Once guardians of budgets and balance sheets, CFOs are now architects of strategy and transformation. The Super CFO, a global CFO survey, finds that ‘super CFOs’ are emerging to combat challenges. Finance leaders have moved from reporting performance to designing it. Enter the Chief Value Officer (CVO), reflecting finance’s role in total value creation. Value is no longer defined by profit but by the Integrated Reporting Framework’s six capitals.

The CFO role has transformed over the last two decades, moving beyond traditional accounting and control functions. Historically, CFOs focused on financial stewardship, including financial reporting and recording transactions. A reactive role has transformed into a strategic partner to the CEO, acting as a ‘co-pilot,’ identifying future opportunities. This double act is critical in managing modern economic unpredictability: the CEO focuses on market opportunities while the CFO steers the organisation through financial stress-testing and scenario planning.

The CFO role is strategic leadership that delivers long-term value to stakeholders. Businesses face more demands from boards, investors and regulators. “Over the past 10 years, the role of CFO has changed from one of financial management and compliance to a strategic leadership tasked with driving change,” says Dan Benson, managing director at executive search firm Morgan Philips Group. This strategic leadership shift has expanded the CFO’s mandate to include greater internal collaboration and external focus.

Deana Murfitt, COO and Executive Coach at Breakfast People, concurs: “The modern CFO is market-facing, having moved away from the confines of the traditional finance function. CFOs are now true business leaders: analysing market trends, pitching to Venture Capital (VC) and representing the corporate voice.”
An unforgiving business landscape fuels this transformation: supply shocks, inflation spikes, and investor scrutiny. CFOs have swapped the back office of spreadsheets for the unpredictability of boardroom strategy. While changes happened before Covid-19, the pandemic accelerated the CFO role. CFOs became catalysts for change across their businesses. AI, data analytics, technology and non-financial metrics have shaped this.

Modern finance leaders are architects of value creation, not just guardians of cost

Benson notes that CFOs are now at the centre of growth initiatives. “Amid a changing and challenging business landscape, CFOs are increasingly focused on driving growth, leading on M&A and raising capital or by driving organisational change to ensure businesses evolve at the pace required to compete,” he says. One CFO who has witnessed the changing role is Rafał Zborowski, founder and managing partner of advisory firm, Braincapital.pl.

He explains, “My career started with a strong focus on financial control and performance management in large organisations like Polkomtel (a mobile operator in Poland), where the priority was cost optimisation and operational efficiency.” Zborowski has seen this first-hand. “Over time, the CFO role has shifted dramatically, and so has mine. At Empik’s Learning Systems Group, I was not only responsible for finance but also for all other supportive functions like IT, HR and legal, which allowed me to lead major transformation programmes, including ERP implementation and process automation,” he says.

Risk, resilience and ESG
The Super CFO study by Egon Zehnder finds 82 percent of finance leaders report a broadening of responsibilities, including direct ownership of ESG alongside M&A and corporate strategy. These figures highlight the shift from operational control to value creation. Earlier generations of CFOs managed performance; today’s CFOs engineer it.

As CFOs extend their reach, their risk remit has expanded too. They now oversee operational, financial, reputational, and environmental risks. “CFOs today are value protectors and value creators, shaping the future by aligning capital, risk management, and strategic ambition,” says Zborowski.

This responsibility intensified post-pandemic, when CFOs led the response to unprecedented volatility. In an article for FM Magazine, Zborowski described re-engineering the business model of a global education group within days of lockdowns. These lessons have become standard practice. From liquidity stress-testing to scenario planning for geopolitical shocks, CFOs now anticipate disruption rather than reacting to it. ESG has expanded the scope: over half of respondents integrate environmental and social risk into financial decision-making.

The digital imperative
Finance blurs as automation and analytics reshape decision-making. AI automates reporting, aids forecasting and improves risk analytics. “Today, the CFO is no longer reporting the numbers but using digital tools and insights to guide innovation and long-term value creation using all available tools, including AI,” explains Zborowski. Protiviti’s Global Finance Trends 2025 study finds 72 percent of finance teams now use AI, more than double the rate a year earlier.

Once reserved for CTOs, CFOs are taking ownership of digital transformation projects. The finance function provides the discipline, governance, and data rigour to make digital investment deliver measurable results. Benson observes that this shift is also changing how company value is perceived. “The digital revolution of the past 10 years is a significant driver in this change, with investment in tech-related businesses dramatically up. For a CFO, this means the value of a company is linked with their tech stack and capability, meaning many strategic CFOs are the drivers of digital transformation within an organisation.

“The CFO’s role is not only to secure financing and monitor performance, but to challenge existing business processes and create the atmosphere for transformation,” Zborowski adds. AI’s impact goes beyond automation. CFOs use models including hyper-accurate forecasting, autonomous compliance using NLP to track global regulations and real-time risk analytics, auditing transactions for anomalies. Once optional for finance leaders, digital literacy is a core component of financial literacy. Successful CFOs will be those who can harness AI and digital transformation for insight.

From CFO to CEO
60 percent of CFOs aspire to be CEOs and 35 percent already co-lead with the CEO, per the Egon Zehnder report. Today’s CFO acts as a de facto deputy CEO, balancing capital allocation with leadership. Benson explains, “While in the past the CFO may have been an ‘ultimate destination’ role, it is increasingly viewed as a stepping stone to CEO and, latterly, NED opportunities.”

The CFO position gives a 360-degree view of the business. Zborowski’s accumulated experience, which includes comprehensive knowledge of financial control, IT systems, HR, and legal, enabled the ultimate pivot to CEO. “Later, as CEO of a private equity-backed company, I applied these skills to redesign the business model and drive growth,” the CFO-turned-CEO explains.

Yet not every CFO aspires to be CEO. Due to the demands of their jobs, 64 percent of European CFOs and 50 percent of North American CFOs are considering early retirement, according to Egon Zehnder. The larger the company, the higher the likelihood that a CFO considers early retirement.

To make that leap, technical excellence alone is no longer enough. While 60 percent of CFOs aspire to the top post, 46 percent cite networking and visibility as the biggest barriers, followed by knowledge gaps. Current and future CFOs must develop skills through learning and organisational exposure.

BDO/ACCA advises on skills needed for the pipeline: the next generation must develop experience beyond the core finance function, including involvement in strategic change programmes like IT delivery or M&A integration. This prepares them for a C-suite partnership. Ultimately, organisations must support this development. Boards are seeking diversity of thought.

Benson believes that boards now prioritise agility, resilience, and communication. “Beyond strategy definition and driving change, CFOs must demonstrate workplace agility and lead through challenging times with resilience, flexibility and clarity.” The skillset is no longer confined to financial analysis; it is about executive leadership. Firstly change management: to lead large-scale digital transformation projects, managing stakeholder impact. Secondly, communication: the skill to be a ‘financial storyteller,’ translating data into clear narratives for stakeholders, including investors, regulators and media. Thirdly, digital fluency: not only using technology, but understanding AI and cloud computing.

The road ahead
Few titles will face greater pressure or opportunity than the CFO. Technological progress, regulatory scrutiny, and a volatile global economy demand sharper insights. “The CFO role will continue to broaden as we face a world of greater uncertainty and faster change,” says Zborowski. “Challenges such as ESG integration, cybersecurity and geopolitical volatility will increasingly define their agendas. Advances in AI and digital transformation present an enormous opportunity to enhance decision-making and reinvent business models.” That balance between caution and innovation will determine which finance leaders succeed. As AI and automation take on transactional tasks, the CFO’s comparative advantage will lie in human judgement; connecting data with vision and performance with purpose.

Zborowski concludes with a clear view of the opportunity ahead: “Having worked as both CFO and CEO, the opportunity lies in stepping fully into the role of transformation leader. Those CFOs who can combine strategic vision and execute complex change will be the ones who drive sustainable long-term growth and position their companies to thrive.”

The finance function has come a long way from counting the numbers. The CFO of the future will not just measure value; they will define it.