As we navigate through 2025, Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) are steering their organizations through a landscape marked by technological advancements, economic fluctuations, and evolving corporate responsibilities. 

A recent survey by Gartner, involving over 250 CFOs, has highlighted seven key priorities that are shaping the financial strategies of enterprises this year. Let’s delve into these priorities to understand their significance and the actions CFOs can take to address them effectively.

35%: The Data Quality Roadblock CFOs Must Overcome

More than 35% of CFOs identify data quality as the primary roadblock to AI adoption in finance. Additionally, 75% of CFOs are now responsible for enterprise-wide data and analytics.

Bridging governance between financial and non-financial data is crucial, but organizations often suffer from siloed data management that leads to inconsistency, duplication, and integration issues.

CFO’s Playbook:

Establish Enterprise-Wide Data Governance: Assign ownership roles and eliminate redundant data silos.

Invest in Data Analytics Infrastructure: Ensure seamless integration of structured (financial) and unstructured (customer, operational) data.

Use Finance’s Unique Role: Leverage finance’s cross-functional visibility to enforce standardized data practices.

Action Step: Draft a Data Governance Charter that outlines accountability, key datasets, and governance mechanisms to ensure consistency.

5%: The Elite Group of Companies Achieving Efficient Growth

Only 5% of companies manage to achieve efficient growth—a balance of revenue expansion, cost discipline, and margin improvement across business cycles. Balancing cost control and growth investments is difficult. Companies that focus solely on cost-cutting often hinder long-term profitability.

CFO’s Playbook:

• Classify Costs Strategically: Differentiate between differentiating costs (which drive unique value), enabling costs (necessary but not competitive), and commoditizing costs (which should be minimized).
• Adopt Long-Term Cost Models: Companies with cost structures aligned to strategic differentiation see a 42% improvement in long-term value realization.
• Think Beyond Traditional Cost-Cutting: Avoid excessive spending on “keeping up with competitors” and focus on optimizing costs that directly impact differentiation.

Action Step: Conduct a Cost Differentiation Audit—categorize expenses based on strategic value and trim non-essential overheads.

58%: The Surge in AI Adoption by Finance Teams

AI adoption in finance has jumped from 37% in 2023 to 58% in 2024—a sign that CFOs are increasingly relying on AI to automate tasks and improve decision-making. Despite rising adoption, most CFOs underestimate AI costs by 500% to 1,000%, leading to budget constraints and poor ROI expectations.

CFO’s Playbook:

• Prioritize High-Impact AI Use Cases: Start with intelligent automation (invoice processing, anomaly detection, predictive cash flow forecasting).
• Address the Four AI Deal Breakers: Ensure the organization has the necessary skills, enabling technologies, data availability, and staff acceptance before scaling AI projects.
• Set Realistic AI Budgets: Plan for AI implementation costs, including infrastructure, training, and long-term operational expenses.

Action Step: Run an AI Feasibility Assessment—score each AI use case against the four deal breakers to prioritize the highest-impact initiatives.

70%: The Expanding CFO Role Beyond Finance

Over 70% of CFOs now oversee responsibilities beyond finance, including enterprise strategy, digital transformation, and even HR or supply chain oversight. CFOs are facing leadership capacity overload, struggling to manage both short-term financial targets and long-term enterprise-wide initiatives.

CFO’s Playbook:

• Define Your CFO Persona: Are you The Strategist (future-focused), The Deputy CEO (business performance manager), The Change Agent (transformation leader), or The Expert (technical finance leader)?
• Allocate Time-Based on Strategic Priorities: CFOs who structure their schedules based on their leadership persona are more effective in navigating role complexity.
• Empower Finance Leaders to Take Ownership: Delegate operational responsibilities to strong finance VPs and focus on high-impact strategic work.

Action Step: Perform a Time Allocation Audit—track how much time is spent on operational vs. strategic initiatives, then realign focus.

77%: The Digital Skills Gap Slowing AI Progress

A staggering 77% of CFOs say their teams lack the technical skills necessary to adopt AI at scale, limiting digital transformation progress.

Key Challenge:
Digital talent is both scarce and expensive—it is 63% more likely to be looking for other jobs and 69% costlier to replace than core finance talent.

CFO’s Playbook:

• Develop Internal AI Talent Pipelines: Focus on AI-adjacent competencies like statistics, database querying, and data visualization.
• Position Upskilling as Career Growth: Employees are more likely to embrace digital training when framed as career progression rather than a mandatory learning exercise.
• Leverage Hands-On Training: Give employees real-world AI projects (e.g., automate cash forecasting or enhance financial dashboards) rather than just theoretical learning.

Action Step: Launch a Finance Digital Upskilling Program—identify AI-adjacent talent and provide structured learning paths.

50%: The Rise of Digital Finance Employees by 2027

By 2027, half of all finance employees will be “digital talent”, meaning they will need to work with AI, automation, and advanced analytics.

Key Challenge: Currently, only 20% of finance teams have sufficient digital expertise, leading to a critical talent shortage for AI-driven finance functions.

CFO’s Playbook:

• Reimagine Finance Hiring Strategies: Instead of hiring only traditional accountants, look for hybrid finance-tech profiles.
• Enhance Cross-Functional Collaboration: Digital finance teams must work closely with IT, data science, and business units.
• Automate Low-Value Workflows: Free up finance professionals to focus on high-impact strategic initiatives rather than manual number-crunching.

Action Step: Design a Future Finance Workforce Blueprint—define the digital skillsets required and build a hiring and training roadmap.

3 Key Moves CFOs Must Make in 2025

To master these seven priorities, CFOs should take three immediate actions:

Launch a Data & AI Governance Council: Establish a dedicated team responsible for data governance, AI adoption, and analytics standardization across finance.

Implement a Cost-Structure Overhaul: Classify costs into differentiating, enabling, and commoditizing categories, then align capital allocation accordingly.

Create a Digital Talent Retention Strategy: Invest in AI training, provide clear career paths, and integrate automation to ensure finance talent is future-ready.

Final Thoughts: The CFO’s Expanding Role in a Data-Driven World

The modern CFO is no longer just a financial steward but an enterprise-wide leader balancing growth, AI, data governance, leadership capacity, and digital transformation.

By aligning with these seven number-driven insights, CFOs can not only navigate the challenges of 2025 but also build a finance function that drives long-term enterprise success.

What’s Your Next CFO Move? Evaluate where your finance team stands on these priorities and take the first step toward transformation today.