? The role of the chief financial officer has undergone a dramatic transformation in recent years, evolving from traditional financial stewardship to strategic partnership at the highest level of organizational leadership. What was once primarily a numbers-focused position has expanded into a multifaceted role that touches nearly every aspect of business operations.

“From stewards of compliance and guardians of quarterly earnings, to architects of enterprise strategy.” According to a global survey of nearly 600 CFOs by Egon Zehnder, a remarkable 82% report that their role has significantly grown over the past five years. This expansion isn’t just about taking on more work — it represents a fundamental shift in how organizations view the finance function. Forbes notes that this shift was particularly evident during the pandemic, when finance leaders moved beyond cost-cutting to reimagine finance operations through automation and digital transformation.

The big bang: In the past two years alone, 55% of CFOs have taken on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) responsibilities, while 44% have added mergers and acquisitions and corporate development duties to their portfolios. Additional responsibilities now frequently include corporate strategy, co-leadership of the enterprise with the CEO, risk management, and cybersecurity.

Research from RGP’s CFO Perspectives survey shows that 74% of CFOs now wield enterprise-wide influence, and 93% say they play a significant role in shaping business strategy. Even in 2013, “the CFO's role is very much that of being the CEO's right hand,” Andrew Halford, then CFO of Vodafone was cited as saying. The Association for Financial Professionals emphasizes the magnitude of this shift on 2025 corporate strategy, noting that CFOs are now active business partners alongside the CEO, working closely with executives to drive large-scale and high-impact organizational initiatives. They’re expected not just to curtail overspending and safeguard funds, but to drive strategic planning, business development, digital transformation, and innovation.

The driver? Technology adoption has become central to the modern CFO’s mandate. PwC research found that 58% of CFOs say they’re spending more time on technology investment and implementation compared to a year ago, with 44% saying that increasing the use of technology to reduce costs is very important to fund in the next 12 months. Looking ahead, CFOs believe that AI and machine learning will have the greatest impact on the future performance of the finance function. As one PwC report notes, savvy finance leaders harness the power of data, predictive analytics, and financial intelligence to identify risks, simulate scenarios, and devise mitigation strategies that safeguard financial health and enhance financial resilience.

The broader scope of the CFO role has implications for career progression. Research cited by Fortune from Crist Kolder Associates (CKA) shows an uptick in the percentage of former CFOs who have taken on CEO roles at Fortune 500 and S&P 500 companies. CKA’s co-managing partner notes that CFOs have a unique vantage point — because their work spans all segments of the company, they know how to communicate with boards, and bring a risk-averse mindset that’s increasingly valuable. While the Egon Zehnder survey found that 60% of CFOs aspire to become CEOs, almost half cite networking and visibility as the biggest barrier to achieving this goal, followed by customer and market knowledge and operational expertise.

When asked about the competencies that will matter most over the next five years, CFOs ranked driving change, shaping strategy, and developing talent as the top priorities. Notably, female CFOs were particularly adamant about driving change, with 57% naming this as the key competency, compared to 40% of male CFOs. For their successors, CFOs believe external credibility and investor relations, co-leadership of the enterprise with the CEO, and driving enterprise transformation will be the most important attributes and skills.

For organizations seeking to maximize the value of their finance function, the message is clear: Companies that recognize and support this transformation — providing the resources, technology, and organizational structure for CFOs to operate as true strategic partners — will be better positioned to navigate an increasingly complex and uncertain business environment.

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