What does 2026 have in store for digital transformation?

Whether it’s to close the books faster or automate menial tasks, opportunities abound to transform the finance function with technology.

Finance execs and other experts shared their thoughts with CFO Brew on what 2026 may have in store for digital transformation. Perhaps unsurprisingly, artificial intelligence and different ways it’s being deployed are top of mind.

Comments have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Siqi Chen, CEO and CFO of Runway: If you look at where AI has had the most traction so far—customer support, writing, coding—it makes sense. Those are domains where the interface is natural language, and the data is both high-volume and relatively low-context. Finance hasn’t seen that same level of adoption yet…That’s what I think changes in 2026. We’re going to see the software finally match the capabilities of the models. And when that happens, a huge amount of work that’s traditionally been human-led, like forecasting or variance analysis, is going to start shifting. Maybe not all at once, but you’ll start to notice that the effort and resources required to get to “good enough” drop by an order of magnitude. That’s going to create real economic leverage for finance teams because the cost of doing high-quality work goes down, and the speed goes up. All of that frees up judgment and time.

Karen Walker, CFO of Sysdig: The biggest opportunity here is using security-aligned data automation to improve operational efficiency while reducing risk. Finance teams who adopt AI with strong governance frameworks from Day 1 will move faster and more efficiently in the long run, and also avoid the pilot-phase failures plaguing many organizations today. Ultimately, transformation isn’t driven by new tools, but by a disciplined focus on enablement, outcomes, controls, and cross-functional alignment.

Tony Jarjoura, CFO of Gigamon: We’ve deployed AI-powered tools for our FP&A team. Rather than having lots of manual intervention building out our finance and FP&A model, we deployed a system that’s able to reference into our ERP system…and embed direct data from one source to the next…to be able to deliver a more dynamic and streamlined FP&A outcome that we can then, rather [than] spending 100 hours reconciling systems and information, we’re spending two hours to reconcile what the systems have shown us within this tool, and then 98 hours on [higher-level work]. It’s not a reduction of hours per se, it’s more of a re-architecting where we’re spending our time.

Junko Swain, CAO of Workiva: 2026 will be the year that the “looming data crisis” puts CFOs in the hot seat to prove the value of their digital transformation investments…This means the biggest challenge finance and accounting leaders have the opportunity to solve is the fundamental issue of fragmented data. Many companies still have manual and disconnected data systems, but in 2026, digital transformation initiatives need to focus on the following:

• Establishing a single source of truth. This isn’t just a technical goal, it’s a governance and risk-management necessity. CFOs must centralize financial and non-financial data to connect reporting and compliance processes. Without this foundation, the AI they deploy will only lead to more efficient errors.
• Scaling and compliance post-transaction. Digital transformation must provide the framework for scalable, compliant, and investor-ready operations after the bell rings.
• Accelerating time to insight. By automating routine tasks and connecting data, finance teams can accelerate modeling, forecasting, and scenario planning, using the freed-up time to drive growth and minimize risk.

Sarah-Jayne Martin, senior director of global financial automation solutions at Quadient: For companies that have started or are well into automation, they will in 2026 move on to the next step in digital transformation, which is intelligence and insights. This includes real-time forecasting that drives intelligence for the CFO. It includes having a holistic view of the entire finance function, from treasury and compliance to reconciliation and accounting close cycles.

Thomas Mackenzie, KPMG US and global audit chief digital officer: As organizations seek to ensure their AI systems are trustworthy, the auditor’s role is becoming crucial. Through independent assurance and robust control testing, we provide the confidence needed to scale AI ethically, allowing companies to innovate with certainty and build greater trust with their stakeholders.