适应性CFO

Generic AI has a place.It's not in your financial statements. Discover Verity™, the auditable AI builtfor finance operations. The Adaptive CFO O V E R V I E W The CFO pulse:lessons to take into 2026 THE YEAR IN FINANCE:DEFENDING WHILE TRANSFORMING Distributed in Supported by A year of disruption tested CFOs’ resilience. Armed with lessons in agility,technology and trust, finance leaders are ready to navigate the challenges ahead CFOs spent much of 2025 in defensive mode, protecting margins amid persistent cost pressuresand geopolitical uncertainty. But despite a challenging year, finance leaders continued to expand theirinfluence – taking charge of data, analytics and AI initiatives that are reshaping the finance function. ALTHOUGH THERE IS INTEREST IN AI,CONFIDENCE IN SUCCESSFULADOPTION IS LACKING Contributors Fiona Bond 57% Fiona Bond A freelance journalistcovering all areas offinance and investingincluding personal finance,she is the formercommodities editor atInteractive Investor. inance leaders have enduredtheir fair share of challengeand change over the past 12months. From global tariffs and slug-gish growth to the growing influenceofartificial intelligence,2025 hasbeen both a test of adaptability and amoment of opportunity.F As Ashcroft explains: “What hasdelighted me most has been how thediscipline needed when using thesetools can help improve not just ourtechnical work, but also our peo-ple-management and communica-tion skills. JurieWessels,directorandco-founder of The Invigilator, agreesthatartificialintelligencehasproved this year’s biggest lesson. of finance teams are already implementing orplanning to implement agentic AI We have learnedto design formultiple futures “This year confirmed that AI ishere to stay and that embracing it isnow a business imperative. We’veseen that investing in AI is as impor-tant as any capital project.” He addsthat those who adopt AI early willdefine the next generation of finan-cial leadership. “Developingstrongerpromptmanagement,for example,hasimprovedour ability to set cleartasks and expectations – skills thattranslate directly into better leader-ship and team alignment.” Ben Edwards of CFOs believe they can accelerate AI adoptionacross the finance function Persistentinflation,rising costsand tax pressures have demandedtighterfinancial discipline,whilepolitical and economic uncertaintycontinues to complicate long-termfinancial planning. A freelance journalistspecialising in finance,business, law andtechnology with morethan a decade ofeditorial and commercialwriting experience. 42% For Ronald Tsang, chief finan-cial officer at Dragonpass, the past12months have reinforced thenotionthat local networks areincredibly important. significantrisk.Moving forward,the finance function will need toemploy sophisticated hedging strat-egies and leverage financial tools toreduce risk. For Claire Bramley, chief financialofficerat Xero,having the righttechnology and data isn’t enough.The ability to translate data intomeaningful insight and “communi-cate it with clarity and purpose”will be what sets the most effectivefinance leaders apart in 2026 andbeyond. “Numbers only tell theirstorywhen they’re woven into aclearnarrative that drives deci-sions and results,” she says. As a result, CFOs have walked aprecarioustightrope,balancingrisk management with innovationandshort-term goals with long-term strategy. of CFOs express confidence in hiring andretaining digital finance talent Gartner, 2025 “We learned that localisation is thefoundation of globalisation. Trust isbuilt locally with clients, suppliersand regulators. For us, sustainableglobalgrowth means respectinglocal culture and empowering localteams while maintaining a sharedglobal vision,” he says. Annualbudgetsarelikelyto become obsolete as finance lead-ersinvestinmoreadvanced,real-timescenario planning androlling forecasts. Accordingto PwC’s June CFOPulse Survey, 57% of CFOs cite eco-nomic policy as a top-three factorshaping short-term strategy. AS BUSINESS GETS MORE COMPLEX,THE CFO ROLE IS EXPANDING FARBEYOND FINANCE And while this time last year, fewcould have foreseen the volatility anduncertaintythat US tariffs wouldwreak on the markets, 71% of CFOsnow say tariffs pose a serious risk. “Wehave learned to design formultiple futures,” says Tsang. “Ourfinancial plans now consider a widerange of possibilities from inflationshocks to AI-driven deflation, withflexibility and optionality treated ascore strengths.” Percentage of CFOs reporting ownership orco-ownership of enterprise priorities outsideof finance “Above all, human trust remainsirreplaceable. No system or technol-ogycan substitute for it.Open,transparentcommunication withinvestors,colleagues and clientscontinues to be the cornerstone oflong-term success.” Financeleaders also expressedsurpriseat the resilience of theeconomy and businesses amid mar-ket turbulence this year. On a more positive note, technol-ogy will play a key role