INTHEBLACK September/October 2025 - Magazine - Page 9
CFOS LIST TOP PRIORITIES
Amid the challenges and uncertainty in 2025,
CFOs nominated the following five issues as their
top priorities for the year in a Gartner survey.
1. DATA, METRICS AND ANALYTICS
Data quality is identified as a key inhibitor for low AI
adoption in finance for 35 per cent of CFOs, and
more than 75 per cent say they are now responsible
for enterprise-wide data and analytics.
2. EFFICIENT GROWTH
The report shows that only five per cent of
organisations achieve efficient growth status across
different phases of the business cycle, and that
CFOs must revisit their frameworks for cost and
capital allocation to achieve efficient growth.
3. AI ADOPTION IN FINANCE
Almost 60 per cent of finance functions at least
piloted artificial intelligence (AI) tools in 2024,
compared to 37 per cent in the previous year.
The report also shows that the majority of
AI cost estimates are underrepresented by
500–1000 per cent.
4. TIME ALLOCATION AND LEADERSHIP CAPACITY
As the role of CFO continues to evolve, more
than 70 per cent of finance leaders now hold
responsibilities beyond finance. Half of CFOs
surveyed say that their finance leadership teams
need a significant or complete overhaul.
5. SOURCE AND RETAIN DIGITAL TALENT
More than 75 per cent of CFOs report that a lack of
technical skills within finance is a key reason their
company is yet to adopt AI.
Read the survey
TOOLS FOR TRANSFORMATION
Technology is having a profound impact
on companies across the globe, but what
tools are organisations using? Results from
a Thomson Reuters Institute survey show
the top technologies organisations are
exploring and investing in:
CLOUD COMPUTING
86%
GENERATIVE AI
79%
INTERNET OF THINGS SENSORS
50%
MACHINE LEARNING
50%
AGENTIC AI
38%
VIRTUAL/AUGMENTED REALITY
23%
BLOCKCHAIN
18%
QUANTUM COMPUTING
10%
Read the survey
GLOBAL GAME CHANGERS intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au 9
