For CFOs, balancing a growing list of priorities, mandates, and reporting lines continues to be a significant challenge. CFOs fulfill multiple critical roles within their organizations, including finance leader, crisis manager, functional leader, and strategic advisor to the CEO. According to the latest CFO pulse survey from PwC, finance leaders also highlight emerging risks to their companies' growth—specifically supply chain disruptions and weak demand—that demand their attention and management.
Simultaneously, CFOs are increasingly looking beyond short-term concerns, a shift from previous years. Most finance leaders now identify strategic planning and long-term capital and resource allocation as top priorities, much more frequently than in the 2023 survey. While only a few CFOs report having fully digitized their finance functions or adopted generative AI, nearly all see the potential of gen AI to add value. They believe it can help finance employees transition from manual analysis to more strategic roles, enhancing leadership and strategy support.
When asked about their overall business outlook, more CFOs now anticipate stability in the coming year. Compared to 2023, a greater percentage of finance leaders believe their industries' growth rates will remain steady. They are also twice as likely to predict that their companies' investment levels will stay the same, a shift from the previous two surveys where an increase was expected. Although inflation concerns have lessened since the 2023 survey, CFOs are now 2.5 times more likely (49 percent, up from 20 percent) to identify supply chain disruptions as a threat to growth. Additionally, a majority of respondents continue to cite increased economic volatility as a risk.
When discussing their finance organizations, CFOs continue to prioritize operational value drivers and KPI management, similar to last year. However, there is a noticeable shift towards future-oriented strategies. Currently, 55 percent of CFOs identify long-term planning and resource allocation as top priorities for finance, up from 30 percent in the previous survey. Additionally, the importance of strategic planning has significantly increased, with 60 percent of CFOs now citing it as a top priority, compared to 38 percent last year.
Despite the advantages of digital technology and generative AI for finance organizations, the survey indicates there is still significant room for improvement in their adoption and utilization of technology. While nearly all respondents (98 percent) have invested in digitization and automation, many finance functions remain early in their digitization journeys. A significant number of CFOs report that only a quarter or fewer of their processes are currently digitized or automated.
One reason for the low digitization rates could be the wide range of tech-related challenges, many of which are organizational, that finance functions encounter. When asked about the obstacles to deriving value from data and technology, CFOs cited demanding workloads, a lack of relevant skills, and insufficient resources as the main issues. These challenges are more common than the tech infrastructure or data-related problems we inquired about.
Only 20 percent of CFOs currently report using generative AI tools, and nearly half of these are still in the pilot or experimental stages. Among those already leveraging generative AI, the benefits align with the expectations of many finance leaders. Specifically, 71 percent of users report increased productivity among finance employees. Additionally, 54 percent have seen improved data utilization in business decisions, and 48 percent have experienced enhanced insight generation, allowing employees to focus on higher-order tasks.
With the rise of generative AI and other advanced technologies, CFOs have the chance to transform their finance functions significantly. By leveraging these tools, CFOs can enhance decision-making, improve financial forecasting, and streamline operations. At the same time, they must manage short-term pressures, like cash flow and profitability, while keeping an eye on long-term strategic goals.
The integration of AI and other technologies can lead to more accurate data analysis, better risk management, and greater efficiency in routine tasks. However, it also requires CFOs to lead change management efforts and ensure that their teams are equipped to handle these new tools effectively. Balancing these priorities is crucial for driving sustained value creation.
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