AI is likely to create a new era of collaboration between the CFO and the CIO. And it might be a little contentious, according to experts.

The 2024 Gartner CIO and Technology Executive Survey showed that 71% of CFOs believe they’re in charge of enterprise-wide technology, but so do 77% of CIOs. So what happens when both executives think they’re in charge of the company’s AI plan?

“AI is going to force both the CFO and the CIO into a tighter, more strategic, and probably sometimes more tense partnership,” Connor Augustyn, director of finance transformation at West Monroe, told CFO Brew.

According to Michael Welch, chief information security officer at cybersecurity consultancy MorganFranklin Cyber, in the past the two executives often didn’t have much of a direct relationship. And if there was one, according to CFO advisor Yoana Land, it could often be transactional and contentious.

But as data has become a powerful tool for the CFO in the past decade, good CFOs were already cultivating strong relationships with their CIOs, according to Michael Bayer, CFO of Wasabi Technologies. AI is the continuation, and acceleration, of this trend. And it will make working closely with your CIO a requirement, he added.

Click here for more on the evolving relationship between the CFO and CIO.—JK

Sure, we still don’t have jobs numbers, but there’s a lot you can learn from a slop bowl.

A spate of fast food and fast casual restaurants reported earnings last week, including Cava and McDonald’s, while Chipotle reported the last week of October.

Taken together, they paint a portrait of a cash-strapped consumer, particularly on the lower end of the earnings spectrum, as job growth weakens.

True to this, not new to this. McDonald’s has often served as a harbinger of economic stress. And if comments from the company in the last year are any indication, low-income consumers continue to feel the pinch.

“We continue to see a bifurcated consumer base with [quick-service restaurant] traffic from lower-income consumers declining nearly double digits in the third quarter, a trend that’s persisted for nearly two years,” McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski said on the company’s November 5 earnings call. “In contrast, QSR traffic growth among higher-income consumers remained strong, increasing nearly double digits in the quarter.”

That’s the K-shaped economy you’ve been hearing about. Kempczinski added that financial pressure on low-income consumers will likely continue into 2026.

“Right now, you’re seeing across the country, rents are at pretty high levels. You’re seeing food prices, whether it’s in restaurants or grocery, you’re seeing food prices are high, you’re seeing child care is high,” he said. “So long as that consumer cohort is feeling like real incomes are under pressure, I wouldn’t expect to see significant change there.”

How pressed are some consumers?—NP

Middle market CFOs say that data integration is the “top barrier” to finance modernization efforts, according to a new report from Cherry Bekaert.

In a survey of 200 CFOs and senior finance leaders at middle market organizations in the US, the accounting firm found that more than half (55%) of respondents said data accuracy and consistency was a major challenge. Nearly half (48%) said integration complexity was the “number one challenge their company faces.”

In addition, 84% of finance executives said improving data quality and integration was their top priority in the coming year.

“Fragmented systems and manual workarounds slow decision making and erode confidence,” according to the report. “CFOs are prioritizing clean, connected data to unlock strategic insights.”

Financial planning and forecasting was the activity most impacted by lack of data, 49% of respondents said. Other significantly affected areas included operational performance monitoring (46%), budgeting and cost control (33%), and risk management and compliance (27%).

How are CFOs planning to control costs?—AZ

The pandemic didn’t just test businesses—it transformed their financial leaders. CFOs recall the chaos, creativity, and decision-making that elevated the role from back-office to boardroom.