What keeps CFOs awake at night? It very much depends on the CFO.
Asked to select their three biggest current challenges from a long list of options, U.S. finance chiefs surveyed by professional services firm Jefferson Wells cited profitability as their overall top concern.
At least, some of them did. About a third (34%) of the 184 participating CFOs, polled in September, placed the bottom line among their top three concerns.
“CFOs clearly expressed their increased focus on profitability in an environment of constant external change,” said Michelle Search, national practice leader for Jefferson Wells, in a news release.
However, 34% was the highest percentage for any of the listed challenges. Indeed, corporate finance leaders overall appear to have widely disparate causes for lost sleep, with six other challenges all cited by 22% to 27% of survey participants.
The CFOs were much more consistent when asked what they perceived as the top priorities for boards and major investors. Profitability was the leader here as well, but, in a seeming misalignment of organizational priorities, almost twice as many CFOs (63%) judged profit as a top-three concern for directors and investors, compared to the 34% who viewed it that way for themselves.
Boards and investors were also seen as placing significantly more emphasis on technology transformation than do the CFOs themselves. In fact, the proportion of finance chiefs who saw tech transformation as a top-three concern ticked down to 24%, compared with results of Jefferson Wells’ 2024 survey of CFOs.
Meanwhile, two hot topics — tariffs/trade barriers and advances in AI — ranked fifth and seventh, respectively, on the list of CFOs’ concerns. Two-thirds (66%) of the survey participants said they foresee tariffs having a negative impact on their organizations. And among those planning to invest in new technology, 69% anticipate spending more on AI tools.
In other survey results, although finance departments have been challenged by a talent shortage for years, 65% of those polled said they expect to expand their finance headcount over the next two years. Only 9% anticipated a decreased team size.
On the other hand, only 51% of the CFOs said they “pivot and respond well” to talent shortage and wage pressures. Similarly, just 47% said the same about changing skill requirements/the need to upskill. However, in both cases, about as many (45% and 49%, respectively) said “it takes time, but we figure it out.”
As to the top reasons for increasing finance headcount, 63% of respondents cited finance’s growing role in their organization. Next were an increased business focus on risk management (57%) and a need to support transformation projects (46%).
But CFOs clearly are looking to technology to address the challenges and costs of attracting and retaining top talent. Asked how they plan to manage them, 67% of those surveyed said they plan to invest in technology, and 65% said they plan to increase the use of AI and automation.
