EY is creating a 'value realization' office to make sure its AI spending pays off

Matthias Balk/picture alliance via Getty Images Centralizing AI governance is critical for managing costs and ensuring the technology drives returns.

EY has created an "AI Value Realization Office" to govern its AI strategy.

Creating an office will be a "critical part" of clients' AI journeys as well, said Dan Diasio, EY's global consulting AI leader.

AI can't be managed by any existing department, so EY is creating a new one.

The Big Four firm is setting up a new function called the "AI Value Realization Office" to centralize its AI spending and ensure the technology delivers measurable impact.

Dan Diasio, EY's global consulting AI leader, told Business Insider the firm expects the office to be fully operational within a couple of months.

Its job is to govern AI spending , drive returns, monitor usage, decide which AI initiatives to scale, and oversee how AI reshapes jobs.

Most companies allocate corporate budgets along departmental lines.

However, AI spending and its potential payoff can cut across IT, finance, sales, HR, and operations, said Diasio.

"If you fund by department, you end up addressing a bunch of use cases inside of each of the functions.

And what that often means is that you're leaving a lot of value on the table," he said.

EY-Parthenon research found that 75% of the potential enterprise value from AI comes from horizontal value streams — meaning across multiple functions — compared with 25% from projects contained within individual functions, Diasio said.

The AI office will govern the value strategy, looking not just at the dollar-for-dollar calculation but at a broader assessment of whether AI initiatives are changing business performance , Diasio said.

It "will help make sure that funding flows where the biggest opportunities are," he said.