Systemic integration of Artificial Intelligence in financial project management: a systematic literature review and BERTopic-based analysis

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly embedded in project management within the financial sector, yet existing research remains fragmented and largely focused on isolated technical applications. A systemic understanding of how AI reshapes financial project management as an integrated socio-technical capability is still lacking.

This study addresses this gap through a systematic literature review of 62 peer-reviewed articles (2022–2025), combined with BERTopic-based thematic analysis supported by large language model-assisted topic representation. The findings reveal the emergence of Agentic AI as a dominant theme, marking a shift from analytical support tools toward autonomous and collaborative agents embedded in project processes. While predictive analytics and automation are relatively mature, governance-oriented and human-centric dimensions remain underdeveloped and weakly integrated.

This study contributes by: (1) presenting a computationally enhanced systematic mapping study that integrates a systematic literature review with BERTopic-based topic modelling to map the evolving research landscape; (2) identifying Agentic AI as a pivotal interface between technical execution and strategic governance; and (3) proposing a socio-technical target architecture that offers a structured roadmap for AI-enabled transformation in financial project management systems.