2027 年财务趋势报告：塑造利益相关者价值的下一个时代

DeloitteFinanceTrends2027:Shapingthenexteraofstakeholdervalue

Inthisyear’sFinanceTrendsreport,DeloittefindsfinanceleadersmovingdeeperintoAIandtechnologydecisions—andexpandingtheirteamstohelpsteerthechange

ByDavidAnderson,EdHardy,DianeMa,TimothyMurphy,DaveTurk,Mojgan(Mo)Vakili

Article•13-minread•08September2026

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Manychieffinancialofficersareincreasinglyoperatinginadual

role:leadingthetransformationoffinanceteamswhilehelpingshapebusinessstrategiesasseniorexecutivesand,often,boardmembers.

Theyareexpectedtoinfluencewheretheorganizationplacesitsnextbets,howthoseinvestmentsaregoverned,andhowvalueisdefined,measured,andachieved.

EvidenceofthisbroadershiftintheroleoftheCFOandthefinancefunctioniswoventhroughoutthisyear’sFinanceTrendsreport.

Nowinitssecondyear,theresearchfindingshighlightedinFinanceTrendsarebasedonacross-industrysurveyof1,434financeleaders—CFOsorexecutivesonelevelbelow—across26countries,

representingsomeoftheworld’slargestcompanies.Deloittealso

conductedone-on-oneinterviewswith12financeexecutivestolearnhowthesetrendsareplayingoutacrosstheirorganizations(see

methodology

).

Ourresearchshowshowfinanceleadersareorchestratingchange

whileensuringstakeholdervalueremainsatthecenterofstrategic

discussions—especiallywhenthepathforwardisambitious,

ambiguous,orboth.Surveyrespondents’topprioritiestohelpdrivetheorganization’ssuccessthroughfiscalyear2027reflectthisbroad,strategicview:embeddingAIandadvancedtechnologytoautomateoperations(43%),drivingenterprisecostefficiency(34%),

optimizingcapitalallocationandinvestmentdecisions(33%),andstrengtheningfinance’sstrategicinfluenceacrosstheenterprise

(32%)(figure1).

Thisreportexaminesfivetrendsthatarelikelytohavethemost

impactonfinanceleadersgloballythrough2027.Fromtechstrategytocostdiscipline,capitalallocationtotransformation,respondents’topprioritiesunderpineachofthesetrends.

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1.Anexpandingmandate:Techinvestmentanddeployment

strategiescanplacefinanceleadersatthecenterof

enterprisedecision-making

AsAIuseexpandsacrossorganizations,keystrategicquestionsaremovingontofinance’sagenda:wheretofundtechnologyinnovation,howtomeasureitscostsandbenefits,whoownsandgovernsthe

data,andhowreliableAIoutputsneedtobeforeachusecase.

Financeleadersaresteppingintothisambiguityasintegratorswhocanconnectstrategy,investment,risk,andperformance.

Oursurveyshowshow—andhowquickly—manyfinanceleaders’

mandatesmaybeexpanding.Whenaskedwhichresponsibilitiestheyleadoutsidethetraditionalscopeoffinance,respondentsmostoftencitecross-enterpriseAIandtechnologycapitalallocation(54%);AItrust,includingensuringreliable,accurate,andexplainableAI

outputs(48%);andoversightofAIandtechnologyspendingand

costcontrols(48%).Amongrespondentswhohavetakenontheseresponsibilities,morethantwo-thirdshavedonesowithinthepastthreeyears,outpacingregulatorycomplianceandcybersecurity,thefourthandfifthmost-citednewresponsibilities(figure2).

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FinanceleadersincreasinglyhaveasayintechstrategybecausetheircoreskillsarecriticaltoimprovingAI’sreturnoninvestment,

accordingtotheleadersweinterviewed.“Atitscore,finance

providesameasurementfunctionandmeasurementisacritical

featureformakingsurethereisvalueandbenefitfromAI

investments,”saysTimDeacon,executivevicepresidentandchief

financialofficeratinternationalfinancialservicescompanySunLife.“It’stablestakes,butitgetsthefinancefunction,andtheCFO,a

seatatthetabletohelpdrivevaluecreation.”

Improvingfinance’sresponsiveness:3focusareas

Whenaskedwherefinancemostneedstoimproveresponsivenesstohelptheorganizationmovefaster,respondentsidentifythreeareas:

providingreal-timefinancialdataandinsightstothebusiness(48%),respondingtoexternalmarketshifts(36%),andrapidlyreallocatingcapitalandfunding(34%).Togetthere,respondentsplantofocus

ontheseprioritiesthrough2027:

·Strengtheningdataandtechnologyfoundations:Nearlyhalfofrespondents(46%)plantoinvestinmodernizingcore

enterpriseresourceplanning(ERP)platformsorunifying

finance,management,andtaxdata(figure3).Finance

leadersweinterviewedsayit’simportanttohaveclearerdataownershipandintegrationstandardstosupportbetter

decision-making.TheyalsodescribehowAIcanactasan

orchestrationlayer,connectingpreviouslyisolatedsystems

andreducingmanualreconciliation.1AtSunLife,for

example,DeacondescribesAIashelpingaggregatedataand“almostskipastep”indevelopingarobustdatalakefor

corereconciliationefforts.

.Rewiringhowfinanceworkgetsdone:Asimilarpercentageofrespondents(43%)plantochangehowworkiscompletedwithinfinance,eitherbyrestructuringthefunctionor

workingwithoutsidepartnerstooperateportionsofit.AndasAIscales,CFOscanhelpredesignwork,roles,decision

rights,andpartnerrelationshipstohelpensureAI-createdcapacitytranslatesintobetterdecisionsandenterprise

value.2BikashPrasad,CFOforglobalagriculturecompanyUPLLtd.,describesthisshiftasapushtoward“touchless

accounting:tax,treasury,investorrelations,FP&A[financialplanningandanalysis],andcontrollership.”

.BuildingtalentmodelsthatputAIinsightsintoaction:One-

thirdofrespondents(33%)plantodeploymoredynamic

forecasting,scenarios,andAIinsightswhile29%planto

upskillfinancetalentwithmoredataandAIliteracyskills.

Amongthosefocusedonupskilling,morethanone-thirdarecreatingcross-functionalproblem-solvingassignmentsthatpairtechnicalleadswithsoft-skilldevelopmentgoals.To

broadenemployees’experienceacrossdisciplines,AlphabetFinanceusesitsBungeeprogramtoplacefinancetalentin6-to12-monthtemporaryassignmentsoutsidetheirnormal

roles,GoogleCloudCFOKobiBar-Nathansays.

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2.Human-led,AI-powered:

Financeasthehubofresponsive,trustedintelligence

Lastyear,FinanceTrends’AI-relatedfindingsfocusedonwhether

andhowAIcouldbeembeddedinfinanceworkflows.Thisyear,thefocusisonwhetherfinancehasthecorecapabilities—trusted,fit-for-purposedata,clearownershipandcontrols,andAI-readytalent—toscalethosetoolsresponsiblyandhelpthebusinessmakebetter

decisions.

CalibratingAIautonomytoassociatedrisks

Mostsurveyrespondents(77%)saythey’recomfortablewithagenticsolutionsmovingbeyondonlyprovidingrecommendationsandintosomeformofautonomousdecision-making.Butonly14%say

they’recomfortablewithusingfullyautonomousagentsformorecriticaldecisions(figure4).Ininterviews,leadersstressedthe

importanceofcalibratingAIautonomytorisklevels,pointingoutthatstronghumanoversightshouldbemaintainedforhigher-riskactivities,suchasregulatoryreportingandtax.

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WhenweaskedfinanceleadersabouttheiragenticAIaspirations

andscalingreadinessthrough2027,42%saytheirambitionsexceedcurrentcapabilitiesbecausetheyneedtoestablishstrongercontrolsbeforescaling.Further,lackoftrustinAIoutputqualityamong

employeesiscitedasatopbarriertoadoption(41%)amongthosewhobelievetheirambitionsexceedcurrentcapabilities.3

ThesefindingsunderscoretheneedforCFOstoestablishclear

decision-makingframeworksandcontrolstomakehuman-led,AI-poweredfinancetransformationsuccessful.

BroadeningfinanceskillsforagenticAIadoption

Tohelpscaleagenticworkflows,financeleadersmightalsoneedtobroadenthecorecapabilitiesontheirteams,includinghiringchangemanagementexperts,datascientists,andengineersalongsideMBAsandprofessionalswithexperienceininvestmentbankingand

consulting,accordingtothefinanceleadersweinterviewed.

Threeexamplesshowhowfinanceleadersareexpandingtheirteamstosupportagenticfinance:

·Investinginadoptionbeforeautomation:BeforeHewlett

PackardEnterpriselaunchedanagentdesignedtoreimaginetheirmanual,staticexecutivereportingprocess,finance

leadersexaminedunderlyingprocesses,roles,andworkforceimplications.Theyalsohiredtwochangemanagement

professionalstofacilitate.“That'smoneywell-investedin

termsofbringingthoserolesintotheteamandreallydriving

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changemanagementandensuringthatwehavetheadoptionandthesuccesscriteria,”saysBobbyJutley,HPE’svice

presidentoffinancestrategictransformationdelivery.

·Buildingtrusteddatafoundations:CarlosAlbertoPereira,

CFOofFrimesa,Brazil’slargestfoodprocessingcooperative,establishedthecompany’s10-persondataintelligenceteam

asafoundationfortrustedAIuse.Theteamcurates

information,strengthensgovernanceanddataquality,and

integratesexternaldatasothebusinesscangeneratereliablequeriesacrossagenticcontrollership,pricing,andoperations.

·Creatingasafeexperimentationenvironment:North

AmericanfinancialservicescompanyEQBInc.createdan“experimentationstudio”totesthowagenticworkflows

couldimprovelong-standingfinanceprocessesina

controlledenvironment.Inonecase,theteamreplicatedakeyquarterlyreportwith91%accuracyinresults,reducingathree-dayprocessinvolvingseveralpeopletoroughly10

minutes.Experimentinginacontrolledsettingwithhumanoversightcanincreaseproductivityandenhancetrustin

agenticprocesses.Justasimportant,itcanhelpcultivateastrongercultureofhuman-machinecollaboration.

3.Finance’snextAIchallenge:ManagingAIcostcomplexityatscale

Manyrespondents(60%)expectAIcostsandcomplexitytorise

substantiallythrough2027.Therefore,theysaythey’llneedtoadoptmoresophisticatedAIcostmanagementpractices.Incontrast,35%plantomaintaincurrentpracticesbecausetheybelievecostsand

technicalcomplexitywillremainmodest(figure5).

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Notably,respondentswhoexpectAIcoststorisearemorelikelytoworkatmoreAI-maturecompaniesthanthosewhoexpectcoststostayaroundcurrentlevels(figure6),accordingtohowrespondentsansweredquestionsabouttheirorganizations’AIjourneys.For

example,thosewhoexpectcoststorisearemorelikelytoprioritizeembeddingAIandadvancedtechnologyintooperations(48%versus36%);haveembeddedAIproductivitytoolswithinthefinance

function(64%versus51%);and,maybemosttellingly,aremorelikelytoalreadyhaveaFinOpsteammanagingcoststoday(38%versus25%).

AIcostscanbedifficulttomanageandpredict.4Tokenconsumptionmaybethemostvisibleusagemetric,butotherfactors,suchas

workloadtype,datacentercapacity,andhostingstrategycanaffectthecostofgeneratingandscalingAIoutputsinnonlinearand

potentiallyvolatileways.5

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Approachestonavigatingacomplexcostenvironment

AsAIcostsbecomehardertoforecast,allocate,andgovern,

respondentsciteseveralchallenges:uncertainregulatoryor

compliancerequirements(20%),complexcloudandvendorbillingforAIcompute(19%),andintegratingusagedatawithERPand

financesystems(15%).Toaddressthem,herearethreeactionsgleanedfromourexecutiveinterviews:

·Setguardrailsaroundexperimentation.Financeleadersneedvisibilityintowhichtools,datasources,andworkflowsarebeingused.“Theharderpartofthisequationisthe

explosionofdifferenttoolsandthenknowingwhichtooltouseforwhatpurpose,”MikeSpencer,headoffinanceat

Salesforce,says.Itcanhelptoinventorytools,understandunderlyingobjectivesofusecases,andaligncapabilitiesto

businessneedsbeforeexperimentationturnsintounmanagedspending.Aspilotsmoveintoproduction,financeteamsmayneedstrongervisibilityandcontrolstomanageAIusage,

costs,andaccountabilityatscale.

·Modelvendorcostexposurebeforepricingchanges.As

early-adoptioncreditsexpire,vendorsubsidiesdiminish,andnewpricingmodelstakehold,financeteamscouldreview

strategicvendortermsbeforenewAIpricingmodelsarefullyestablished,includingdataaccessrightsandrenewal

risk.6Someexistingagreementsalsomightbegiving

companiesbroaderaccesstodatathanvendorsarelikelytoofferinfuturedeals,sofinanceleaderswillneedtoevaluatewherecurrentcontractspreserveflexibilityandwherethat

flexibilitycoulddecrease.GlobalstaffingcompanyAdeccoGroup’sGlobalCFO,ValentinaFicaio,saysoverthenext

twoyears,herteamplanstoidentifywhereagenticsolutions

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canscalewithcustomers,clarifyenterpriseneeds,andbetterunderstandwherethereiswillingnesstoassumehigher

futurecostsaheadoffuturecontractrenewals.

·Planforpotentialrevenuescenarios.ManyrespondentsstilljudgeAIthroughaproductivitylens,as36%citetimeand

productivitymetricsaskeytoevaluatingAIinvestments,

comparedwith23%whociterevenueenablement.ButasAIcostsrise,financeleaderswillneedafullerviewofvalue.

RisingAIcostscouldbedeemedacceptableiftheAI

investmentshelpincreasecompanyrevenue,margin,or

enterprisevalue.SunLife’sfinanceteamisdeveloping

“hypothesis-drivenforecasts”tobetterunderstandAI

investments’potentialimpact,Deaconsays.“Wehaven’tyetseenthefullpowerandbenefitthatAIwillbring,

particularlyonrevenueopportunities,”hesays.“Thecostefficienciesarealotclearer,butthere’scurrentlymore

uncertaintyontherevenuethatcanbegeneratedfromtheseAImodelsandhowrelatedAIcostswillevolve.”

4.Thegeographiccomplexitiesofinvestmentstrategies:How

techsovereigntymaydrivenewchoicesacrosstheglobe

Whenitcomestoexternalriskfactors,respondents’topthree

concernsreflectthefragmentedglobaltechlandscapethey’re

operatingin:cyberthreatsandAI-drivenrisks(31%),economic

uncertainty(29%),andgeopoliticaltensions(24%).Eachranks

higherthaninlastyear’sFinanceTrendssurveyfindings—especiallycyberthreatsandAI-drivenrisks.

Relatedly,thesurveyindicatesthatmanyfinanceleadersplanto

prioritizetechsovereignty:organizationalornationalindependenceandownershipofdata,vendors,andsupplychains.Nearlytwo-

thirdsofrespondents(63%)regardtechsovereigntyasastrategic

differentiatorthatenablestrust,resilience,andlong-termvalue.And84%sayitwillreshapetheirorganizations’technologyrelated

capitalallocationdecisionsthrough2027(figure7).

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Amongtheanticipatedchanges,55%ofrespondentsexpecttech

sovereigntytohaveamajorimpactontheirtechnologyplatform

investmentchoices;16%sayitwillimpactwherephysicalassetsarereallocated,byregion;and13%expectittoaffectmajorstructuralchanges,suchasnewpartnerships,decisionsaboutmergersand

acquisitions,orlegalorentityrestructures.

Gettingaheadofincreasingregulations

ManygovernmentsareestablishingtheirownAIanddata

governanceregulationsandguidelines.Todate,morethan60

countrieshavelaunchednationalAIstrategies.7Manyoftheseaimtomaintaindataresidency,modeldevelopment,computing,and

talentwithinthecountryorregion’sborders.Interviewedleaders

alsopointedtotheneedformorecreativefinancingapproachesas

technologyinvestmentsscale.Insomecases,organizationsmayseekco-investmentstructuresthatpairinternaltechnologyassetswith

externalpartners’infrastructureexpertise,specializedcapabilities,orlong-termcapital.

Tomanagethegrowingvolumeandcomplexityofregulatory

requirementsthrough2027,49%ofrespondentsplantouseAIorautomationforroutinecompliancetasks,43%willfocuson

strengtheningtheirdatagovernanceandlineageforauditability,and32%saytheywillworkonimprovingalignmentbetweenfinancialandoperatingreporting.

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AndreaUnruh,globalseniorfinancedirectoratKoch,describeshowherorganization’sfinanceteamisbecomingmoreproactiveabout

understandingtheglobalregulatoryenvironmenttobettersupportkeyinvestmentdecisions.“Wecanremovebarriers[which]enablegrowth,capitalallocation,andacquisitions,”shesays.When

Unruh’steamentersnewregions,forexample,theyworktobetterunderstandreportingrequirements,suchaspillar2,ratherthan

waitinguntilfilingreturns.

5.Rethinkingthefundingplaybook:Thefragmented

processofdecidingwhattofundandhowtofundit

Astechbudgetsrise,8manyfinanceleadersarenavigatingagrowingnumberofinvestmentoptions.Whenaskedhowtheymostoften

approvelargeAIandtechnologyinvestments,66%ofrespondentsindicatetheyuseaninternallydrivenprocessthatputsmeasurementattheforefront(figure8).

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Amongthese,27%ofrespondentsprimarilyrelyuponastage-gateprocess,wherefundingstartswithapilotandmorefundingmaybeaddedifgoalsaremetateachstage.Another25%haveaformal

capitalapprovalprocessinplacethatrequiresquantifiedROIandabusinesscase.Conversely,23%ofrespondents—and28%ofNorth

Americanrespondents—sayexecutiveorboardmandatesdrivemostoftheseinvestmentdecisionswithouthavingameasurementprocessinplacetogaugesuccess.

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Tobalancetheneedtomovefastbutwithpurpose,Canada-based

financialservicescompanyEQBInc.introducedaC-suiteinvestmentcommitteetostrategicallyallocatecapital.AccordingtoCFOand

HeadofStrategyAnilisaSainani,eachinvestmentneedstoanswerfivequestionsaroundstrategicfit,economicvalue,riskappetite,operationalfeasibilityandalignment,andnonfinancialKPIstobeusedtoholdthebusinessaccountableiffunded.Answeringthesequestionsactsasa“catalysttohavingconversationsaroundan

enterprisewideview,”Sainanisays,thatprioritizes“progressoverperfection.”

Growingresponsibly:Emergingpathwaysfortechinvestments

Respondentsplantoexploreavarietyoftechnologyfunding

mechanismsthroughout2027(figure9),mainlyfromtraditionalinternalcapitalexpenditureorbalancesheetfunding(29%),oralternativelyfromequity,sovereignwealth,andinstitutional

investors(30%).

.Managedservicesarrangementswithsharedefficiency

targets:Mostcommonly,26%ofrespondentsplantoexplorenewmanagedservicerelationshipswithsharedefficiencytargets.

Otherrespondentsareconsideringalternativemethods,including:

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·Creatingco-investmentvehicleswithoutsidepartners:Morethan20%ofrespondentsareexploringalternative

investmentsinstruments,likespecialpurposevehicleswithoutsidepartners.Interviewedleadersalsopointtotheneedformorecreativefinancingapproachesastechnology

investmentsscale.Insomecases,organizationsmayseekco-investmentstructuresthatpairinternaltechnologyassets

withexternalpartn