A Deloitte report released in mid-July 2025 urges Chief Financial Officers to weave emerging AI and automation trends—particularly agentic AI—into their long-term finance strategies. As these advanced technologies gain momentum, CFOs are encouraged to confront critical operational and ethical questions surrounding automation, data use, and value creation through digital investments.
According to Deloitte’s Tech Trends 2025 report, agentic AI, defined as autonomous systems capable of completing real-world tasks, is a growing area of focus. CFOs are advised to assess how such systems might transform finance processes. Tasks like scenario planning, forecasting, and working capital optimization can now be handled internally by digital agents capable of perceiving, reasoning, and acting. This shift challenges traditional return-on-investment thinking and demands a realignment of digital priorities.
Read Also: https://theleaderreport.com/major-bank-merger-shakes-up-global-finance/
Finance leaders today must become both technologists and storytellers. As emphasized by experts in Deloitte’s finance and enterprise performance practice, modern CFOs must be fluent in technology and work closely with IT counterparts. They are encouraged to think big while acting incrementally, identifying intersections between finance strategy and technological capability and piloting use cases that can scale.
CFOs are also urged to formulate key questions to guide strategic decisions. These include evaluating which finance functions are suitable for automation, ensuring ethical and transparent data practices, and defining how digital investments yield measurable business value over time. The report suggests that addressing these considerations is essential to future-proofing the finance function.
Emerging technologies such as generative AI, small language models, and multimodal systems are adding new dimensions to finance innovation. CFOs must weigh the trade-offs between cost, functionality, data governance, and model accuracy when selecting and deploying these technologies. The decision between using a large general-purpose model or a smaller, task-specific one depends heavily on the organization’s risk tolerance and data maturity.
The report stresses that CFOs play a broader strategic role beyond operational finance. They are expected to deliver not only cost efficiencies but also shape long-term outcomes aligned with enterprise goals. That involves driving analytics-based decision-making, managing ethical AI implementation, and ensuring regulatory compliance and stakeholder trust.
As part of this shift, CFOs must lead cultural and talent transformations within their finance teams. They are called to build digital fluency, define new success metrics, and oversee the integration of AI into core workflows. Tools developed in collaboration with industry leaders demonstrate how CFOs can leverage AI agents to automate reporting, planning, and analytical tasks using structured and unstructured data within secure governance frameworks.
Measuring the return on investment for these technologies requires a nuanced approach. Deloitte advises looking beyond immediate cost savings to consider leading indicators such as model performance, process improvement, and innovation capacity. The success of AI initiatives often depends more on data quality and organizational readiness than on technology selection alone.
The Deloitte report paints a comprehensive picture of how finance functions must evolve in the face of accelerating technological change. CFOs are being asked to lead this transformation by aligning AI capabilities with strategic vision, ensuring their organizations can adapt and thrive in an increasingly digital economy. By asking the right questions and balancing innovation with oversight, finance executives can turn emerging technology into a sustainable source of enterprise value.
