Lack of governance a barrier to AI uptake, survey finds
As AI uptake continues to grow, a new survey has found that a majority of Australian companies lack strong AI governance and training policies.
A global survey by Workiva found that 60 per cent of Australian companies lacked high-quality data, AI governance policies and role-specific AI policies.
It suggested that better governance and resources targeted towards AI could help businesses unlock the productivity benefits of AI.
“As Australians, we are all feeling the pinch of being time poor,” Narain Viswanathan, ANZ area director at Workiva, said.
“But the good news is that, for those who do use it, AI is helping us save precious hours.
“With the biggest challenge expressed by nearly half of all practitioners that they lack time for strategic work, AI is emerging as an essential tool to bridge that gap”.
The Workiva survey found that only 62 per cent of Australian corporate reporting professionals used AI in their daily work, below the global average of 74 per cent.
The governance gap may be behind this, the report suggested. Nearly half (47 per cent) of Australian respondents said they lacked readiness to incorporate AI in their daily work, highlighting a need for more education, resources and support.
Practitioners who reported being confident about their organisations’ ability to use AI were more likely to have AI governance policies (31 per cent vs 19 per cent) and high-quality data (41 per cent vs 16 per cent).
The findings suggest that strong internal processes, data management and governance frameworks could be imperative to boosting AI uptake within Australian organisations.
The report found that Australian businesses faced numerous challenges that could be alleviated using AI, including a lack of time for strategic work (46 per cent) and shifting regulations (38 per cent).
However, it also found that adapting to AI itself was seen as a challenge to many (42 per cent) businesses as technologies shifted rapidly.
The survey found that practitioners who deeply integrated AI were more likely to reinvest time savings into more valuable or strategic objectives.
These included sustainability initiatives (29 per cent v 19 per cent), improving risk management or compliance readiness (54 per cent v 38 per cent), enhancing financial performance (50 per cent v 30 per cent) and improving customer experience (42 per cent v 34 per cent).
“This data emphasises the growing demand for AI to assist in mitigating inefficiencies”, Viswanathan said.
“Companies best positioned to win with AI are those that are investing in the integrity of their data and workforce development. As AI transforms industries, a strategic approach underpinned by a strong foundation will unlock smarter insights and lasting value.”
