More is being demanded of the modern CFO

In its first Business Radar report for 2026, the accounting association has issued the increasingly wide range of responsibilities for a middle-market chief financial officer, and a warning that the only constant will be change.

CFOs are now expected to bring capabilities in data and analytics, AI, cyber security, technology, sustainability, financial management, and commercial leadership; and, according to Pitcher Partners Sydney partner Jyotika Rangel, the change from even five years ago is significant.

However, this is just as much about how the position is viewed as it is about the demands of new technology.

“Finance tends to be the catch-all, handed anything that doesn’t neatly fit into the remit of other departments,” she said, while also warning that business leaders should be wary of these increasing demands that are only expected to ramp up.

“The CFO is already comfortable navigating regulation within finance, and that skillset is now seen as transferable into compliance and governance around areas not necessarily in their expertise, such as analytics of ESG.”

“As a result, leaders rely on finance experts when it feels like there’s no one else to go to, and there needs to be greater awareness, because the CFO might not always have the resources they need to lead in these areas.”

More than 80 per cent of surveyed business leaders are seeing their CFO or financial manager taking on key business responsibilities beyond traditional finance. Almost half said their CFO handled risk, governance and compliance, and another third said the same for data and analytics, tech and digital oversight.

The report also found that organisational responsibilities are muddled, with more than half of businesses employing someone managing blended or overlapping roles. In these organisations, however, executive roles remain distinct.

According to the Business Radar, the coming years will increase demand for technology, data, and AI literacy the most, followed by cross-functional teamwork and ongoing skills development. In the same vein, business leaders are most interested in expanded capability in diverse thinking, cross-departmental alignment, and faster decision making.

Despite this being uncharted territory for many financial leaders, less than a third of business leaders expressed concern that it would lead to mistakes.

Partner at Pitcher Partners Melbourne, Gavin Debono, highlighted this concerning over-estimation of CFO expertise, with few even now able to address issues in technical areas.

This, he said, compounded the possibility of overloading and error.

He said: “As responsibility continually defaults to finance, they might find themselves having to design AI-driven finance operations or embed ESG and sustainability metrics into financial reporting and decision-making.”

“Capability gaps create unseen risks”.

The report suggested looking at a temporary, consultant CFO option while upskilling existing managers to ensure they have the right expertise, with 39 per cent of surveyed business leaders considering this during the recruitment process for a permanent CFO, to access specialist expertise, or during periods of transformation, respectively.

This will “help relieve unnecessary pressure on your CFO, while helping deliver the best outcomes”, Rangel said.

“We’re definitely seeing this trend in Sydney, with local and international businesses increasingly looking to outsource all or parts of the finance function.”

“This lets them take advantage of deeper expertise while reducing the costs and risks that can come from maintaining a skilled in-house finance team.”

Partner at Pitcher Partners Newcastle and Hunter, Peter Lawrence, added that certain skills will remain irreplaceable - those that are defining of human nature, such as communication, project and stakeholder management, and emotional intelligence.

”A strong finance leader needs communication skills, project management capacity and EQ, along with the self-awareness to know when an issue is outside their expertise.”

“This is why leaders should not train or hire finance leaders on financial literacy alone.”

As roles such as CFOs become increasingly hard to define, only one thing is certain: the role will change in accordance with the increasingly dynamic nature of technology.