Finance chiefs are taking on responsibilities that reach well beyond the balance sheet, according to a new IBM Institute for Business Value study released Wednesday. The research, conducted with Oxford Economics, found that 62% of CFOs surveyed say their role has already expanded into enterprise technology or AI strategy leadership, and most expect their remit to widen further by the end of the decade.
The study gathered perspectives from 1,500 CFOs across 33 geographies and 26 industries during the first half of 2026, along with in-depth interviews. More than half of respondents reported greater portfolio-management and capital-reallocation authority, as well as more responsibility for business-model or growth-strategy design. The findings point to a shift in how the top finance job is defined at large companies, where technology decisions increasingly carry direct financial consequences.
Looking ahead to 2030, 56% of CFOs expect greater responsibility for the financial and ethical guardrails surrounding AI. Fifty-five percent anticipate helping shape operating models, workforce strategies and organizational structure, while 52% expect a larger role in enterprise value creation and portfolio strategy. The results suggest the CFO is becoming a central node in decisions that were once split among separate C-suite functions.
Jim Kavanaugh, IBM's chief financial officer and senior vice president of finance and operations, said the change reflects a broader reordering of corporate priorities. «For years, the CFO role centered on controllership, risk, fiduciary responsibilities, balance-sheet preservation and cash management,» said Kavanaugh, who has led IBM's finance organization since 2018 and is a more than 30-year veteran of the company. «Today, technology is at the core of sustainable competitive advantage. The CFO is a value creator.»
Kavanaugh described the evolution as a move from «guardian of stability» to «agent of transformation» over the past decade, and especially the past five years. He said AI is making the CFO role more interconnected with other C-suite positions rather than replacing them. CEOs set strategic direction, technology leaders enable new capabilities, chief operating officers reimagine workflows, and chief human resources officers shape talent and culture. The CFO's task, he said, is to connect those decisions to an investment thesis, an operating model and measurable value.
«I think CFOs who co-architect the AI strategy business model can shape markets and define new sources of value,» Kavanaugh said.
Despite the expanding mandate, the survey found that finance organizations remain far from fully prepared. Just 6% of CFOs described their finance function as transformation-ready, meaning AI is consistently embedded in workflows and decision-making at scale. Kavanaugh attributed that gap largely to sequencing, noting that companies often begin with AI tools rather than the underlying work that makes those tools valuable. He identified three prerequisites: sound data architecture and governance, business-model and workflow redesign, and only then technology deployment.
«Many people fail because they start with AI technology first,» Kavanaugh said. «You have to unlock the data and unlock the business-model reimagination of work.»
IBM's own quote-to-cash process illustrates the approach. The process spans customer quotes and contracting through billing, collections and cash receipt. IBM found 364 different iterations across job roles and functions, then redesigned the process as an end-to-end, cross-functional workflow, using AI to automate many steps. The company reported 90% touchless automation, a 60% productivity improvement and a 54% increase in the velocity of cash conversion.
IBM has generated $4.5 billion in productivity over the past three years and aims to reach $5.5 billion in 2026. The company frames those gains as capacity to invest in growth rather than simply as cost cutting.
The study also examined how «AI-first CFOs» perform across five disciplines: shaping advantage, governance, intelligence, capital motion and building optionality. According to IBM, companies led by AI-first CFOs achieved revenue growth rates 23% higher than peer organizations from 2022 to 2024.
For Kavanaugh, the central challenge is not treating AI as a technology project with a people component, but as a business transformation that combines human and digital work to create sustainable enterprise value. The survey's findings suggest that finance leaders who embrace that framing may find their influence extending further into strategy, operations and governance — while those who lag risk being sidelined as AI reshapes how decisions are made.