CFO Top Priorities 2024 1702711480

Top 5 Priorities
for CFOs in 2024

Actionable insights to lead finance
transformation and functional improvement
The Top 5 Priorities for CFOs in 2024
Our 2024 Finance Executive Priorities Survey asked 185 CFOs to rank the criticality 1
of 33 priorities. Transformation leadership and functional improvement emerged as
Leading transformation efforts
top-of-mind for most.
Here we dive into the top 5 priorities, the key challenges involved in addressing
them and actions you can take to drive effective results.
2
Evaluating or improving the finance
function’s strategy and design
3
Improving finance metrics, insights
and storytelling
4
Leading change management efforts
5
Optimizing costs
Gartner for Finance Leaders Follow Us on LinkedIn Become a Client Top 5 Priorities for CFOs in 2024 2
CFO priorities in context
Over the past 18 months, economic turbulence

led 65% of companies in the S&P 1200 to take Tepid demand growth Higher costs 2.9%
actions to reduce costs, and 12% announced
Forced fiscal discipline and higher consumer Projected 2023-2025 inflation is
significant workforce cuts. But the economic
and corporate debt have weakened demand. 2.9 percentage points higher than
headwinds CFOs now face will outlast the benefits
The International Monetary Fund forecasts the previous two-decade average.
of temporary cost cuts.
GDP growth in advanced economies over
2023-2026 to be one-third lower than
the previous decade average.
Institutional knowledge cliff

Digital talent relies on the institutional
Inflation-induced price sensitivity knowledge of their more seasoned
colleagues. The share of employees
Across industries, consumer brand hopping near or above retirement age has
is soaring. In 2023, 90% of consumers have grown by 66% in the U.S. and more
switched to alternative brands. than doubled in the U.K. (130%), and
the working-age populations of many
90% advanced economies will slow down
over the next 10 years or so.
Priority 1
Leading
transformation
efforts
70% of finance transformations

are either less impactful or
moving slower than expected.
1
Key challenge
Low technology delivery capacity in finance
Efficient technology deployment is a key element

of most transformations, but implementation Likelihood of achieving digital objectives by CFO involvement in delivery
can be costly, time consuming and disruptive. Illustrative
Finance teams often have to partner with external
consultants and internal IT teams to advance 100%
Zone of Delivery
technology projects, while still performing their (Finance and IT share
ownership of digital
own roles and functions effectively. delivery.)
As the number and scope of digital projects grow,

it becomes harder to find capacity within finance
to address the needs of these projects. But CFOs Likelihood
of Realizing
who co-lead digital delivery are far more likely to 50%
Expected Zone of Abdication
realize digital’s benefits than those who abdicate Benefits (Finance lets IT deliver.)
digital responsibility or simply collaborate with IT.
Zone of Collaboration
(Finance and IT engage
effectively together.)
0%
Low High
Finance Ownership of Digital Delivery
n = 617 CxOs
Source: 2023 Gartner Strengthening Digital Leadership Survey
1
CFO action
Embrace digital leadership
To achieve the digital outcomes you expect,

Tool to get started:
The CFO’s Playbook to Improving
Digital ROI
become a Digital Vanguard — a leader who Percentage of CxOs in each profile that meet or exceed targets from digital investments
co-leads and invests in digital initiatives end
to end. Start with the following actions:
1 Improve
digital leadership proficiency within
finance. Assess your team’s digital leadership
ambitions and activity preferences — and then Abdicator Project Sponsor Digital Explorer Digital Vanguard
enlist your CIO for support where ambitions 18% of sample 27% of sample 35% of sample 20% of sample
exceed ability. Resist all forms of Steward digital initiatives Discover tech-enabled Co-lead and resource
collaboration with IT resourced and managed innovations together digital delivery teams end
2 Rethink your finance talent strategy. The by IT with IT to end
most effective digital leaders dedicate nearly
a third of their staff to technology work — 73%
roughly double the share that most finance 47% 49%
34%
teams dedicate to technology work.
3 Partner

more effectively with your CIO.
CxO Stewards
Regularly discuss topics that drive authentic
partnership and co-leadership, including CxO Discovers
the quality of cross-department collaboration, CxO Co-Leads
technology strategy and execution, and n = 617 CxOs outside IT
digital delivery capabilities. Source: 2023 Gartner Strengthening CxO Digital Leadership Survey
Priority 2
Evaluating or
improving the
finance function’s
strategy and
design Through 2025, more than 40% of
finance roles will be either new
or significantly reshaped due to
finance technology.
2
Key challenge
Outdated finance capabilities
Many finance transformation initiatives focus

heavily on technology or organizational design, Autonomous finance — Central to the future of finance
underinvesting in other operating model decisions.
The digital future of finance will involve tools and

techniques that are different from today. Data
scientists, prompt engineers and other roles bring
powerful new capabilities to the finance team but
also bring new challenges around governance
and org structure. Finding an effective roadmap
to maximize these capabilities, while minimizing Technology
their disruption, will be critical to success. and Digital by Default, Automated and AI-Enabled
Process
Delivery Highly Scalable and Agile Finance Structures
People Enhanced Breadth of AI, Data and Partnership Skills
Data On-Demand, Integrated and Insight-Rich
Source: Gartner
2
CFO action
Adapt the finance operating model for an
autonomous future
The New Operating Model for
Autonomous Finance
Prepare to make decisions about the whole operating model for autonomous
finance. As you develop operating model principles for your unique business Gartner operating model
context, keep these themes in mind:
1 Finance
teams will work more like technology teams. Borrow from Execute and Deliver to Strategy
the best of how technology teams work to prepare for an environment
En
where most teams have some responsibility for technology deployment,
ga
Enterprise
ge
customization and ongoing management. Governance
Performance
En
2 Machines will play a bigger role in decision making. Automation is
ab
le
already widely used for transactional tasks, but machines will become Decision Organization
Structure
De
more capable of judgment-based decisions and provide more prescriptive Rights
liv
advice to humans.
er
Sourcing and Ways of
Financials
Alliances Working
3 The

comparative advantages of the center will grow, while the
comparative advantages of regional teams are likely to narrow, as
technology and standardization progress. Talent Tools
Places Enterprise
Culture
Source: Gartner
Priority 3
Improving finance
metrics, insights
and storytelling
Over the past three years, the

share of analytics spend in finance
has increased by half. Yet 54% of
finance organizations still struggle
to provide data and reports
stakeholders can rely on.
3
Key challenge
Ineffective data visualization
Finance metrics are useful only if they are easy

to understand and helpful in decision making. As Revenue and expense dashboard — Bad example
analytics become more advanced and complex, Illustrative
the insights they generate must be consumable in
a low-effort way.
Decision makers want to spend more time on

problem solving and less time on sifting through
data. Improving data visualization and storytelling
capabilities can help deliver information in
intuitive, meaningful ways that enable increased
speed to insight and decision making.
Source: Gartner
3
CFO action
Coach teams to create actionable insights
To foster strong data visualization and storytelling

Overcoming 4 Common Finance Data
Visualization Mistakes (Gartner clients)
capabilities, coach your financial planning and Quarterly operating expenses visualization
analysis team to: In $ millions, illustrative
1 Design
dashboards with a storyboard.
Graphics should provide insights related to just Bad Example Good Example
one theme. For example, cash management 16.0
should have its own dashboard, with graphics
14.0
highlighting stats like the current ratio, cash 3.8
balance and outstanding debts. Placement of 12.0 3.8
graphics should reflect the nature, prominence 10.0 3.4
and sequence of data. 3.4
8.0
3.7 14.2 14.2
2 Cut details that don’t aid data interpretation. 6.0
In the example to the right, the “good 3.7
4.0 3.3
example” serves a single purpose — showing
operating expenses by quarter. 2.0
3.3
0.0
3 Tailor

data visualization to different Q1 Y1 Q2 Y1 Q3 Y1 Q4 Y1 Total Q1 Y1 Q2 Y1 Q3 Y1 Q4 Y1 Total
stakeholder groups based on their
SG&A Depreciation
information needs, consumption patterns
Insurance Premium Other Expenses
and role. Managers and analysts generally
want a higher level of detail, while senior Source: Gartner
stakeholders prefer aggregate reports that

allow comparisons across business lines.
Priority 4
Leading change
management
efforts
Organizations have seen a 50% decline

in employees’ ability to absorb changes
before becoming fatigued.
4
Key challenge
Change fatigue threatens transformation plans
Employee fatigue leads to a breakdown of

employee performance, a lower conviction to Impact of change fatigue on key employee outcomes
stay and other burnout-related issues. Learning Maximum impact of employee change fatigue
how to maintain transformation momentum while
successfully addressing this key issue is critical Enterprise Discretionary Sustainable
to sustainable, multiproject transformation plans. Contribution Eﬀort Performance Responsiveness Trust Intent to Stay
0%
-17%
-22%
-27% -27%
-25% -30%
-42%
-50%
n = 3,548 employees
Source: 2022 Gartner Workforce Change Fatigue Survey
4
CFO action
Address overlooked drivers of change fatigue
Employee change fatigue is driven by more than

Reduce Change Fatigue and Increase
Engagement for Finance Employees
(Gartner clients)
just the volume of change in an organization. Factor change fatigue into planning
Leaders often overlook two other key drivers:
exertion and disruption.
To mitigate risk of change fatigue, take these Initial Prioritization + Change Fatigue
Factors = Reassess Portfolio
Through Lens of Fatigue
actions: High
Finance/business impact • Estimated level of eﬀort Do Now
to achieve ROI
1 Maintain
an up-to-date awareness of Risk/controls importance Do Now (Rescope
• Amount of simultaneous (Execute) to Reduce
change impact. Annual or even biannual Estimated ROI change Fatigue)
surveys aren’t enough to provide the timely, Time to impact • Capacity to combine Value or
actionable information required to help change and business as Urgency
Cost to implement
usual (BAU)
reduce change fatigue. • Degree of change to
Do Later Don’t Do
(Reassess) (Reject)
employee role
2 Co-create employee-driven change Low
conversations. When employees actively Low High
participate in bottom-up action planning, Fatigue That the Change
they can better manage negative change Will Cause
reactions, understand how change impacts
them and reduce change fatigue. Source: Gartner
3 Plan

proactively. When planning
transformation initiatives, assess the level
of effort, the impact of other changes, the
level of disruption to employees’ roles and
the ability to minimize change.
Priority 5
Optimizing
costs
While prioritization of cost

management has increased 74%
since 2022, 81% of CFOs anticipate
increasing technology investment.
5
Key challenge
Assessing the impact of enterprise digital
transformation on productivity
A key deciding factor when investing in technology is the impact it will have
on productivity and employee capability. But the connection between digital Challenge: Low accountability for the outcomes of
investments and enterprise value is often hard to assess. Only 35% of CFOs digital projects
believe their teams can accurately and confidently evaluate their digital
investments’ value-creation potential. Digital Projects
Requirements Subject to More Change
Larger Scale
Increased Complexity
More Interdependencies
Limited CFO Visibility
Likely to Be Managed by Siloed Business Units
Hard for CFOs to hold business unit leaders

accountable for the outcomes of digital projects
Increased risk digital projects will require

additional funds to meet their objectives, threatening
other, interdependent projects
Source: Gartner
5
CFO action
Reframe expectations and processes for
digital investment leadership
Case Study: Increase Accountability for
Digital Spending (Gartner clients)
Enterprise digital projects often underperform against expectations —

especially when funded by multiple business units. To increase business Project charters differ from and improve on business cases
leaders’ accountability, take the following actions:
1 Develop
living project charters that define the parameters for a Typical Business Case Enterprise Digital Project Charter
Regional Expansion Project CRM Upgrade Project
digital project at its outset and serve as a foundation for monthly
operating reviews. Detailed Project Description High-Level Project Description
2 Evaluate costs for nonfinancial KPIs. Because many digital investments Assumptions Commitments
only pay off in the long term, assign costs to at least some of the project’s Cost-Benefit
Cost-Benefit
nonfinancial metrics to help determine whether the project is on track at Assumptions
Analysis Selected KPIs
Budget Analysis
Implications
an earlier point in time.
Exhaustive Financial and
Stakeholder Signatures
Operational Metrics
3 Apply

lessons learned to new projects to help ensure that resourcing Business Unit Leader: First Last
Project Sponsor: First Last
plans, timelines and metrics reflect digital projects’ interdependencies, Project Sponsor: First Last Head of PMO: First Last
requirements and operating environments. CFO: First Last
Detailed
Analyses Detailed Project Roadmap Selected High-Level Project Roadmap
Analyses
Source: Adapted From PrimeLion*

*Pseudonym
How Gartner is helping finance leaders tackle
their top priorities
As CFOs face endless transformation, tighter operating conditions, and business risks, they can rely on
Gartner’s peer-backed research, tailored guidance, and fast-start templates to address their top priorities
in the year ahead.
Explore illustrative support you receive as a Gartner client to evolve the finance function:
Benchmarking Expert Guidance Research Insights Gartner BuySmart
Assess finance’s current state and Meet with an Executive Partner Map key milestones and Discover, evaluate and select
identify opportunities to improve to align your function’s mission transformation activities using technology vendors with Gartner
performance by assessing finance’s to enterprise strategy with a guidance from The Finance BuySmart™, our insight-fueled tech
functional maturity with Digital five-year view. Develop a finance Transformation Leader’s First procurement and purchasing tool.
Finance Score. transformation roadmap. 100 Days.
Judy Romano
Executive Partner
Gartner for CFOs
Actionable, objective insight
Position your organization for success. Explore these additional
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Explore how leading finance teams are Explore three actions to earn your mission-critical priorities. hosted by our Gartner expert analysts.
realizing significant returns on their AI stakeholder buy-in and execute your
initiatives with minimal disruption. digital transformation initiatives.
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Top 5 Priorities

for CFOs in 2024

Over the past 18 months, economic turbulence

Institutional knowledge cliff

70% of finance transformations

Efficient technology deployment is a key element

As the number and scope of digital projects grow,

To achieve the digital outcomes you expect,

Many finance transformation initiatives focus

The digital future of finance will involve tools and

Delivery Highly Scalable and Agile Finance Structures

People Enhanced Breadth of AI, Data and Partnership Skills

Data On-Demand, Integrated and Insight-Rich

Over the past three years, the

Finance metrics are useful only if they are easy

Decision makers want to spend more time on

To foster strong data visualization and storytelling

stakeholders prefer aggregate reports that

Organizations have seen a 50% decline

Employee fatigue leads to a breakdown of

Employee change fatigue is driven by more than

While prioritization of cost

Requirements Subject to More Change

Limited CFO Visibility

Likely to Be Managed by Siloed Business Units

Hard for CFOs to hold business unit leaders

Increased risk digital projects will require

Enterprise digital projects often underperform against expectations —

Source: Adapted From PrimeLion*

Benchmarking Expert Guidance Research Insights Gartner BuySmart

Report Guide How We Help Webinar

Download Now Download Now Learn More Watch Now

Learn more about Gartner for Finance Leaders

Stay connected to the latest insight

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