What worked in the past may not be the best approach in the present. In 2024, many Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) spent most of their time dealing with rising costs, unexpected economic shifts, and stricter regulations.
Read: 6 Skills Every CFO Needs to Succeed in 2025
While those issues haven’t disappeared, 2025 brings new challenges that demand a fresh approach. The industry is changing rapidly, and CFO roles are being pulled in new directions, highlighting that change is needed. It’s no longer enough to simply react to problems as they arise; CFOs need to think ahead and prepare for what’s next.
This means finance chiefs must shift from simply managing budgets to anticipating future trends. It’s about leading the way—spotting opportunities and guiding the organization toward smart, sustainable growth.
In this blog, we will talk about where CFOs should focus their efforts to stay ahead in 2025, the changing nature of their roles, and how they can lead their organizations towards sustained growth.
The article covers:
1. What Should CFOs Focus on this 2025
2. The Evolving Roles and Responsibilities of the Modern CFO
3 .How CFOs and Accountants can Lead Key Initiatives in 2025
What Should CFOs Focus on in 2025
Here are the six (6) areas that CFOs should focus on this year:
1. Focus on sustainability and corporate governance
As more and more organizations are concerned about their impact on the environment, CFOs must be prepared enough to drive their organization’s sustainable efforts.
This means that they need to think about how their decisions will affect the long-term health of the company, its stakeholders, society, and even the environment.
For example, if a CFO is considering investing in a new technology, they should also consider its possible effects on the company’s bottom line, quality of service delivery and client experience, and how it adds into the company’s carbon footprint.
At the same time, CFOs should focus on improving corporate governance. The governance aspect of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) plays an important role in running the organization in a way that’s honest, transparent, and accountable.
In addition, having good governance within the organization builds trust with investors, keeps the company out of trouble with the law, and shows employees and customers that the company is doing the right thing.
By paying attention to both sustainability and good governance, CFOs can help their companies grow while staying responsible and fair.
2. Forecast risks
The second thing that finance chiefs should focus on is to keep an eye on potential threats. This means that they should be able to identify and forecast risks, so that they can take appropriate actions to mitigate them.
For example, if a company is heavily dependent on one customer or supplier – it is important for the CFO to have an alternative plan in place in case of complications with said customer/supplier.
Similarly, if there are any regulatory changes on the horizon that could impact the business model (such as new tax laws), then it’s important for the CFO to be aware of those changes and how they might affect the company’s bottom line.
3. Bring financial expertise into business strategy discussion
Another critical focus for CFOs is leveraging their expertise in the business strategy decision-making process.
A CFO’s perspective not only provides valuable insights into the company’s financial capabilities and budget constraints but also helps ensure that each department’s plans are realistic.
By identifying and addressing unrealistic proposals, finance executives can guide better resource allocation and make more informed decisions across the organization.
4. Revenue generation
As mentioned in our previous blog, CFOs must also focus on revenue generation to solidify their organization’s market share in an industry. This means they need to identify opportunities for growth and work with other departments to make them happen.
Some of the efforts that can count into revenue generation include finding new markets to expanding existing ones, as well as developing new products or services that will help the organization grow.
5. Invest in automation and technology
As technology continues to evolve, current finance chiefs must be able to adapt and be open to investing in new solutions such as artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and other cutting-edge tools.
In addition, AI-driven systems, such as predictive analytics and intelligent process automation allows CFOs to streamline workflows, and focus on high-level strategic tasks.
6. Build trust inside and out
Stephen Covey once said, “Trust is the highest form of human motivation. It brings out the very best in people.” This powerful statement holds true, especially in leadership.
Aside from the points mentioned above, a CFO must also focus on building trust with their teams, peers, and the board.
With their team’s trust, a finance chief can become more effective in leading the accounting department. They will also have the ability to influence others in the organization, which can help drive change and growth.
The same goes for building trust with peers and the board. If a CFO has strong relationships with these groups, they are more likely to support them when making critical strategic decisions.
Evolving Roles and Responsibilities of a Modern CFO
Modern CFOs are expected to have a broad set of skills that can be applied across four diverse roles:
1. The Steward
The steward role is about managing the company’s resources and ensuring that they are used in a way that maximizes shareholder value.
This includes making sure that the company has enough cash on hand to meet its obligations, as well as managing working capital and inventory levels.
The steward role also includes ensuring that the company is in compliance with all laws and regulations, including those related to financial reporting.
Sustainability and ESG initiatives are some of the key areas that fall under this role. As a steward, the CFO has the upper hand in driving these efforts and ensuring that their organization complies with relevant standards.
The CFO’s role in driving sustainability and ESG initiatives
The increasing need to integrate sustainability initiatives into organizational processes signals an urgent call for CFOs to step up their game this 2025—from passive observers in sustainability efforts, they must become proactive leaders who drive its implementation within their organizations.
A big part of this is about corporate governance. This means CFOs need to ensure transparency, accountability, and ethical decision-making at every level of the organization. By embedding strong governance practices into the company’s operations, CFOs can help ensure that sustainability initiatives are not just a one-time thing but rather an integral part of the company’s DNA.
In fact, an article by BDO USA points out that a CFO’s active involvement is necessary in the successful integration of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles into an organization’s core business operations and long-term strategy.
They need to use data to make smart decisions, track progress, and report on ESG efforts. By taking the lead in both sustainability and corporate governance, CFOs can help their organizations grow in a way that’s not only responsible but also profitable.
What we learned from previous ESG efforts
In recent years, ESG has proven to be more than just a set of regulations—it’s a strategic approach to building stronger, more resilient businesses.
As a matter of fact, organizations that prioritize sustainability saw real benefits, including good reputation, cost savings from reducing unnecessary expenses, and opportunities to support environmental organizations.
2. The Operator
The role of the operator involves managing the company’s day-to-day operations and ensuring that they are running smoothly.
This includes making sure that all employees have the tools they need to do their jobs, as well as managing budgets and expenses.
The operator role also includes overseeing accounting processes and systems and assuring an organization’s compliance with laws and regulations.
3. The Catalyst
The catalyst role involves driving change within the organization by finding better ways to do things and improving how work gets done. This could mean using new tools to make financial tasks easier, relying on data to make smarter choices, and working more closely with other teams to get better results.
Catalysts are also responsible for cultivating a culture of learning and development within the organization and among its employees. As such, CFOs as catalysts should lead innovation efforts and take charge of its full implementation.
The CFO’s Role in Driving Innovation
To be a better leader this 2025, CFOs must embrace innovation as part of their core responsibilities. Here are some of the ways they can lead innovation:
- Allocating resources strategically to support innovative projects. This means that they need to identify which projects are most likely to succeed and which ones are not, so that they can allocate their resources accordingly.
- Collaborating with other executives to promote a culture of innovation within the organization. CFOs must work closely with other executives in creating an environment where innovation is encouraged and rewarded.
- Using advanced technologies such as AI and predictive analytics to drive efficiency and improve processes.
4. The Strategist
Being a strategist means being a strategic partner for the CEO and board in developing a long-term vision for the company, as well as creating strategies to achieve that vision.
CFOs need to be strategic to ensure that the company’s goals are aligned with its vision, mission and values. They must also see to it that sufficient efforts are directed towards achieving these goals.
Read Next: Building a Collaborative CEO-CFO Partnership`
What It Means to Be a Strategic CFO in 2025?
Being a strategic CFO goes beyond managing finances. It’s about taking the lead and helping the company grow. Here are some key areas to focus on to be a strategic CFO:
1. Be a reliable leader.
A strategic CFO sets the direction and becomes a trusted figure within the organization and industry.
2. Think ahead and plan for the future.
Preparing for challenges like new technology, shifting regulations, and competition ensures the company stays on track. On top of this, a CFO is also encouraged to seek out and capitalize on new growth opportunities, positioning the organization for long-term success.
3. Communicate clearly with everyone involved.
As mentioned above, effective communication is the key to making it easier for teams and departments to work together towards crafting a effective strategic goals.
4. Take on different role.
To become more strategic, CFOs can choose from these four orientations:
- Responder:
Role: Supports strategy development.
How: Provides quantitative analyses of financial implications for different strategy choices.
- Challenger:
Role: Acts as a steward of future value in the strategy process.
How: Critically examines risks and expected returns on various strategic alternatives.
Being a challenger requires permission from the CEO to challenge business-unit leaders effectively and their strategies. When given that permission, the CFO will review the major strategy investment decisions.
- Architect:
Role: Shapes strategy choices and apply finance strategies to complement and maximize the value of particular strategies of other leaders.
How: Works with finance and business leaders to design and apply finance strategies that maximize the value of strategic initiatives.
- Transformer:
Role: As a transformer, the CFO is a lead partner that drives organizational change and executes financial strategy.
How: Transforms finance functions and operations to better align with and support new strategic directions of the organization.
How CFOs and Accountants can Lead Key Initiatives in 2025
a. On ESG Initiatives
There are many ways CFOs and accountants can lead the way in ESG efforts. Here are some of the most important ones they can consider:
1. Make sure your goals are specific and achievable, so everyone knows what the main goal is.
2. Be a good role model to the stakeholder.
3. Find ways to reduce waste and cut down on energy use.
4. Make sure to have a strategy in place for managing risks associated with climate change
5. Set up a sustainability or ESG committee to provide different departments with opportunities to learn more about the topic and how it affects their work. When people know its importance, it can be easier to encourage active participation.
6. Create an ESG reporting framework.
7. Use data to measure how well the ESG efforts are doing and where you can improve.
8. Regularly review your progress and tweak your plan to stay on track.
b. On Strategic Planning
Common pitfalls to avoid in strategic planning
To achieve effective strategic planning this year, you must first recognize the potential pitfalls that could hinder your organization’s progress.
Here are some of the most common mistakes made during strategic planning:
1. Not having a clear vision and strategic plan for what the organization wants to achieve.
2. Goals and objectives that are too vague can cause strategies to fall apart.
3. Failing to identify and prioritize the most important issues facing the organization.
4. Not having a clear plan for how to implement the strategy once it is developed.
5. Failing to communicate the strategic plan effectively with all stakeholders.
6. Not having a process in place for monitoring progress against goals and objectives.
Steps to effective strategic planning
Once the pitfalls have been identified, the next step is to follow a clear and structured approach to ensure successful strategic planning. Here are some of the steps to consider:
1. Define the scope of the strategic plan.
2. Identify key stakeholders and their interests.
3. Develop a clear vision for the organization’s future.
4. Set goals and objectives that align with the vision.
5. Create an action plan to achieve those goals and objectives.
6. Implement the plan.
7. Monitor progress using key performance indicators (KPIs).
8. Adjust as needed based on feedback from stakeholders and KPI results.
The Bottom Line
This 2025, CFOs need to shift from reacting to leading. By focusing on strategic planning, innovation, and sustainability, they can position their organization for long-term success.
The key is to embrace change, make strategic planning a priority to align efforts with goals, and use ESG initiatives to create value, and take a proactive approach to handle uncertainty.
How D&V Philippines Can Help
At D&V Philippines, we understand the challenges CFOs face in balancing financial goals with sustainability. As businesses continue to prioritize environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices, CFOs are expected to lead the way in integrating sustainability with financial strategy.
Our team can provide the support you need in this changing market, whether it’s helping you measure ESG performance, manage resources efficiently, or create transparent and actionable reports.
We’re committed to aligning with your sustainability goals by ensuring that your financial strategies contribute to a sustainable future. We also have a dedicated paperless accounting solutions for CFOs and professional services firms to help you reduce your carbon footprint, one step at a time.
Schedule a free consultation with us today or download our whitepaper, Finding the Right Talents: D&V Philippines’ Solutions to Modern Accounting Firms, for more information.
