In a new paper, based on Thomson Reuters’ recent “Future of Professionals Report”, corporate function leaders can see how best to manage a triple-header of pressure from internal shareholders, finance departments, and their own workforce and move into a more secure future
Key insights:
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AI adoption has become an urgent business imperative — Enabling corporate functions are under pressure from leadership, business stakeholders, and employees to demonstrate tangible AI-driven value.
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Slow AI adoption creates risk — Many professionals are frustrated by limited access to high-quality AI tools, which contributes to increased employee turnover and growing use of unauthorized shadow AI
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Success depends on coordinated transformation — Organizations need a deliberate AI strategy rather than scattered experimentation to help guide responsible AI adoption across the organization.
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Today, internal corporate enabling functions — such as legal, tax, global trade, compliance, and risk — find themselves at a crossroads as they face mounting pressures from three critical fronts: i) internal stakeholders that are demanding faster, more informed decisions; ii) finance departments that are expecting AI-driven efficiency and cost control; and iii) a professional workforce eager for tools that enhance the value of the work they do.
The message from the C-Suite is clear: AI must deliver tangible results now, according to the recent Thomson Reuters 2026 Future of Professionals Report.
To help internal corporate function leaders manage this pressure and move forward with confidence into an AI-enabled future, Thomson Reuters has published a new action paper, Future of Professionals Report 2026: Actionable insights for corporate leaders, drawing on insights from hundreds of internal corporate professionals.
Facing down the triple pressures
The urgency that corporate function leaders are facing is underscored by those three areas of pressure. For example, almost half of professionals surveyed in enabling functions say they are either already experiencing the financial consequences of lagging AI adoption or are expecting to within a year. Many enabling functions have long been expected to absorb growing workloads without proportional increases in resources. Now, AI is increasingly viewed as a way to expand capacity and improve efficiency, making delaying its adoption a potential source of budgetary and competitive risk.
You can download your copy of the 2026 Future of Professionals Report here
Stakeholder pressure is equally intense. As many business units accelerate their own AI deployments, they expect the organization’s other enabling functions to keep pace. If these functions become bottlenecks, they risk being sidelined or being perceived as obstacles rather than strategic partners. Indeed, more than half of corporate professionals say they are facing significant pressure from stakeholders to act faster on AI, with in-house legal teams feeling this most acutely.
Yet the pressure coming from the workforce may be the most alarming. The action paper shows that fully 30% of professionals say they are considering leaving their organizations within two years if the gap between the AI-driven value they expect and what is made available to them isn’t addressed. Access to professional-grade AI tools has become a key factor in job decisions, yet nearly 6-in-10 professionals say they lack access. This gap contributes to both retention challenges and the rise of unauthorized AI use, increasing compliance and governance risks.
Choosing the right path
Faced with the reality of these pressures, corporate function leaders must choose a strategic path for AI adoption. The action paper outlines three primary trajectories:
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- Using AI to elevate by shifting human effort to high-value, judgment-based work.
- Using AI to scale by leveraging AI to handle increased workloads without increasing headcount while optimizing for efficiency.
- Using AI to reimagine by rebuilding workflows around AI’s capabilities, such as implementing shared data infrastructure and real-time dashboards.
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However, knowing the path is not the same as walking it. The action paper also highlights a potential execution gap, in which a lack of coordination and shared accountability across functions derails any real progress. This is a particular problem for enabling corporate functions because many departments often operate in silos, using different AI tools and standards, which leads to fragmentation and operational bottlenecks.
The solution, as the paper outlines, lies in building a shared framework for AI governance and accountability, with fiduciary functions like legal, tax, and compliance taking the lead. Some critical recommendations outlined in the paper include advocating for professional-grade AI tools, planning for an evolutionary journey through AI adoption, and leading an organization-wide conversation about AI governance and standards.
Finally, the paper encourages corporate leadership teams to step back from daily pressures and engage in structured exercises to define a shared vision for AI within the organization. By developing a long-term roadmap that considers processes, data, technology, people, and risk, corporate leaders can ensure AI adoption delivers both immediate value and sustainable competitive advantage for the future.
You can read a full copy of the Future of Professionals Report 2026: Actionable insights for corporate leaders paper here
