Issue The CFO's remit widens while the growth environment stays complex

Summary

Deloitte frames the finance chief of 2026 as someone whose job has grown well beyond keeping the books. Compared with their recent predecessors, leading CFOs are said to think, operate and hire in new ways, steering entry into new markets, readying acquisitions and divestitures, and assembling teams built for what comes next. The widening role unfolds against a growth environment that remains stubbornly complex rather than easing. The report draws this picture from a survey of 1,326 finance leaders at companies with annual revenues above USD 1 billion, plus interviews with nine executives. From that research it distils five trends expected to shape finance leaders, their function and the wider organization through 2026. Together those trends portray finance as increasingly central to cutting costs, sparking innovation and coordinating a strategy for enterprise-wide growth.