A roadmap for finance’s ‘most pivotal year’ in a decade

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The CFO Alliance has come out with a new report, in partnership with Oracle NetSuite, intended to help financial leaders navigate 2026, which experts predict will be “the most pivotal year the finance function has faced in a decade,” according to a news release.

Finance leaders will contend with a coalescence of forces next year, including AI disruption, capital pressures from boards and investors, “higher stakes” for leaders to align on risk management and strategy, and a greater need for agility amid structural shifts, according to the report. And these are just headwinds we know about.

CFO Alliance described its report as a “peer-built blueprint” from the minds of controllers, FP&A leaders, and roughly two dozen CFOs. The cohort, which produced the report in mid-October, drew up specific steps that finance leaders could take to address these mounting challenges.

Here’s a taste of the group’s recommendations:

• To de-risk supply chains, organizations should consider dual-sourcing high-risk products, adding provisions to supplier contracts like indexed pricing and quarterly reopeners, and scheduling regular scenarios like quarterly half-day sessions and monthly 30-minute check-ins. Experts spoke with CFO Brew earlier this year about the benefits of supply chain mapping and identifying all possible risk scenarios.
• Organizations that move too quickly on AI investments risk having an unclear ROI, fragmenting systems, and running into security issues, among other things. Companies should form an AI steering committee, prioritize the top AI use cases in each function, and update policies on acceptable AI usage. And as experts told us previously, quality data is central to AI implementation.
• CFOs risk losing credibility, and possibly their jobs, when leadership and stakeholders aren’t aligned on strategy. Organizations should publish a one-page “commander’s intent” document outlining goals, nonnegotiables, and decision rights. Leadership should review priorities monthly.

The report “reflects what we’re hearing from finance leaders across the market: 2026 is not business as usual,” according to Ranga Bodla, VP of field engagement at Oracle NetSuite.