The exponential CFO
By Anna Marie Pabellon
The role of the chief financial officer (CFO) has evolved significantly over the past years. Traditionally defined as the one responsible for the financial activities of an entire business, the role has now expanded exponentially to include growth strategies, operational excellence, and future readiness. This shift reflects a fundamental redefinition of the CFO’s mandate in response to the progressing macro market that continues to transform the way businesses’ function and deliver value.
To engage with this demand, companies are likely to see the emergence of the exponential CFO, an executive who can lead the organization through unprecedented changes both in scale and speed by accelerating value creation across the organization, driving enterprise-wide operational excellence, and shaping talent experience and culture.
According to Deloitte’s Southeast Asia (SEA) CFO Agenda 2025 report, SEA CFOs revealed that while many of the objectives and tasks that they perform today may sound similar, the operational intricacy, obscurity and magnitude of the demands confronting them have reached an unprecedented level.
Beyond the recurring concerns on capital allocation, investments and mergers and acquisitions, these CFOs are confronted with more fundamental and strategic questions that could significantly impact their organization’s long-term viability, including complexities presented by the advent of artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies, the adoption of hybrid talent operating models and the need to embed environmental, social and governance priorities into operating models.
Overall, the report identified three broad recurring themes that, together, comprise the pillars of the role of the exponential CFO: acceleration of value creation, achievement of operational excellence and futureproofing of the organization. The exponential CFO then is a visionary business leader who can navigate accelerated change, guide enterprise strategy and lead the reinvention of business models and identify opportunities to leverage innovative technologies to run, optimize and transform their organization.
A critical factor in driving growth
The progression of the role of the CFO, as exponential as it is, comes with challenges. It presents pressure to recognize that demands are already escalating rapidly, and there is a need for them to evolve their approach and innovate their capabilities to keep pace.
As customer demands amplify, the enterprise can unlock greater impact by leveraging smart technologies that enhance human strength. Success will hinge on the CFO’s ability to unify strategic and operational leadership in ways that match and accelerate the moment.
Automation offers a powerful lever for this evolution. It allows CFOs to reimagine their roles, minds and ways of working, given that there is a tendency for them to be more focused on operational delivery and execution rather than strategy and planning. Applied with the appropriate governance frameworks, automation enables them to free up their time from performing manual tasks and pivot towards more strategic decision-making.
In this evolved lens, the exponential CFO is not just reactive to change — they should be the driver of transformation, utilizing technology to permit more innovation. As businesses’ systems become more synchronized, it would be easier to match technological progress with changes to business, operations and customer models.
The future belongs to those who can scale their impact, advance their mindset and lead with focused vision in the age of transformation. For CFOs, this is the right time to think bigger and to envision how technology can unlock value across business functions most critical to growth and operational excellence.
Anna Marie Pabellon is the audit and assurance leader at Deloitte Philippines.
