Financial transformation falls from priority as CFOs increase focus on growth
CFOs (Chief Financial Officers) and finance leaders rank metrics, analytics, and reporting as the top focus area for 2025, reflecting an emphasis on providing insights to improve business performance, in line with the Gartner, Inc..
The research that has just been carried out in October 2024 with 251 CFOs shows that financial transformation ranks much lower as a priority for 2025, being replaced by the focus on adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) in finance, which ranks fourth overall.
“The survey shows the highest number of CFOs since 2014 prioritizing business growth,” says Dennis Gannon, Vice President and Analyst at Gartner. “The sharp return of growth and cost pressures means many CFOs plan to be rigorous in delegating finance transformation.”
Top CFOs' Priorities for 2025 
Source: Gartner (November 2024)
According to the Gartner analyst, the shift in priorities reflects two trends: CFOs are now delegating day-to-day finance transformation activities to dedicated leaders for that function; and CFOs are increasingly recognizing that their time is better spent on the challenging and still unanswered questions about the evolution of finance, which by 2025 will be more focused on the use of AI than on traditional financial technology and automation.
In addition to leveraging data and analytics to drive growth and adopting AI for a variety of finance use cases, CFOs and finance executives are also focusing on talent and leadership. The profile of finance professionals continues to evolve, requiring a new approach to finding, engaging and retaining talent, whether through upskilling existing talent or strategic hiring to attract digital talent.
“CFOs expect that by 2027, one in two finance employees will be a digital talent,” says Gannon. “Given that digital talent currently represents less than 20% of the finance function, there is clearly a lot of work to be done.”
The research also reveals that CFOs recognize that their own leadership profile will need attention in 2025. The expanded role of CFOs requires greater influence across the enterprise, raising the bar for leadership effectiveness. Finance talent management is also gaining importance as CFOs face an expected increase in turnover of senior workers while reshaping their value proposition to attract digital talent in finance.
For more insights, Gartner clients can access the report2025 CFO and Finance Executive Priorities.
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O Gartner, Inc.. provides objective, actionable insights that drive smarter decisions and better performance for enterprises’ mission-critical priorities. To learn more, visit www.gartner.com or follow Gartner news and updates for IT executives using #GartnerIT.
