What CFOs are prioritizing in 2026

CFOs…they’re just like us. Well, if you’re reading this, there’s a good chance CFOs…are us. But you get the idea.

Just like everyone else, CFOs are setting their top priorities for 2026. Evidence for this bold and daring claim? Deloitte’s latest CFO Signals survey, which polled 200 CFOs at North American companies with at least $1 billion in revenue.

This time last year, CFOs dubbed enterprise risk management their top priority for the year ahead. For 2026, though, ERM fell to fourth place.

Now, just like your uncle who was randomly waxing poetic about AI through Christmas dinner, CFOs are all about tech. Half of the CFOs Deloitte surveyed ranked digital transformation of finance as their top priority for 2026.

If you’ve been following our coverage of how AI is shaping the top finance seat, that’s no huge shocker. Many companies are still waiting to see a clear, measurable ROI from AI investments, so prioritizing digital transformation will likely dovetail with efforts to boost efficiency and productivity, which ranked “near the top of respondents’ most worrisome internal risks,” the Deloitte report’s authors noted. “The sentiment ran through much of the survey, with CFOs repeatedly citing automation as a key priority in 2026.”

“Moreover, when asked to name their top priorities for finance talent in 2026, nearly half (49%) of CFOs cite[d] automating processes to free employees to do higher-value work,” the authors added.

In a close second to digital transformation efforts, 45% of respondents cited optimizing cash management as a priority, while third place (37% of respondents) went to capital allocation.

And for anyone looking for insight into what hiring might look like in 2026, there’s an interesting tidbit in the data to mull over: One in two (49%) of CFO respondents said they expect to hire and promote internally to manage talent costs this year.