Strategic adaptors: how CFOs are designing growth in an age of volatility

In 2026, the global business environment is structurally more volatile, more regulated and more technology-driven than at any point in recent memory. Economic uncertainty remains high. Geopolitical fragmentation persists. Competition is intensifying.

Yet findings from our latest C-suite barometer tell a strikingly upbeat story from the perspective of CFOs worldwide. Nine in ten report a positive growth outlook for 2026. Four in five expect revenues to rise. The confidence of CFOs worldwide has climbed 15 points since 2025 – from 26% to 41%. In a world that feels more unstable, confidence has strengthened rather than faded. This is not optimism born of favourable conditions. It is confidence built on capability and strategy.

Growth despite the hurdles

Economic uncertainty remains the single biggest factor likely to hold back business growth. Increased competition, geopolitical tension, energy costs and supply chain constraints are close behind. CFOs are under no illusions about the risks, but awareness has not translated into paralysis. Instead, it has prompted recalibration. Findings reveal a clear distinction between the uncontrollable and the manageable. Geopolitical instability and talent scarcity sit among the areas where CFOs feel least confident in shaping outcomes. By contrast, leaders express confidence in managing sustainability requirements, regulatory demands, increased competition and new models of work.

Confidence correlates with agency. Where systems, governance and capital discipline can be applied, conviction follows.

From cost cutting to cost architecture

One of the clearest shifts in 2026 is the move from episodic cost control to structural efficiency. After years of inflation, wage pressure and higher interest rates, CFOs are embedding permanent cost resilience.

Zero-based and driver-based budgeting are gaining ground. Operating models are being redesigned through shared services, nearshoring and automation. Margin protection is pursued not through blunt cuts, but through systemic redesign.

Cost is no longer a finance-only topic. CFOs are working alongside chief operating officers (COOs) and chief human resources officers (CHROs) to reshape how work gets done. Efficiency is becoming architectural.

Cash discipline follows the same logic. Even where revenues are stable, visibility and flexibility dominate. Working capital optimisation, tighter hurdle rates for investment and scenario planning for geopolitical or cyber shocks are now routine.

Optimism, then, rests as much on liquidity and discretion as on top-line growth.

Structural adaptation

Tariff turbulence provides a vivid example. Nearly a quarter of CFOs say changes to global trade have forced a change to their entire operating model. That is redesign, not adjustment.

Responses are extensive, with service consolidation (56%) and diversification of resources (51%) dominating. Many have raised prices, built cost efficiencies or developed new offerings for alternative markets. Four in ten plan further consolidation or offshoring in the year ahead.

International expansion continues, though it is being redirected. Eighty-three percent plan to enter at least one new country within five years. Half have added new target countries in the past year and nearly as many have changed destinations altogether.

Globalisation is not retreating. It is regionalising.

Technology as the lever of control

If resilience is the objective, technology is the instrument. An overwhelming 96% of CFOs have or are planning a technology transformation strategy. Artificial intelligence is cited as the external trend most likely to shape business impact and transformation success.

The emphasis has shifted from experimentation to measurable value. AI-enabled forecasting and scenario modelling lead adoption, alongside automated close processes and GenAI copilots for finance business partnering.

As much as half report AI already having a major impact and 80% have restructured teams to implement it. AI appears additive. More CFOs report new roles being created than eliminated.  

Technology is augmenting judgment rather than simply replacing labour. Yet cost discipline remains evident and will likely impact ROI expectations and potential productivity gains. Only four in ten prioritise AI as a top investment focus and many allocate less than 10% of budgets to it.

Governance, data security and risk controls feature prominently. CFOs express highest return on investment (ROI) in AI (48%), cybersecurity (39%) and data connectivity (34%) – a telling trio of innovation, protection and productivity objectives.

Confidence as a system

CFOs are boosting investment: customer acquisition and upskilling existing talent top the list of increased financial commitment, each cited by 74% of CFOs. Growth and capability are advancing together.

Yet some subtle tensions remain. Only 18% of CFOs are prioritising investment in human and machine integration, despite it being included in 85% of transformation strategies. Only one in five prioritise scalability and long-term resilience within technology transformation investment plans. So, there are some areas that will require constant flex – not just in response to the uncertain environment, but as the needs of the business evolves with its growth plans and achievements.

Ultimately, the pressures on CFOs are real and immediate, but the most effective leaders are not responding with short term fixes; they are redesigning how the organisation sees, decides and moves. Rolling forecasts, tighter value based KPIs and faster insight loops are becoming the new operating rhythm. This is not simply a fad, it’s because volatility demands it.

What has emerged from our data is a profile of CFOs who are preparing for what comes next, not what came before. They’re shifting from passive reporting to active steering, from financial optimisation to enterprise resilience, from measuring performance to shaping it. These aren’t incremental changes; they’re deliberate, capability led choices that set the conditions for growth even when conditions are tough.

Confidence in 2026 isn’t sentiment. It’s the product of systems, discipline and readiness. The CFOs who will outperform in 2026 and in the years ahead are the ones building that readiness now – designing organisations that can adapt quickly, allocate capital with conviction and stay ahead of disruption rather than react to it.

In an age of volatility, that is what competitive and strategic adaptability truly looks like.