CFO Challenges: The exponential CFO
Event recap and takeaways
Thank you to all who joined us for this year’s CFO Challenges event. It was an energising and thought-provoking morning that brought together Malta’s most senior finance leaders—alongside international perspectives—to explore what it truly means for a finance function to become exponential. Together, we examined how CFOs can drive value creation, strengthen operational resilience and lead people-centred transformation in a rapidly shifting economic and technological landscape.
This year’s event marked our largest attendance to date. We were delighted to welcome many returning members of our CFO community, as well as numerous first-time participants who joined after receiving strong recommendations from their peers. The growing engagement reflects a clear desire among finance leaders to share experiences, gain clarity on evolving expectations and stay connected to the issues shaping the future of the profession.
At Deloitte, our aim is to enable exactly these conversations—grounded in our local CFO Survey, supported by cross-industry expertise, and strengthened by Deloitte’s global research and insights.
Stay up to date
Ensure you have access to the very latest news, events and resources on The CFO Agenda. Connecting with Deloitte can help to make that difference.
2025 CFO Survey — What finance leaders told us
The 2025 edition of Deloitte Malta’s CFO Survey set the tone for the discussions that followed. Several themes emerged clearly:
- Performance and efficiency still dominate the agenda. Improving financial performance continues to dominate the agenda, with 59% of CFOs planning to allocate capital to new business investments in 2026.
- A cautious but strengthening confidence. 68% expect moderate growth in 2026, balancing optimism with awareness of geopolitical, cost and market pressures.
- Technology is accelerating — but adoption is uneven. While 85% believe automation will free finance teams for higher-value work, one in three organisations has not yet introduced GenAI into finance processes. The gap between awareness and implementation remains significant.
- Talent is the critical pressure point. Competitive salaries, bonuses, clear development pathways and flexibility emerged as the most effective retention levers. CFOs are increasingly aware that human sustainability and culture must be integrated into strategic planning.
- ESG is becoming a differentiator. Across sectors, CFOs acknowledged that embedding ESG into operations is no longer a compliance exercise, it is increasingly tied to competitiveness, investor perception and long-term value.
What should CFOs prioritise in the next 12 months?
The discussions, spanning M&A, due diligence, fraud risk, operational resilience, technology adoption and talent development, converged around three clear messages:
- The CFO role is expanding faster than ever. CFOs are moving beyond traditional financial stewardship to act as strategic catalysts—leaders who use foresight, agility and data-driven storytelling to guide their organisations through uncertainty.
- Technology, people and ESG must converge. The finance function can no longer treat digital transformation, workforce development and sustainability as separate initiatives. Together, they define the operating model of a future-ready organisation.
- Growth, risk and talent strategies must be integrated. CFOs are being asked to deliver both resilience and innovation. This means building teams and systems that can simultaneously anticipate risks, unlock new opportunities and support the business through continuous change.
These insights underscore a finance function undergoing structural change. The modern CFO is increasingly a leader of capability, culture and long-term value—not just numbers.
Building a stronger community of finance leaders
Perhaps the most valuable takeaway from the event was the importance of community. Bringing together Malta’s growing cohort of CFOs and senior finance professionals creates a space to challenge assumptions, share lived experience and collectively navigate accelerating change.
If you are a CFO or senior finance leader who would like to be part of this community or receive invitations to future events, we would be happy to include you on our list so please reach out to us.
We look forward to continuing the conversation, and to supporting finance leaders as they prepare for another year of resilience, innovation and transformation.
