Research shows growing confidence among consumers and business leaders that robots handle finance tasks better than people
Austin, Texas—February 10, 20212020 has changed our relationship with money, people now trusting robots more than themselves to manage their finances, according to a new study by Oracle and personal finance expert Farnoosh Torabi.
The study of more than 9,000 consumers and business leaders in 14 countries found that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased financial anxiety, sadness, and fear among people around the world and has changed who and what we trust to manage our finances. In addition, people are rethinking the role and focus of corporate finance teams and personal financial advisors, according to the research.
For the UK specifically, business leaders felt far more anxiety and stress than their counterparts around the work with it increasing by 213% in the UK, opposed to 186% globally. However, while UK business leaders agreed that organizations believe need to rethink financial processes, they are 15% less inclined to trust a robot to execute finance related tasks than colleagues around the world. This reticence was also reflected in UK consumers who were 20% less likely to trust a robot over themselves to manage their finances than consumers in other countries.
“The pandemic has been a watershed moment for technology adoption. The financial services sector has innovated swiftly to support customers at a difficult time, and it’s fantastic to see businesses and consumers alike recognising the potential AI has for managing money,” said Felicity Burch, CBI Director of Digital and Innovation. “Trust will underpin the successful adoption of emerging technologies, and so firms must be taking steps like embedding robust governance processes, engaging employees, and addressing unfair bias in data.”
The global pandemic has damaged people’s relationship with money at home and at work.
The financial uncertainty created by COVID-19 has changed who and what we trust to manage our finances. To help navigate financial complexity, consumers and business leaders increasingly trust technology over people to help.
To adapt to the growing influence and role of technology, corporate finance professionals and personal finance advisors alike must embrace change and develop new skills.
The events of 2020 have changed the way consumers think about money and have increased the need for organizations to rethink how they use AI and other new technologies to manage financial processes.
“Managing finances is tough at the best of times, and the financial uncertainty of the global pandemic has exacerbated financial challenges at home and at work,” said Farnoosh Torabi, personal finance expert and host of the So Money podcast. “Robots are well-positioned to assist – they are great with numbers and don’t have the same emotional connection with money. This doesn’t mean finance professionals are going away or being replaced entirely, but the research suggests they should focus on developing additional soft skills as their role evolves.”
“Financial processes in our personal and professional worlds have become increasingly digital for many years and the events of 2020 have accelerated that trend,” said Juergen Lindner, senior vice president, global marketing, Oracle. “Digital is the new normal and technologies such as artificial intelligence and chatbots play a vital role in managing finance. Our research indicates that consumers trust these technologies to accelerate their financial well-being over personal financial advisors and business leaders see this trend reshaping the role of corporate finance professionals. Organizations that don’t embrace these changes risk falling behind their peers and competitors; hurting employee productivity, morale and well-being; and struggling to attract the next generation of AI-empowered finance talent.”
For more information go to: https://www.oracle.com/africa/erp/ai-financials/money-and-machines/
Farnoosh Torabi is a celebrated financial expert, host of the award-winning podcast So Money, and bestselling author of multiple books, including her latest: When She Makes More. She appears frequently on the NBC Today Show and is a columnist for O, The Oprah Magazine, Bloomberg and NextAdvisor, a financial news site powered by Time Magazine. Farnoosh studied finance at Penn State and holds a master’s from The Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. Learn more about Farnoosh at www.farnoosh.tv and follow her on Instagram @farnooshtorabi.
Research findings are based on a survey conducted by Savanta, Inc. between November 10 – December 8, 2020 with 9,001 global respondents from 14 countries (United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands, France, China, India, Australia, Brazil, Japan, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Mexico and Saudi Arabia). The survey explored attitudes and behaviors of consumers and business leaders towards money, finances, budgets, and the role and expectations of artificial intelligence (AI) and robots in financial tasks and management.
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