2025 CFO Insights: Build agility and cement growth for the future with digital data-focused tools
2025 presents a slightly more optimistic outlook for the office of finance. CFOs who embrace digital transformation can pave the way to sustainable growth by integrating more agile operations into their organization.
While there are still some significant geo-political factors affecting market conditions, creating a greater responsibility for the office of the CFO to be more strategic, proactive, and focused on building agility and resilience for future years has significant benefits.
In this blog, we will explore issues the office of the CFO may encounter in 2025, and how digital transformation can provide the data insight leaders need to cement growth and build agility.
What’s the outlook for the Office of Finance in 2025?
Inflation has been slightly increasing in Europe to stand at 2.4% as at end of December 2024, and even more in the US for the third consecutive month to 2.9%. So, while there is a degree of optimism, uncertainty could creep back into global markets.
54% of European CFOs rate the level of external uncertainty as “high” or “very high.” This level of uncertainty is not unheard of and is actually lower than the 61% quoted YoY in the Deloitte Autumn Winter CFO Survey. To give further context, since autumn 2018, at least 60% of CFOs have regularly reported high levels of uncertainty.
Those who have clearer visibility and transparency of reliable organizational data will be able to make better data-led decisions today, while also being able to innovate and strategize, building resilience and agility for tomorrow.
Click to read Office of the CFO (Gated)
What is a CFO?
The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) plays a critical role in steering a company’s financial health and is a key strategic partner to the CEO.
Traditionally responsible for overseeing all aspects of financial management—such as accounting, budgeting, cash flow, spend management, tax compliance, investing, and managing relationships with external parties like lenders and investors—the CFO has evolved into a more dynamic, cross-functional leader in today’s market.
In 2025, the modern CFO is more than just a financial expert. They must collaborate with not just the CEO, but importantly the CIO, to balance cost savings with strategic digital investments that drive long-term value by streamlining financial processes for efficiency and accuracy.
The evolving role of the tech CFO
A tech CFO is uniquely positioned at the intersection of finance and digital innovation, requiring a deep understanding of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics to forecast market trends, turn the page on legacy processes, and optimize resource allocation.
Tech CFOs in 2025 are tasked with leveraging advanced analytics to uncover actionable insights, managing complexities, integrating automation, and ensuring cybersecurity in financial systems. Their ability to balance innovation with financial prudence makes them indispensable to the success of growing organizations.
4 ways digital investment will help the modern CFO navigate 2025’s challenges
As collaborators and visionaries, 2025’s tech CFOs must go beyond managing finances—they must invest in the latest digital innovations that are tailor-made to help CFOs thrive.
Here are 4 examples of how digital investment will be key to the modern CFO’s impact on organizational growth.
How to prepare for change with strategic digital solutions
Rather than being reactive to external factors, CFOs should instead proactively innovate and invest so that potential disruption can be more easily managed – Cloud tools can integrate Procurement and Financial data for better insights.
As organizations adapt to new ways of operating, they are finding ways to work around disruptions and improve efficiencies. CFOs should focus on gaining control and visibility across their departmental data, but also the integration of this data with other functions, particularly that of procurement and HR.
CFOs need to enable strategy by working with HR to liberate current talent to focus on forecasting, utilize digital tools that can project data forward, and focus on building agile operations.
A data-focused solution that can provide integrated insights, as well as scenario planning, forecasting, and configurable outcomes, is key for CFOs to fulfill their modern role as strategic leaders of the organization.
How CFOs can leverage AI in 2025
While many fear AI is taking jobs, it can liberate financial professionals from low-value tasks, and free up their time for meaningful strategic tasks such as forecasting, and projecting data forward. Some estimates project that AI could save finance professionals between 50 and 200 hours of work annually in areas such as FP&A.
AI is particularly useful within the office of the CFO where there is a global talent shortage of qualified accountants. By integrating data in the Cloud, a CFO can share their workforce insights with HR and ensure that current talent is retained with appropriate and competitive compensation packages.
Moreover, AI can empower strategic thinking with its digital innovation – advanced reporting capabilities, data visualization techniques, and low/no-code extensibility, are all invaluable tools to improve collaboration, cross-functional response, and proactive thinking.
According to a survey by EY, 85% of CFOs believe that AI will significantly change the way finance works in the next five years. However, only 25% of CFOs say they have a clear vision and roadmap for AI adoption.
CFOs can incite cross-functional strategy and collaboration by championing tech adoption
In 2025, CFOs are emerging as tech trendsetters, leading not just the financial strategy but the entire organization’s adoption of cutting-edge technologies. CFOs must ensure that technology initiatives align with broader organizational goals, while simultaneously excavating cross-functional value.
According to recent research by Gartner, 34% of organizations already involve CFOs in shaping their future GenAI strategies, defining the next wave of innovation. By embedding themselves in technology-driven decision-making, CFOs set the tone for how the entire company embraces and benefits from innovation.
Enabling strategic thinking in the office of the CFO, and driving investment in digital tools, is useful, but a cross-functional response led by strategy will be the most effective.
By integrating data across organizational functions, they can work more succinctly with the office of the CFO. HR can use data to empower managers across functions to build long-lasting relationships and engagement, align functions under the same mission, and identify and address imbalances across an enterprise.
How can CFOs manage growing compliance with technology?
A large area of focus for 2025 is stricter compliance across environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting, as well as sustainability reporting and compliance and IFRS 16 amendments. In fulfilling this requirement, we can see the value of a cross-functional response led by data.
Dresner recently reported that more than 50% of organizations, of varying sizes, are likely unprepared for coming reporting regulations, with 75% of respondents stating they don’t even know what standards are in use or likely to be used.
Integrated data in the Cloud is vital to respond to increasing ESG, and sustainability, reporting requirements, and those using legacy systems will particularly struggle to generate timely reports across siloed data.
CFOs need to establish clear definitions, standards, and processes for ESG data collection, verification, and disclosure, as well as align ESG goals with business strategy and incentives, using capabilities such as FP&A software.
How can Unit4 help CFOs plan for the future?
With changing market conditions, and 2025 presenting the aftermath of political election year for around half of the world’s population, organizations need to react quickly to the impact of these political changes and the impact on their organization - the importance of integrated data for forecasting and agile decision-making is vital.
CFOs need a 360 view across their organizations. Integrating software solutions such as ERP, HCM, Procurement software, and FP&A helps achieve the goal of strategically planning for the future.
Unit4 FP&A helps you to forecast and predict future outcomes accurately. Our Cloud-based software is designed to provide businesses with the tools they need to optimize financial performance and drive growth. Integrating the data in our Cloud through SaaS solutions such as ERP, HCM, Procurement software, and FP&A provides data tools for better agility.
