CFOs juggle cost cuts, growth bets & AI confidence gap

CFOs are entering 2026 under pressure to cut costs while also backing future growth, according to new research from Gartner.

The study of more than 200 finance chiefs highlights a split between those that prioritise tight financial discipline and a smaller group that push harder on investment.

Gartner surveyed CFOs in August and asked them to rank their most urgent actions for the next six months.

More than half of respondents, 56%, placed achieving enterprise-wide cost optimisation targets in their top five priorities.

Just over half, 51%, ranked improving the accuracy and quality of financial forecasts in their top five.

These findings suggest many finance leaders still focus on financial resilience and risk protection.

"CFOs are navigating a complex, volatile environment where they need to keep tight control over costs and be more agile with financial forecasting," said Dennis Gannon, Vice President Analyst in the Gartner Finance practice. "Financially conservative themes focused on improving financial strength and downside risk mitigation are the most common among top 5 priorities for CFOs heading into 2026."

Cost programmes remain central for many organisations. Forecasting improvements also rank highly as companies face uncertain demand and pricing conditions.

Tension over growth

The survey shows a clear tension between cost focus and growth investment.

A subset of CFOs put capital allocation for new growth opportunities at the top of their list.

Gartner reports that fewer than half of all CFOs include capital allocation for growth within their top five priorities.

However, more CFOs ranked this item as their single number one priority than any other action in the survey.

This pattern points to two distinct camps. One camp concentrates on conservative balance sheet management. The other places greater emphasis on funding expansion.

"The strain between the competing priorities of cost and growth is clear in the results: a major subset of CFOs report that allocating capital to new growth opportunities is at the top of their priority list," said Gannon. "Although being cited as a top five priority by less than half of all CFOs, capital allocation for growth had more CFOs ranking it as their number one priority than any other item, showing a bifurcation between some CFOs hyper focused on growth and a majority acting conservatively."

Gartner warns that aggressive cost-cutting carries reputational and valuation risks.

The firm notes that investors often treat broad cost reduction programmes with caution.

Gartner says markets may see some cuts as unsustainable. It notes that this perception can drag on stock prices.

The research suggests that CFOs who deliver lasting cost optimisation tend to reshape culture inside their organisations.

These leaders work on cost-conscious behaviour and financial awareness among managers.

They also steer spending towards activities that distinguish their business from rivals.

At the same time, they reduce outlays in areas that competitors can copy easily.

AI confidence gap

The survey also highlights anxiety around artificial intelligence and digital skills in finance teams.

Only 36% of CFOs say they feel confident about driving AI impact at an enterprise level.

This comes as many companies increase AI investment across multiple functions.

Gartner states that this confidence gap poses a risk for future financial performance.

Within the finance function, just 44% of CFOs feel confident about speeding up the use of AI.

Only 42% express confidence in their ability to hire and retain digital talent for finance roles.

These figures indicate that many finance leaders see a shortfall in both technology adoption and skills.

"The low confidence in driving value from AI and digitalizing finance talent is a wake-up call," said Gannon. "CFOs must adopt a dual-path approach-leveraging embedded AI in vendor software for immediate gains while building the culture, governance, and skills needed for long-term success."

Gartner analysts recommend that CFOs adjust their transformation plans accordingly.

They advise against focusing solely on process change and technology rollouts.

They state that finance leaders should not assume that digitally skilled staff will appear during the transformation period without a clear workforce strategy.

Instead, analysts say CFOs need defined digital talent targets inside finance.

They suggest that CFOs draw up action plans that link those talent goals to broader transformation objectives.

Gartner says it will publish more detailed analysis of CFO priorities for the end of 2025 and the year ahead. It plans further research that tracks how finance leaders balance cost, growth and AI adoption through 2026.