Leading Through Uncertainty: What Every CFO and Finance Leader Needs to Know Right Now

Economic volatility. Global supply chain disruptions. Workforce transformation. Uncertainty is the only certainty in business today—and for CFOs and finance leaders, this presents a challenge AND an opportunity.

You're not just managing numbers anymore. You're expected to be a strategic compass, guiding your organisation through uncharted territory while still hitting performance targets. Easy? Not at all. Possible? Absolutely, if you have the right insights.

So how can finance leaders prepare for what’s next, when what’s next is anyone’s guess?

Why Traditional Planning No Longer Works

Spreadsheets and quarterly forecasts might have cut it before—but today’s environment calls for agility, visibility, and faster decision-making.

Finance teams are now being asked:

• How do we maintain resilience while cutting costs?
• Can we forecast with accuracy, even as conditions shift weekly?
• Are our teams set up to pivot, or are outdated systems slowing us down?

These are questions finance leaders can’t afford to ignore, and they go far beyond the balance sheet.

The Modern CFO's Playbook

Today’s most effective CFOs are doubling down on three key strategies:

• Digitising spend management for real-time visibility and control
• Scenario planning and flexible forecasting to stay ahead of change
• Cross-functional collaboration that breaks down silos and builds resilience

They’re not reacting, they’re leading proactively, using data to shape decisions, manage risk, and drive business growth, even in turbulent times.

Your CFO Roadmap to Resilience

To help you turn uncertainty into a strategic advantage, SAP Concur has created a practical guide just for finance leaders like you. It’s built around real-world CFO insights and includes a roadmap to help you:

• Identify key risks and gaps in your financial processes
• Increase agility without sacrificing control
• Align your team’s operations with broader business goals
• Build a forward-looking finance function ready for anything

CFO Guide: Navigating Through Business Uncertainty

How to drive success amid economic uncertainty and get ready for the AI revolution in finance?

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1. Lead With Adaptive Basics 

Balancing vision with 'guardian of truth' duties keeps the organisation steady.  

• Reconcile CEO strategy with departmental targets before budgets lock 
• Automate transactional tasks so finance talent can analyse, not admin 
• Cross-train staff and document critical processes to prevent single-point failure 
• Publish daily priority lists so teams know exactly what matters most 

2. Protect Long-Term Goals Amid Economic Shifts 

Persistent inflation, skills shortages and FX swings demand agile planning.  

• Run rolling 13-week forecasts to spot cash gaps early 
• Shift discretionary spend to projects with provable ROI 
• Partner with procurement to broaden vendor pools for price, quality and delivery stability 
• Provide travellers with clear virtual vs in-person criteria to trim low-value trips 

3. Build Future-Ready Finance Skills 

Technical chops alone won’t cut it, growth mind-sets and people skills are rising in value.  

• Follow forward-thinking CFOs and tackle stretch projects to cement a growth mind-set 
• Schedule strategy sessions with non-finance leaders to learn their KPIs 
• Enrol teams in data-analytics boot camps and AI workshops 
• Upskill on change-management frameworks so transformations stick 
• Invest in diversity, equity and inclusion training to lead global, hybrid teams 

4. Harness Breakout AI 

Generative AI is shifting from hype to hands-on use cases such as duplicate-invoice detection and cash-flow variance alerts.  

• Start with contained pilots that replace spreadsheet drudgery 
• Insist on a plain-language ethics checklist covering bias, privacy and security 
• Choose cloud platforms with AI baked in—no skunk-works code to maintain 
• Track hours saved and error reductions to build momentum for phase-two funding 

5. Make Forecasting “Always-On” 

Daily, dashboard-driven forecasts let finance pivot faster than a quarterly cycle ever could.  

• Consolidate AP, T&E and revenue feeds in one analytics hub 
• Nominate a gatekeeper to prevent metric confusion and “multiple versions of truth” 
• Balance constant dashboard views with rigorous monthly deep dives for big bets 
• Use scenario modelling to test rate hikes, supply shocks and M&A moves 

 6. Forge Win-Win Partnerships 

Data alone rarely drives change; relationships do.  

• Co-create an ROI dashboard with HR linking incentives to retention 
• Form a Finance/IT council to vet AI pilots and oversee data governance 
• Loop in ESG leads early to align carbon metrics with financial KPIs 
• Tailor financial storytelling to each stakeholder’s lens to gain rapid buy-in 

7. Turn ESG Into a Growth Lever 

Compliance pressure is rising, but savvy CFOs monetise sustainability.  

• Use spend data to rank low-carbon suppliers and negotiate better terms 
• Add climate-risk costs to investment hurdle rates 
• Report ESG wins alongside P&L metrics to sharpen the investor narrative 
• Standardise on widely accepted frameworks (e.g. Science Based Targets) to cut reporting fatigue  

How to drive success amid economic uncertainty and get ready for the AI revolution in finance?

Download the CFO’s Guidebook: Navigating Through Business Uncertainty

This guide is tailored for finance leaders in businesses of all sizes who are ready to lead with confidence, even when the future is unclear.

Get your copy now