More than eight in 10 (82%) restructuring professionals expect AI to significantly improve efficiency and decision-making but execution gaps remain.

According to a survey commissioned by business administration provider CSC, operational readiness and experienced human judgment will remain critical to successful execution.

The survey of 210 professionals globally across banking and financial services found the clearest potential applications in information gathering, KYC mapping, communications, administration, and monitoring—areas where AI could help reduce friction and accelerate processes rather than replace professional expertise.

However, the optimism around AI has a complex backdrop, with execution risk spread across several interconnected operational challenges rather than one single bottleneck.

“AI has the potential to support decision making and streamline some of the behind the scenes work that goes into the restructuring process. But technology works best when it complements experienced professional judgment. The real opportunity is in combining the right tools with people who understand the complexities of restructuring and know how to apply them effectively,” says Sean Foronjy, director, Corporate Trust and Agency, CSC,

The research also points to a timing issue: operational support is not always brought into a restructuring as early as professionals believe it would be valuable. While 80% consider governance services very or quite valuable at the early stage, only 24% say those services were first involved then. The same pattern appears for SPV and entity services, at 67% versus 25%, and corporate trust and agency services, at 56% versus 15%.

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