When I wrote my first CFO action plan in 2022, many CFOs were navigating their organizations through incredibly turbulent waters caused by multiple COVID-19 spikes and related challenges. Uncertainty has been a constant theme every year since. 2026 will likely be the same due to unsettled trade policy, tariffs and general economic uncertainty, as well as digital transformation challenges, cost pressures and talent gaps.
So, as we focus on setting the stage for a successful new year, what actions should CFOs be taking in 2026? The following are a few potential priorities.
Personal resiliency
In many organizations, during times of uncertainty, the CEO, board and others look to their CFO for calm, clarity and direction. They expect their CFO to have a steady hand, absorb pressure, adapt quickly and make high-quality decisions. In short, someone with personal resiliency.
To enhance your personal resilience:
- Prioritize physical and mental well-being
- Have a learning mindset and an inquisitive nature, then be agile and adaptable
- Maintain perspective, discerning what is truly urgent
- Build strong relationships with your CEO, board, cross-functional partners and team
- Create a network of trusted professionals as a sounding board
- Complement technical competence with broad business acumen
- Clarify your purpose and values
Organizational resiliency
Organizational resiliency means being able to recover from or adjust quickly to difficulty or change. Truly resilient companies exhibit visionary leadership, business focus and a people-centric culture.
That said, clearly articulate your company’s vision and strategic goals. Monitor external trends. Proactively assess and manage risks. Revisit every aspect of the business, including customer relationships, product offerings, vendor relationships and organizational structure and performance reporting. Run multiple scenarios and develop contingency plans. Adapt as needed. Invest in new technologies. Invest in team capability. And be a realistic optimist, creating clarity amid chaos, leading cross-functional partners on the path to resiliency.
AI and technology
Generative AI, automation, AI-enhanced analytics, natural language query and other developing technologies could benefit, even revolutionize, every part of your organization. Automating operational and financial workflows can increase productivity and efficiency, enhance analysis and reporting, and improve compliance. Effectively leveraging technology can enable you and your cross-functional partners to make more informed decisions.
To effectively embrace technology:
- Cultivate a digital-savvy mindset and culture
- Define your organization’s overall digital philosophy and strategy
- Reduce redundancy in and drive value from your existing tech stack
- Clarify the criteria for new investments
- Actively engage in adopting, using and governing new technologies
- Use new and existing tools to their fullest
Cybersecurity
As CFOs embrace and leverage technology, we must also respect it. Indeed, one of your biggest nightmares likely relates to a security breach, whether involving viruses, worms, spyware, phishing, crypto-jacking or a good old-fashioned brute force attack. To sleep better at night despite the bad actors becoming ever more creative in their craft:
- Know and mitigate your risks by designing and implementing a comprehensive cybersecurity program
- Educate your team via training, phishing campaigns and employee certifications
- Develop disaster recovery, business continuity and related plans
- Invest in cyber insurance
- Adopt a continuous improvement mindset, becoming increasingly vigilant in assessing new threats and proactive in enhancing your cybersecurity program
Cost optimization and growth
At Campbell Soup, where I previously worked, we had an enterprise-wide initiative called the “enablers program,” where the goal was to optimize cost, then reinvest the savings to grow the business. As the finance executive and “enablers champion” for Campbell’s largest supply chain operation, I guided my cross-functional partners in identifying numerous ways to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our operations, reducing controllable spend by approximately 4.5% each year.
To optimize cost at your company:
- Cultivate a culture that values continuous improvement
- Ensure cross-functional accountability and role clarity
- Simplify your portfolio of products and services
- Reduce waste and complexity in all its forms
- Renegotiate vendor contracts
- Redeploy talent vs. hiring new employees as priorities change
- Improve working capital discipline
- Consider zero-based budgeting for discretionary spend
Indiscriminate cost-cutting, however, will not create long-term economic value, so be strategic in your cost optimization activities and be strategic in leveraging the savings to invest in and grow the business.
CFO team talent and competency
The CFO team, your team, is critical to every organization’s success. To meet the growing demands of our cross-functional partners, the CFO team must be highly engaged and competent. Traditional technical skills, while required, are not enough. Members of your team must also possess curiosity, strategic agility, general business acumen and overall leadership skills. They must be proficient in new technologies like generative AI, automation and data visualization tools. They need to be storytellers, providing clear, insightful narratives that bring strategy and performance to life. They must be results-oriented. And they must have a business partner mindset.
To attract, retain and develop highly competent talent, create a welcoming culture, and invest in your team’s development, providing ongoing feedback, access to upskilling opportunities and timely advancement. And for guidance on the most relevant skills for accounting and finance professionals today and in the future, consider exploring the new IMA Competency Framework.
Work-life balance
Today’s employees struggle to navigate the complexities of modern life. Considering wellness drives performance, burnout is real and the work environment can promote or jeopardize an organization’s retention and reputation, creating an environment that supports work-life balance is a business imperative.
To champion a healthy work-life balance:
- Create a company culture that promotes and values a healthy balance
- Define expectations, align on priorities and set realistic deadlines
- Encourage staff to use their paid-time-off days
- Offer flexible work arrangements
- Fund wellness programs that make healthy choices easier
- Commit personally to work-life balance, adopting a mindset of intentionality
Purpose
Purpose, whether tied to stewardship, mission or long-term value creation, allows you to be intentional in how you lead and where you invest your time. With a strong sense of purpose, you will have greater credibility and authenticity, become more resilient, make better decisions under pressure and thereby have greater organizational impact. To that end, as the final priority in your 2026 CFO action plan, I recommend reflecting upon your purpose and the legacy you ultimately hope to leave. At least I find myself engaged in such reflection after building a long career at Campbell Soup, then becoming a small business CFO.
