Introduction
Finance leaders today are navigating unprecedented complexity.
CFOs must improve productivity, ensure compliance with changing regulation, and maintain the performance and engagement of finance teams under pressure.
The arrival of generative AI (GenAI) raises the stakes further. CFOs recognise its promise of significant productivity gains but also its potential to reshape finance roles and career paths.
The challenge is clear: how can CFOs harness the benefits of GenAI while building resilient, engaged, and skilled finance teams?
The Current Talent Landscape
The competition for finance talent is intensifying. In a recent survey (Gartner Finance Survey 2025), 18% of CFOs identified talent shortages as their single biggest challenge for 2025. In the UK, financial services vacancies rose 10% in H1 2025, while national vacancies fell by nearly 6%. In pensions, 80% of schemes report difficulties recruiting skilled workers.
CFOs are grappling with rapidly evolving skill demands, needing capabilities such as ESG strategy, data analytics, change leadership, and strategic decision-making within their teams. In a recent survey (Grant Thornton UK – CFO forum April 2025), 79% of CFOs say “driving and managing change initiatives” is currently the most time-sensitive aspect of their role.
Retention is proving equally difficult. Burnout, low morale, and disengagement are pushing finance professionals to explore opportunities outside their current organisations.
Across Europe, finance leaders also report shortages in digital and compliance expertise. One survey found that 77% of firms acknowledge limited GenAI skills within their teams, while only 27% have established training programmes (EY European Financial Services AI Survey). These gaps severely constrain the ability of finance functions to adapt and perform effectively.
The GenAI Disruption
GenAI is reshaping the finance function. Tools can automate reconciliations, draft reports, and analyse datasets in seconds (see more details on ROI in this recent article from BCG). Early adopters report up to 7.5 days saved in the financial close process through automation and machine learning.
Yet adoption remains cautious. Over 70% of CFOs say GenAI will be critical to their function, but fewer than 15% have embedded it into their strategy (1Q24 Deloitte CFO survey). Concerns about return on investment, governance, data quality, and risk management slow progress.
This creates a double pressure point. Boards expect CFOs to deliver productivity gains. At the same time, finance staff fear disruption. Junior staff worry about redundancy, while senior managers struggle to adapt roles to new technologies. These tensions increase uncertainty about career development and retention.
CFOs’ Responsibility: Developing Teams
Team development has become an urgent priority. The risks are clear: competitors are actively targeting scarce talent, and employees with GenAI or digital expertise are highly mobile. Without investment in people, finance functions risk losing their best staff at a critical time.
The challenge for existing employees is to understand GenAI’s opportunities, adapt, and remain relevant. CFOs need to create structured pathways for growth that combine:
- Technical development: data literacy, AI tools, and advanced financial analysis.
- Human skills: critical judgement, leadership, adaptability, and ethical reasoning.
The imperative is to prepare finance teams not only for today’s tasks but also for the higher-value roles that will emerge as GenAI replaces repetitive processes. Without this investment, finance functions risk hollowing out, with too few managers ready to step up.
There are also new risks to manage. GenAI remains a young technology, prone to bias and hallucinations. Finance teams, traditionally focused on compliance, can be slow to embrace change when productivity gains are hard to evidence. CFOs must balance the board’s push for efficiency with audit committees’ demands for strong compliance.
Personal Reflection from Experience
Throughout my 37-year career as CFO and executive, I led my teams through many strategic programmes and difficult changes. These included shifts in accounting norms, compliance and audit requirements, and major system migrations.
The hardest part was never the systems or the regulations — it was leading people through change. Staff often perceived these projects as threats and additional workload, with productivity benefits difficult to demonstrate early.
I ensured projects were properly funded and allocated time for training and change management. I personally spent significant time communicating the reasons for change, supporting leaders in identifying blockers, and helping them find solutions. I listened to staff concerns, fed them back to the project team, and made decisions to balance change initiatives with day-to-day work. Monthly reporting and quarterly accounts still had to be delivered without audit issues.
Supporting people during transition proved the key to success. I learnt that projects succeed when CFOs invest their time in supporting and retraining their teams, not just in changing processes.
The Path Forward for CFOs
CFOs today face pressing questions:
- How do we retrain finance teams to future-proof their skills in the age of GenAI?
- How do we retain skilled employees when engagement is falling and competitors are targeting them?
- How do we motivate junior staff when AI automates much of their work?
- How do we build a culture that thrives under constant change?
Practical steps can help answer these questions:
- Embed GenAI literacy in training immediately: integrate AI tools into onboarding and professional development.
- Work with HR to build strong pipelines: combine graduate recruitment with mid-career hires bringing digital expertise.
- Redesign career paths: transition employees into analysis, decision support, and advisory roles as automation expands.
- Define future skills: build skill development plans and ensure new hires are trained from day one.
- Rebalance workloads: include training and staff support explicitly in project planning.
- Evolve leadership style: command-and-control is no longer effective in multi-generational teams. Employees expect leaders who coach, mentor, and empower. Coaching builds trust and engagement, especially during uncertainty.
Conclusion: A CFO’s Checklist
The finance talent challenge demands decisive action. Here is a practical checklist for CFOs:
- Assess team skills: map current strengths and gaps, especially in AI and digital.
- Create a training roadmap: integrate GenAI and data literacy into development plans.
- Redesign roles: move staff from repetitive tasks into higher-value work.
- Lead with empathy: invest time in coaching, mentoring, and open communication.
- Develop yourself: strengthen GenAI knowledge, learn from peers, and grow coaching and mentoring skills.
The finance function is entering a new era, with GenAI disrupting a status quo built over decades. CFOs who balance technology adoption with strong investment in their people will not only achieve productivity gains but also create teams ready to lead the finance function of the future.
Share Your Views
Are you a CFO or finance professional? What are your views on this topic? Share your views in the comments below.
✍️ Bruno Vinel – Executive Coach | Former CFO | Supporting leaders through major transitions in business and life