY 2026 Tax and Finance Operations Survey, drawing on 1,600 respondents, reports that 61% of organizations rating their data use as ineffective cite data silos and 52% cite poor data quality as key obstacles. Results do not indicate which specific data architectures or AI tools respondents are deploying.
The players
EY
EY is a global professional services firm that provides audit, tax, consulting and advisory services to organizations worldwide.
The details
Organizations are rethinking how technology, talent and external capabilities work together as they move from AI experimentation toward execution. Among organizations already using co-sourcing, 86% report a greater ability to focus on higher-value activities, while 83% say building an agentic workforce is important.
Timeline
- The EY 2026 Tax and Finance Operations Survey was conducted and published in 2026.
- Study findings were published by CPA Practice Advisor on November 13, 2026.
The Tech Race
The jump in tax-function expectations for AI agents from 21% to 77% in a single year, as tracked by the EY 2026 Tax and Finance Operations Survey, shows finance teams pushing toward agentic tools faster than their data foundations are ready. The gap between that expectation and the 71% still at nascent or exploratory maturity defines the competitive bottleneck for professional services firms and their clients.
For finance and tax professionals, the survey signals that investments in data governance and quality may matter as much as the AI tools themselves. Teams that clean and organize their data now are likely to find AI projects easier to move past pilot stages.
The takeaway
Organizations that upskill their teams, build trusted data through strong governance and choose the right external providers are better positioned to turn AI ambition into sustainable value.
Further reading
For broader context on how companies are building AI capabilities, explore our Artificial Intelligence coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by CPA Practice Advisor.
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