New Research — CFO Priorities Increase Amid New Expectations

Chris Wright, Managing Director Global Leader, Business Performance Improvement Practice

CFOs are marshaling all of the talent, technology and data resources within their reach to address a growing list of priorities while driving strategy in the C-suite and meeting new expectations in the boardroom.

Emerging priorities: Our latest Global Finance Trends Survey results, based on responses from more than 900 finance leaders worldwide, show that CFOs recognize the magnitude of the challenges bearing down on them and their finance groups, with ESG requirements leading the way and generative AI quickly materializing as a valuable technology tool.

Below are the top 10 priorities for CFOs and finance leaders for the next 12 months.

By the numbers: Notable findings from our research include the following:

  • 45% of organizations are investing in new technology to assist with measuring and reporting on ESG risks and issues.
  • In 57% of publicly held organizations, measuring and reporting on ESG risks and issues has become part of the finance team’s role in the last year. This is on top of the 67% that reported the same in last year’s survey.
  • 54% of finance organizations are currently employing generative AI.
  • 45% of survey respondents rate cost optimization as their organization’s top process improvement priority.

Go deeper: In this report, we explore our survey findings, from the top finance priorities as rated by finance leaders from around the world to perspectives on how CFOs are focusing on generative AI, new ESG reporting requirements and other complex issues that go beyond traditional finance and accounting. We also offer practical calls to action for finance leaders to address these challenges.

Learn more: Our survey report, briefs and infographic are available here. In addition, we are hosting a complimentary webinar on Tuesday, November 14, 2023, at 1 p.m. EDT, to discuss key insights from the results of our survey as they relate to ESG, and you can access, on demand, our October 26, 2023 webinar on the overall results. You can find more information here.

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