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2026 Global CFO Survey: Australian Insights and Strategies

The 2026 Global CFO Survey reveals a profession at a defining moment. Finance leaders have shifted beyond their limited role as finance operators, to enterprise-wide transformation leaders, embedding technology, analytics, risk and cost disciplines into the operating core of their organisations. The result is that finance and associated functions are required to be faster, sharper, leaner, and more central to enterprise performance than ever before.

Across Australia, CFOs are balancing strong growth ambitions with efficiency and the operational realities of transformation execution. Customer acquisition and cybersecurity are top priorities, while global conflict / instability and global regulatory shifts remain persistent concerns. At the same time, AI has moved from experimentation to operational necessity, reshaping forecasting, reporting, and treasury management across finance functions.

Australian CFOs report improving access to capital and renewed deal activity, yet structural execution challenges remain, particularly around business model transformation and AI capability development. With AI widely recognised as a critical driver of enterprise value, it is also viewed as the area requiring the greatest investment to ensure it effectively supports strategic objectives while also realising cost and other associated benefits.

Key Australian Themes

The Strategic CFO as Enterprise Transformer: 100% of Australian respondents now lead or co-lead company-wide change, with many steering digital and AI enablement.
AI-Powered Finance: AI has become the “invisible infrastructure” of modern finance. While 96% of CFOs report AI capabilities as operational or high priority, the focus is shifting from simple adoption to deep integration into decision cycles.
Growth Amidst Volatility: CFOs are balancing ambitious growth goals, specifically customer acquisition and geographic expansion, with the realities of global conflict and regulatory shifts.
Resilience and Liquidity: Working capital has emerged as the fastest path to cash. 98% of Australian CFOs are prioritising predictive cash forecasting to turn liquidity into a competitive weapon.
Strategic Outsourcing: To overcome talent shortages and complex processes, nearly 80% of CFOs are utilising outsourcing to unlock operational scalability.

Strategic Priorities, Challenges and AI Capabilities

* (Rated “Currently Operational” + “In Development” + “High-Priority Planned” for 2026)

Australian CFOs are focused on improving resilience, optimising operations and costs to navigate persistent uncertainty, while responding to concerns related to regulatory changes and access to capital.

The Strategic CFO is now the most essential catalyst for enterprise momentum, guiding organisations with clarity, conviction, and data-driven foresight.

Download the full 2026 Global CFO Survey: Australian Insights and Strategies report here