How Finance Leaders Can Drive Growth In Uncertain Times
By Chris Juneau, SVP, Head of Product Marketing, SAP Concur
2025 is set to be a pivotal year for finance leaders as economic pressures mount and digital transformation accelerates. New challenges require new approaches to balance risk, innovation, and long-term growth.
The latest CFO Insights research from SAP Concur uncovers the evolving priorities of CFOs:
The research reveals a striking disconnect in attitudes towards growth within the finance department: While 81% of CFOs believe they are the primary drivers of business growth, only 52% of finance senior vice presidents (SVPs) agree. Instead, finance SVPs are more likely to view the CFO as a supportive player in growth initiatives rather than the central force behind them. Even more telling, only 9% of CFOs think growth leadership should be shared across the C-suite, even though other executives are eager to collaborate.
This isn't to say that finance leaders aren't communicating with other teams. Finance leaders are confident in their ability to secure buy-in for growth initiatives, with 96% rating themselves as excellent or good at cross-functional communication. This confidence is well placed: 89% of HR leaders and 88% of IT leaders agree that finance heads are strong communicators. However, barriers to collaboration persist, primarily in the form of conflicting departmental priorities (a top three barrier for 58% of CFOs).
Departments also have differing views on the best ways to break through these barriers and foster collaboration. Finance and IT prioritize flexible budgets for joint initiatives, while HR leaders emphasize the need for shared goals and key performance indicators (KPIs), an area that only 11% of finance leaders see as a priority. This misalignment suggests that finance, IT and HR must work harder to align their strategies to maximize growth potential. CFOs are in a prime position to lead the charge.
The finance function is undergoing a radical transformation, with AI and automation at the forefront. In 2025, 94% of finance leaders report that AI has already improved decision-making, while 73% credit it with reducing costs and risks.
Finance teams have rapidly embraced AI for automation in the past year. General finance tasks—such as emails, transcription and document summarization—are now highly automated (57%, up from just 7% in 2024). Other areas seeing significant AI-driven efficiency include pricing model creation (22%, up from 5%) and fraud monitoring (45%, up from 28%).
In 2023, just 1% of finance leaders viewed manual processes as a major challenge. However, as AI adoption has accelerated and its capabilities have become clearer, that number has surged: 38% now cite manual processes as a top concern. Finance leaders are now hyper-focused on automation and AI, seeing opportunities to streamline workflows, cut inefficiencies and optimize decision-making.
Despite AI's benefits, concerns persist. Fifteen percent of finance leaders believe AI negatively impacts ESG goals, likely due to energy-intensive data storage. Data privacy (12%) and job redundancies (10%) are also concerns.
But AI is also a catalyst for stronger finance-IT collaboration. While 65% of technology leaders already report strong partnerships with finance, 54% want to see deeper collaboration, particularly in driving digital transformation. As AI continues to reshape finance, CFOs have a unique opportunity to foster cross-functional strategies that fuel business growth.
As cyber threats escalate, 59% of finance leaders plan to increase their cybersecurity budgets in 2025. With breaches growing in frequency and severity, many CFOs now see cyberattacks as a top organizational risk. In response, 27% have taken on cybersecurity responsibilities over the past two years.
Despite this, only 20% of CFOs plan to strengthen collaboration with chief information security officers (CISOs), compared to 42% of IT leaders who want to join forces. A key hurdle is uncertainty over who should lead cybersecurity efforts, with finance leaders' opinions split on whether IT alone or IT and finance together should drive security strategy (45% vs. 50%).
Large enterprises are taking a proactive approach, with 48% investing in advanced security technologies. Just 6% of small businesses are following suit, leaving them more vulnerable.
The CFO's opportunity to add value goes beyond merely increasing cybersecurity budgets. Finance and technology leaders must align to ensure that cybersecurity is embedded in digital transformation initiatives from the start. CFOs and CISOs should collaborate to identify critical data assets, manage risks and develop crisis response plans. By integrating cybersecurity into financial strategy, CFOs can safeguard their assets while maintaining growth momentum.
CFOs today face a challenging environment, beset by economic uncertainty and rapid technological transformation. However, there are significant opportunities for those who embrace their role as a strategic, collaborative driver of growth.
The modern CFO's role continues to evolve beyond financial management, encompassing strategy, technology and risk mitigation. As AI, automation and cybersecurity take center stage, CFOs must break down silos and strengthen collaboration across the C-suite. As our research demonstrates, the CFOs who embrace this expanded role will be best positioned to navigate 2025's uncertainty and lead their organizations into the future.
To learn more about the research results, download the latest CFO Insights Report. Want more inspiration and best practices to navigate uncertainty? Visit www.concur.com/cfo-insights
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