A CFOs take: opportunities for finance in 2025
- Introduction
- Driving growth and efficiency amidst uncertainty
- AI and automation: no longer optional
- What’s proving to return results?
- Data governance: the make-or-break factor
- Cybersecurity: the stakes keep rising
- People-first mindset: keeping top talent and embracing digital finance pros
- The future is now and Medius is here to help
Hear what's covered in this article:
If you’re a CFO, you know the drill—balancing financial health, efficiency, and innovation while keeping an eye on risks and opportunities. This year promises to be another year of transformation as AI, data management, and smart growth strategies take center stage. But there’s also a need for deeper investments in cybersecurity, digital talent, and time management—all areas where technology can make the biggest impact. There’s a lot weighing on the minds of CFOs, but here are some of the top opportunities shaping finance in 2025:
Driving growth and efficiency amidst uncertainty
AI and automation: no longer optional
Data governance the make or break factor
Cybersecurity: the stakes keep rising
People-first mindset: keeping top talent and embracing digital finance pros
Driving growth and efficiency amidst uncertainty
You already know your role as CFO has evolved. It's no longer just about balancing the books—it's about leading strategy, managing risks, and keeping the company ahead of the curve, especially in uncertain times. The pressure's on with changing political landscapes, rising capital requirements, shifting interest rates, and ever-growing regulatory challenges.
In 2025, CFOs will shift from prepping for growth to actively driving it. Even in uncertainty, your role in leading transformation alongside CEOs is key. Financial decision-makers are feeling confident and preparing for growth, with plans for more M&A activity and positive outlooks for the year ahead.
That means balancing cost management with the right strategic investments. If you get it right, you’ll see a real return premium over your peers. Efficient growth is all about trimming unnecessary costs while making smart investments that can pay off long-term.
Savvy CFOs are leveraging technology, predictive analytics, and financial intelligence to streamline processes (like accounts payable), anticipate risks, and make data-driven decisions. These tools, combined with C-suite collaboration, help guide your businesses toward smarter, forward-thinking strategies.
AI and automation: no longer optional
AI and automation aren’t futuristic concepts anymore—they’re must-haves. If your finance team isn’t already exploring AI, now’s the time. From automating invoice matching to optimizing travel and expense (T&E) processes, AI can cut down manual tasks, improve accuracy, and free up time for higher-level strategy.
According to Gartner’s 2025 Finance Executive Priorities Survey, AI usage in finance nearly doubled in the past year, and IDC reports in their 2025 FutureScape that AI adoption in finance is expected to rise dramatically in 2025. The trick is figuring out where AI makes the most significant difference in your organization. CFOs need to pinpoint high-impact use cases, weigh costs, and ensure a smooth rollout. AI isn’t a magic wand, but when used right, it streamlines workflows, sharpens forecasting, and turns finance into a strategic powerhouse.
What’s proving to return results?
AI holds great potential, but some areas, like generative AI, are still under scrutiny. IDC’s FutureScape 2025 report highlights some big challenges to making AI work effectively, such as high costs, a lack of developers, and weak infrastructure. IDC even warns that if these issues aren’t fixed, up to 30% of organizations might rethink their investments in generative AI.
On the other hand, other AI initiatives are already proving successful returns on investment. A Gartner survey of Finance executives shows that finance leaders say intelligent process automation has had the biggest impact on organizational productivity. Examples include things like invoice matching, optimizing T&E, managing customer credit, and cash application.
Data governance: the make-or-break factor
Data is king—it’s true. Data truly drives decisions at every level, and within finance, metrics and analytics are crucial for planning, budgeting, and forecasting. However, governance over data in many companies is sporadic and dispersed among various departments and decision-makers.
Add AI to the mix, and things can quickly become chaotic. AI is only as good as the data it works with. AI-driven initiatives won't deliver results if your data is messy, incomplete, or siloed. In fact, poor data quality is the top barrier to AI adoption, with 35% of CFOs citing it as a struggle according to Gartner’s 2025 Finance Executives survey.
That’s why CFOS must take control of their data. A solid data strategy ensures alignment across departments, streamlines data management, and enhances sharing. Strong data governance not only improves AI performance but also strengthens decision-making, analytics, and risk management.
In a world where technology and AI are becoming integral to business operations, data quality is more important than ever.
Cybersecurity: the stakes keep rising
The more digital we get, the more security risks we face. AI and automation bring efficiency, but new vulnerabilities—data breaches, fraud, privacy concerns, and cyberattacks– are also rising.
In accounts payable alone, 44 percent of businesses were targets of invoice fraud, and 43 percent suffered from business email compromise (BEC) scams.
That puts CFOs in a key position to ensure their organizations' protection. Small and midsize businesses are especially at risk, as they often lack the resources to recover from attacks.
Deepfakes
Deepfakes, which create convincing-but-false audiovisual content, pose potential risks in identity verification.
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53% of finance professionals have been targeted by attempted deepfake scamming attacks.
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43% admit they have ultimately fallen victim to an attack.
When asked, the vast majority of professionals (87%) admitted that they would make a payment if they were “called” by their CEO or CFO to do so. This is concerning as more than half (57%) of financial professionals can independently make financial transactions without additional approval.
With growing fraud tactics and cybersecurity concerns, now is the time to act. Nearly 77% of organizations are planning to boost their cyber budgets in the next year, as many admit they’re not fully prepared to handle the growing number of cyber vulnerabilities, according to PwC’s 2025 Global Digital Trust Insights survey.
CFOs must advocate for AI-driven fraud prevention and cybersecurity tools, disaster recovery plans, employee training, and consistent security policies. Staying ahead of cyber threats is not just a best practice—it’s essential.
People-first mindset: keeping top talent and embracing digital finance pros
One of the biggest hurdles in 2025? Your people. As a CFO, you know that happy employees are more productive, engaged, and motivated, which means better results and more revenue.
“Investing in employee satisfaction isn’t just ethical — it’s a strategic financial decision that drives productivity, customer loyalty, and long-term growth. Discover how CFOs are leading the way,” says Kevin Permenter, research director, Financial Applications, IDC.
Plus, when your team’s satisfied, they stick around longer, saving you from the costs of turnover. But in 2025, there’s another big piece to the puzzle: digital talent.
We’re talking about people who get AI, data analytics, and all the technology that’s changing finance. But there’s a shortage of these digital-first skills, and it’s holding CFOs back from fully embracing automation and AI. According to Gartner, 77% of CFOs say the lack of digital skills is slowing down their AI adoption.
Many employees today are looking for experiences and benefits that actually help them get more done at work. Whether it's personalized perks, better collaboration between teams, or tech that makes their jobs easier, they're after what boosts productivity. But here’s the question: which comes first—the right tools or the right skills?
For CFOs, the answer is both. To stay ahead, you need to focus on upskilling your current team while also bringing in fresh talent who can handle the digital shift. The more proactive you are about this now, the better off you'll be—keeping your team sharp, adaptable, and ready to tackle whatever the future throws at them.
The future is now
As CFOs, you’re not just managing finances—you’re leading change. You can navigate uncertainty and drive growth by embracing AI, data, and a people-first mindset. Smart investments in tech and talent, especially automation and spend management, will set your team up for success.
Medius is here to help
Our solutions provide the tools you need to automate your accounts payable processes, enhance data security, and support smarter, data-driven decisions. Let’s make 2025 the year you innovate and lead the charge.
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