Deloitte CFO Survey: 2025 Q4

The quarterly Deloitte CFO Survey has been gauging sentiment and balance-sheet strategies among the UK’s largest businesses since 2007.

Key findings

• 59% of CFOs have become more optimistic over the past 12 months on the potential for AI to boost the performance of their organisation, up from 39% in Q3 of 2024

• Almost all of the finance leaders surveyed expect to see a rise in investment in digital technology and assets by UK companies in the next five years

• Corporate risk appetite has edged up from the lows seen in September but remains well below average levels

• CFOs who rated the level of external uncertainty as high or very high fell this quarter to 38%

“CFOs are significantly more positive about improving performance through deploying AI and remain upbeat about technology investment over the medium term. We know technology was a big driver of US GDP in 2025 and we see real potential in the year ahead for AI to boost UK business performance and fuel growth. However, to realise the full value from AI, we must combine human skills with technology and upskill people, so nobody is left behind.”  
- Richard Houston, senior partner and chief executive

“Business sentiment is subdued but more positive than a year ago. While CFOs remain cautious about geopolitics and productivity, business confidence and risk appetite have ticked up from their autumn lows and perceptions of external uncertainty have edged lower.”
- Ian Stewart, chief economist

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Download this quarter’s report here.

Explore the data
 

Download the PDF to access all the historical data series from the Deloitte CFO Survey. Data from the CFO Survey is also hosted on LSEG Datastream, Bloomberg, Factset and Macrobond. Please feel free to use any of the data series in your documents or presentations.

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