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What This Report Is About
This report synthesises evidence on how artificial intelligence and digital technologies are affecting business practices, firm productivity, financial reporting, and auditing. It draws on firm-level data, regulatory sources, and academic literature to map adoption patterns, productivity effects, and the transformation of corporate reporting between 2015 and 2025.
Five dimensions are examined: AI adoption patterns across sectors and firm sizes, productivity and financial performance effects, the transformation of auditing and management control, country-level digital readiness and regulation including the EU AI Act, and corporate AI investment disclosures.
Key Findings
AI adoption has more than doubled since 2023, but the gap between large firms and SMEs is widening. OECD firm-level AI adoption rose from 8.7 per cent in 2023 to 20.2 per cent in 2025. Large firms (250+ employees) reached 52 per cent adoption in 2025, compared to 17.4 per cent for small firms. The absolute gap grew from 28.5 percentage points in 2024. Fastest recent growth is in accommodation and food services (62.5 per cent year-on-year) and construction (59.1 per cent), sectors that started from a low base.
Most firms report zero measurable return on AI investment. A PwC survey found 56 per cent of CEOs reported no measurable AI ROI. Only 6 per cent of organisations achieve significant enterprise-wide impact. A small elite of so-called "GenAI high performers" captures disproportionate returns: they earn USD 10.30 per dollar invested, nearly three times the average. Productivity gains follow a J-shaped pattern with a temporary dip during restructuring.
Audit is being transformed from sample-based to population-based analysis. The Big Four accounting firms have invested billions in AI platforms. EY Helix now analyses 100 per cent of client journal entries rather than samples. KPMG committed USD 2 billion over five years to digital transformation. The UK Financial Reporting Council and the US PCAOB have both raised concerns about whether audit quality controls are keeping pace with AI deployment speed.
Key Statistics
8.7% to 20.2%: OECD firm-level AI adoption doubled between 2023 and 2025
52.0%: large-firm AI adoption in 2025 vs. 17.4% for small firms
57.3%: ICT sector AI adoption (highest); 7.8%: accommodation/food services
4-15%: estimated firm-level productivity gains from AI
56% of CEOs report zero measurable AI ROI
USD 1 billion: PwC investment in generative AI (2023)
72% of S&P 500 firms now disclose AI-related risks (up from 12% in 2023)
7% of global annual turnover: maximum penalty under the EU AI Act
14 AI-related securities class actions filed in the US in 2024 (up from 7 in 2023)
Singapore ranks first globally in digital competitiveness (IMD score: 100.0)
Regulatory Developments
The EU AI Act, effective August 2024 with phased compliance through 2030, is the world's first comprehensive AI regulation. It classifies AI systems by risk level and imposes the heaviest penalties on prohibited practices. For US-listed firms, AI-related risk disclosures in 10-K filings have grown six-fold: from 12 per cent of S&P 500 firms in 2023 to 72 per cent in 2025. The number of AI-related securities class actions doubled from 7 in 2023 to 14 in 2024, signalling growing litigation risk around AI claims.
Why It Matters
The gap between AI's potential and its measured impact is one of the most important puzzles in business research. Understanding why most firms fail to convert AI investment into measurable returns, and what distinguishes the small group that succeeds, is central to both academic research and practical decision-making. For accounting scholars, the transformation of audit methodology from sampling to full-population analysis raises fundamental questions about the nature of assurance and the skills the profession will need.