Financial services organisations are not short of ambition on technology, but ambition without foundations will not deliver the transformation the sector requires. The KPMG Global Tech Report 2026: Financial Services, based on a survey of 760 technology leaders, finds that 89% identify as innovators or fast followers, yet lasting value depends on data quality, cybersecurity, talent, and governance rather than technology spend alone.

For accountancy and finance leaders, the report is both validation and challenge. It confirms the sector is moving fast, AI adoption is set to scale rapidly, and those who invested in strong foundations are already realising the returns. Three findings define the opportunity: the pace of AI deployment, the outsized value of foundational technology, and the talent constraint that limits both.

AI adoption is expected to accelerate sharply. Today, 26% of financial services technology leaders report deploying AI use cases into production at scale. Within 12 months, 65% expect to reach that stage, a 2.5 times increase. Owen Lewis, Global Lead of AI for Financial Services and Head of Banking and Capital Markets at KPMG in Ireland, is direct: firms need foundations in place to realise value from AI, with cloud capabilities, data governance, and security as the key unlocks.

Foundational technology, not frontier technology, is where the majority of digital value resides. More than half of respondents (52%) report that over 40% of the value they receive from digital technologies comes from foundational and core platforms such as cloud infrastructure, ERP, and CRM tools. Yet 43% say technical debt prevents investment in new programmes, and a third allocate more than 40% of their budget to maintenance rather than growth or transformation.

Talent is the most acute bottleneck. Some 60% of respondents say they have clear plans for digital transformation over the next 24 months but lack the talent to execute. The number one success factor for a technology strategy is having the right skills and talent. For Irish financial services firms competing with multinationals for technology and professional talent, this reinforces the case for structured upskilling and deeper partnerships with professional bodies.

The practical implications for finance and accountancy functions are clear. Audit and finance teams should treat data governance, model oversight, and AI risk management as core competencies rather than technology responsibilities. CFOs should ensure technology investment cases distinguish between maintenance, growth, and transformation spending, and boards should receive regular reporting on AI maturity and talent pipeline health.

The KPMG report describes a sector confident in its direction and clear on what genuine transformation requires. For finance and accountancy leaders in Ireland and globally, the message is straightforward: the foundations built today will determine which organisations lead the Intelligence Age and which simply observe it.

(The views expressed by the writer are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of BusinessRiver.)