Leadership insights

What’s important to the CFO in 2025

Five trends every finance leader needs to know

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Key dynamics redefining the modern CFO role

Change is the only constant, it’s said. The past five years have seen rapid shifts, from historically low interest rates to a higher rate environment to renewed recession fears. As a chief financial officer (CFO), you should know how to get comfortable with the uncomfortable, especially as your role continues to evolve. While abrupt geopolitical and policy shifts can bring volatility, a clear view of your organization’s financial health can help you tackle any challenge head-on. How? With a focus on driving business results through collaboration and business model reinvention.

In the spotlight

Lead the future of finance by turning AI into enterprise value

AI is no longer emerging. It’s embedded.

For today’s CFOs, the difference isn’t whether you use it, but how. Applied with intention, AI — alongside modern ERP tools — is helping finance teams accelerate forecasts, strengthen capital decisions and build resilience. It’s not just about reacting to change; it’s about leading it so you can move faster, adapt with confidence and shape enterprise strategy — positioning finance as a true catalyst for transformation.

28% of finance departments are already using AI in forecasting

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Where to focus in 2025

Strategy and growth

Embrace your evolving role

The days of crunching numbers are long gone. Finance leaders need diverse skills — financial expertise, strategic decision-making and risk and stakeholder management — to navigate complex challenges, financial regulations and political uncertainty. Capital requirements, risk and interest rates implications continue to move higher on the list of CFO challenges.

Now, with ongoing innovation and finance transformation, leaders have a full plate. To address these CFO trends, lean on technology. Savvy finance leaders harness the power of data, predictive analytics and financial intelligence. Modern tech can identify risks, simulate scenarios and help devise mitigation strategies to safeguard financial health and enhance financial resilience. Collaboration with other C-suite members is equally critical. Aligning teams and enabling data-driven decisions can steer your company to success.

Additional ways to embrace your evolving role

Strategy and growth

A CFO imperative: Smart resource reallocation

New PwC research confirms that the strategic redeployment of capital can boost profit margin. The challenge for CFOs? Overcoming stubborn biases.

Strategy and growth

Three strategic leadership goals to unleash your finance function 

From redefining roles to enhancing collaboration and embracing innovation for transformative outcomes, these goals can help you unleash your finance function.

Technology

Hit reset on risk and drive more effective system transformations

How CFOs can drive more value from ERP, cloud and technology initiatives through executive teaming.

44% of CFOs say increasing the use of tech to reduce costs is very important to fund in the next 12 months

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