The Future of Finance: Key Takeaways from CFO Leaders
Pearse Professionals recently hosted our second CFO Roundtable Breakfast at The Wolseley, led by myself (Will Dodds, Principal Consultant) and Business Director, David Chancellor. The discussion brought together senior finance leaders from private equity, venture capital, and listed businesses to explore three key themes shaping today’s finance function: financial transformation, AI adoption, and the investor playbook.
While every organisation’s transformation journey looks different, several consistent themes emerged around the table:
1. Balancing cost with commercial value is critical
Digital and AI transformation are now firmly on the CFO’s agenda, but the conversation has shifted from whether to adopt, to how to implement sustainably.
Finance leaders discussed the need to weigh implementation costs against genuine commercial value. Many organisations are still assessing whether AI tools deliver incremental efficiency or strategic insight that truly justifies the investment.
From our experience working with finance leaders across Europe, the most successful transformation projects are those anchored in measurable business outcomes - whether improving forecasting accuracy, enhancing investor reporting, or freeing up finance teams to focus on strategic growth. Transformation should always have a clear value driver, not just a technology headline.
2. AI is seen to elevate, rather than disrupt
Rather than being viewed as a threat, AI and automation were described as enablers - elevating roles and creating new opportunities by shifting teams from transactional reporting to insight generation and strategic decision making.
Automation can create the capacity for finance to become a stronger business partner, but only when implemented responsibly.
However, questions remain around trust and data reliability. CFOs are right to ask how much they can depend on AI-generated outputs, particularly when accuracy and auditability are at stake.
3. Transformation journeys are unique, but community matters
Every organisation is at a different stage of its digital and finance transformation journey, shaped by sector, ownership model, and scale.
Yet one message came through clearly: community matters. Sharing best practice and lessons learned has immense value. Transformation is rarely linear, and peer collaboration enables CFOs to work through challenges more confidently, benchmark progress, and build momentum for change within their own organisations.
AI is already changing how finance operates, and the CFOs who thrive in this environment will be those who combine financial discipline with digital literacy, understanding both the potential and the risks of automation.
Want to Join the Conversation?
Pearse Professionals will be hosting future CFO events to continue building dialogue across the finance leadership space. If you're a CFO looking to connect with like minded leaders, or a business looking to hire senior finance talent, please get in touch: willdodds@pearseprofessionals.com