CFO Insights: Finance moves to the center of digital risk

How finance leaders are navigating cybersecurity, AI ROI, data quality, and talent gaps in 2026

Finance leaders are facing a pivotal shift. Cybersecurity has overtaken economic uncertainty as the top external risk for CFOs, while AI adoption accelerates faster than organizations can prove return on investment. At the same time, poor data quality and growing skills gaps are undermining cost control, growth ambitions, and trust in financial insight.

This CFO Insights research report explores how the CFO role is evolving—and the concrete actions finance leaders are taking to protect their organizations, unlock value from AI, and strengthen their authority in the boardroom.

AP trends in 2026 include:

• Why cybersecurity is now the #1 external risk for CFOs—and how finance is becoming accountable for digital resilience.
• How “shadow AI” is increasing cyber exposure, often without finance leaders realizing it.
• Where AI is delivering real value in finance—and why proving AI ROI remains the biggest barrier.
• Why cost management has become finance’s top internal challenge, driven by worsening data quality.
• How data issues are widening the gap between CEO expectations and finance’s ability to drive growth.
• Which digital, analytical, and cybersecurity skills finance teams urgently need to stay competitive.

About the CFO Insights research

This report is based on a global SAP Concur survey of 600+ CFOs, senior finance leaders, business leaders, and IT leaders across multiple industries and regions. The findings reflect real world challenges facing finance organizations as digital risk, AI adoption, and data complexity converge.