Three trends shaping Australian finance leadership in 2026

For finance leaders in 2026, to-do lists are more complex than ever. While a volatile raft of external factors remain, internal challenges from ensuring AI investments pay off to filling the finance talent gap, are adding to the complexity. While the challenges are many, there are three key trends affecting the Australian financial landscape this year that finance leaders need to factor.   

1. The sheer volume of data now flowing through organisations.  

Global data generation is accelerating at a rate few finance teams were designed to manage. SAP Concur research reveals that 57 per cent of CFOs still struggle with unpredictable economic conditions. While the access to more data does present a significant opportunity, the volume alone does not provide insights, clarity, or solve uncertainty. Instead, it can often be paralysing and overwhelm decision making. Data only becomes valuable when it is accurate, timely, and structured to inform decisions. 

Many chief financial officers (CFOs) are responding to the challenges of unlocking valuable insights from their data, by investing in advanced analytics and AI to bolster forecasting accuracy and strengthen risk assessment. Automation in areas such as expense management and reconciliation is also reducing manual effort and improving visibility where data is captured consistently across the business. 

The challenge most CFOs need to be wary of is the integration and capability of these new investments. Finance teams are surrounded by data; however, many still struggle to translate it into timely, confident actions. This requires closer collaboration across functions and a willingness to look beyond finance-led indicators when planning scenarios. 

2. Shift from defensive cost control toward selective growth.  

Finance leaders are accustomed to steering the organisations through choppy waters. For the past three years, that has largely meant focusing on cost containment and efficiency. However, evolving expectations will test finance leaders' mandates as the organisation's growth captain this year. The CFO role now reaches far beyond traditional finance into influencing overall business strategy, pricing, and enterprise-wide decision-making (74 per cent). 

Leading CFOs are focusing on transitioning the organisation from a mindset of restriction to expansion, while building tech-fuelled teams to power growth in areas such as AI and automation. 

To seize the growth opportunity, focus on three disciplined shifts. First, move to a value-centric cost strategy, taking a structured, lifecycle view of costs across the full value chain. This reveals inefficiencies, aligns spend to core business goals, and frees up capital to reinvest in expansion. 

Next, clearly communicate the growth story. Set out a compelling business vision and reinforce how disciplined cost control underpins expansion. Bring stakeholders together across functions so cost, strategy, and growth pull in the same direction. Finally, adopt an always-on approach to portfolio review. With global merger and acquisition (M&A) activity expected to accelerate into 2026 and valuations rising quickly, agility is critical. Be ready to move early and capitalise when the window opens. 

3. Talent and skills gaps. 

Finance teams are not immune to the skills shortages affecting organisations, with finance leaders viewing young talent attraction as one of their top internal challenges.  SAP Concur data reveals that of finance leaders view talent attraction, retention, or an ageing workforce as a top-three internal challenges.

Attracting and retaining young talent the industry needs to fuel future growth now depends on more than compensation alone. For younger professionals in the industry, it's also dependant on developing the capabilities needed for a more automated, technology-driven business future, and understanding how today's training translates into tomorrow's opportunity. Clear development pathways and flexible work are just some of the factors influencing how finance teams perceive their future. 

Together, these three trends signal that the CFO role moving forward will be defined by balance and integration as data, growth, and talent cannot be managed in isolation. Finance leaders will need to connect insights to action, discipline to opportunity, and capability to strategy. The most effective CFOs will be those that move beyond oversight alone, embedding smarter systems, strengthening cross-functional alignment, and building teams equipped for a more automated and insight-driven future. 

Finance leadership in 2026 will not be measured purely by cost control or reporting accuracy. It will be measured by the ability to guide the organisation through complexity with clarity and confidence. CFOs who can turn data into direction, investment into value, and talent into competitive advantage will not simply respond to change, they will shape it.