In addition to financial planning and analysis (FP&A) and strategic planning (both of which are top three priorities for finance leaders), CFOs identify urgencies that illustrate their expanding role and increasingly enterprisewide responsibilities. New cybersecurity disclosure and reporting requirements have extended finance leaders’ data governance responsibilities. Growing organisational investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI demand the CFOs’ investment scrutiny, risk management expertise and data governance knowledge.

As the role of CFOs and other finance leaders continues to expand, they are refining how they address their top priorities for the coming year which, according to our research, include:

1. Security and privacy of data: New and emerging cybersecurity disclosure requirements are not the only issues driving CFOs’ growing role in data security and privacy activities. The rising threats of cyber warfare, ransomware attacks and extortion, along with the soaring value of data assets, are among many factors that have pushed the security and privacy of data to the top of the CFO’s priority list.
2. Financial planning and profitability analysis and reporting: Advanced, automated FP&A is no longer the sole responsibility of the finance group. As organisations have become more data-driven, FP&A represents a growing priority within most business functions. This places new demands on CFOs in several areas. Finance leaders must ensure their business partners are performing FP&A with appropriate controls, rigor and relevance. CFOs also want to integrate these new KPIs — regarding talent management, customer expectations, ESG risks and opportunities, and more — into their own FP&A activities. In addition, AI (including generative AI) and other emerging technologies equip finance groups with valuable opportunities to enhance their FP&A capabilities.
3. Leadership in the organisation: CFOs are focused on acquiring and sharpening their leadership skillsets by taking a lead role in communicating to employees, boards, investors and the media about the organisation’s response to cyber breaches, supply chain disasters and other crises, as well as by supporting organisationwide talent assessment and development programmes.
4. Strategic planning: Deeper collaborations with business partners mean that CFOs have more to offer to strategic planning activities — operationally focused, shorter-term planning as well as longer-term planning exercises that forecast environments three, five or even 10 years from now. CFOs increasingly are toggling back and forth between tactical and strategic planning activities while developing contingencies and ensuring the organisation takes on an acceptable level of risk to capitalise on strategic growth opportunities while protecting the business.
5. Process improvement: In addition to the cost optimisation impetus for process improvements within finance groups, CFOs are identifying more improvement opportunities throughout the extended enterprise. As finance leaders help translate each business group’s objectives into financial, automation and talent needs, they are offering business partners recommendations regarding improvements to workflows, risk management and value generation.

The bottom line: While CFOs continue to have more put on their plates, their current responsibilities are not going away, leading to increasing demands on these leaders to find ways to use technology, AI, and other new and emerging skills as they juggle multiple priorities.