Many finance leaders are gearing up for a step change in 2025. New technologies are bringing significant opportunities to improve productivity in finance and beyond.
But CFOs also have a chance to widen their influence this year, as they use their unique skills to help organizations strategize around returning growth and business reinvention.
To set up their organisations for growth, CFOs must be nimble in executing their strategies, evaluate the technologies they invest in, prioritise cybersecurity, integrate ESG reporting, and tackle talent crunch.
1. Bringing to life 2024 growth plans
In 2024, many CFOs focused on devising growth and reinvention plans to scale their businesses in a sustainable manner. They have had significant success, because according to PwC’s 28th annual Global CEO Survey, APAC CEOs are becoming markedly more sanguine about the global economy, their revenue growth, and the long-term viability of their business. Some 34% of APAC CEOs said they are very or extremely confident about their company’s short-term revenue growth (+3% vs. 2024), rising to 54% for a three-year outlook (+17% vs. 2024).
Even as the business environment improves, CFOs must continue to build trust with their CEOs in executing their plans. They also need to burnish their leadership image with the wider business, internal and external stakeholders, and strengthen their storytelling skills so that they can help align peers and colleagues with the business’ short- and long-term planning.
2. Evaluating technologies for long-term benefit and efficiency
According to a study by Orgvue, in 2024 82% of businesses were investing in AI, despite 50% being unclear on its impact. In 2025, CFOs need to lead the business-wide charge on delving deeper into the technologies they are investing in. As a number of companies are rushing to adopt AI, CFOs are uniquely positioned to ensure this adoption is truly valuable to the company.
A holistic approach to technology is vital. For example, many traditional monolithic function roles have been transformed to service multiple finance processes and manage intelligent technologies in the organization. AI is being orchestrated across the enterprise.
With AI becoming an essential business tool across many industries, CFOs will need to make sure that it adheres to international and local AI regulatory frameworks. They should also continue investing in new capabilities to strengthen their compliance, auditing, and planning toolkits. Because CFOs have a holistic view of their business’ data and needs, they have a unique insight into the most efficient ways to use AI.
3. Prioritising cybersecurity
The global average cost of a data breach in 2024 is $4.88 million – 10% up on 2023, according to IBM’s 2024 Cost of a Data Breach report. The ubiquity of generative AI provides bad actors with always more tools to commit complex fraud schemes. Consequently, in 2025 CFOs will need to dedicate resources to protecting their organizations from cybercrime in the coming years.
Because CFOs understand business risk and reporting, they are well-placed to take an oversight role. This best positions them to work with their business’ Chief Information Security Officers (CISO) to assess investments and the maturity of security arrangements, as well as budgets dedicated to this.
One thing to be careful about though, is that organizations need to strengthen their due diligence and external partner assessments. Traditional RFP’s that were developed for onpremises solutions can miss the mark in terms of risk assessment.
4. Integrating ESG reporting
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) frameworks are becoming increasingly important for businesses as wider regulation schemes are established globally. For a CFO to set up their business for success in 2025, they should embrace ESG as more than just a set of rules, but as a means to build a data base and strengthen their business’ profile.
Not only does collecting ESG data help boost a business’ revenue, but it presents them with a unique opportunity to see how they are performing and inform future related decisions.
CFOs should also set measurable goals for how sustainability data will be used to enhance the business’ performance and value creation. These goals will guide the development of the organization’s staff and its infrastructure.
5. Retaining employees despite the ‘talent crunch’
CFOs will need to retain employees and keep them enthusiastic. They can do this by better understanding younger employees’ values and adapting development, training, and recruitment policies accordingly.
They will also need to collaborate with HR to foster continuous learning, reskilling, and adaptability for staff. This same flexibility should be applied to bringing in new technology.
Similarly, CFOs can embrace using technologies such as AI to automate certain tasks, freeing people for more meaningful work. This not only resonates with the values of younger workers but will highlight to employees that their time is valued, boosting retention.
For instance, a business process such as expense management, if well automated from the initial request through spending to payment, will give employees significant time back to focus on core tasks. New employees expect high degrees of digital adoption – this is no longer seen as progressive and often reflects on a business in terms of its willingness to adapt and succeed in a world of highly competitive markets.
In challenging market conditions, adaptation and flexibility is key to unlocking rewards for CFOs, their teams, and organizations. Through the above strategies, CFOs can continue to secure their business’ future and steer it towards success.
Attributed to: Brett Wheeldon, VP, Solutions Consulting, Asia Pacific, SAP Concur
