Why CFOs are the new chiefs of data

The need for reliable data is changing the CFO’s role. They have always held responsibility for financial data integrity. But as demand for reliable data increases across the company, the role of the finance team is expanding. Organisations are demanding robust data to drive AI projects and clear analytics to help the Board make faster decisions, not to mention the importance of robust numbers to attract and retain investors. This means being able to source accurate, immediate data from across the organisation.

It’s no longer enough to manage reporting and compliance. If the CFO thinks data strategy, governance and architecture are ‘IT problems’ they are missing a trick; the biggest operational risk.

Unreliable data has a huge impact on the organisation. Data integrity has become a financial issue because accounting data that can’t be guaranteed affects financial performance, investor trust, regulatory compliance, and strategic decisions. This understanding is now extending to data across the organisation.

The High Cost of Bad Data

In addition, AI implementations and other finance strategic projects such as the implementation of new ERP, core model, automation and control solutions need quality data. It is difficult to successfully integrate AI tools into the organisation without accurate data to support them. Gartner’s Top CFO Priorities report predicted that data governance will become a board-level priority because ‘90% of finance functions will deploy at least one AI-enabled solution’¹.

So now CFOs are expected to take ownership of data quality in order to support new opportunities, alongside the more traditional forecasting, modelling, ESC and other regulatory disclosures. At KPMG they argue that ‘data governance has emerged as an [AI] roadblock’. Their research shows that ‘62% of organisations believe a lack of data governance is the main data challenge inhibiting AI initiatives’². This issue works its way back to the people who have ultimate responsibility for accounting data accuracy in the organisation; the finance team.

The talent opportunity boosted by technology

How can CFOs respond to this new demand? They’ll need to rethink the roles the team needs, which may mean a major shift in the way it’s structured. One benefit here is the opportunity to attract the best talent with a combination of automation and upskilling. Talent will be more interested in the strategic work that the new world of AI-enhanced technology can offer. So, while AI tools can take on the repetitive and pattern-spotting tasks, the finance team can upskill to roles that shape strategic direction, and ensure ethical and compliant decision-making across the enterprise.

CFOs will also need dependable technology. To ensure data reliability, governance needs to be embedded into every interaction, automatically tagging, classifying, and enforcing policies as data is created or accessed. This is already important to finance teams, who need to oversee the diverse data types that an international financial system will produce. This means being able to flag things like; double invoicing, abnormal transactional bookings, areas where responsibilities are centred in one person and end-of-month anomalies.

The Regulatory/compliance Trap

New measures will increase the CFO’s responsibilities. Pressure is also being exacted in the UK by the arrival of ECCTA and Provision 29. The Economic Crime & Corporate Transparency Act includes an offence for failure to prevent fraud at Director level. Alongside this, changes to the Corporate Governance Code will require Directors of some large companies to issue a public statement on the effectiveness of their internal controls and risk management framework, via Provision 29. Boards and senior teams will have direct responsibility for the quality of their financial data and the processes they use to analyse it.

The New Reality‍

We see data integrity and governance evolving, taking the CFO role with it. Data integrity is no longer limited to financial systems, it is moving from being just a technical function to a strategic, board-level concern. If you cannot guarantee your accounting data, you cannot guarantee your financial performance, your investor trust, or your regulatory standing. Starting with getting their accounting data up to standard, this is an opportunity for CFOs to champion data integrity across the organisation. Ultimately, this will improve accounting data management, which will mean better alignment with business priorities, solid compliance with regulations and fast, confident decision-making.

1 Top CFO Priorities and Challenges for Q4 2025 and 2026 (15 Sept 2025) https://www.gartner.com/en/documents/6955766

2 Anandarajan and Jones, 2025 Outlook: Data Integrity Trends and Insights, Drexel University Center for Applied AI and Business Analytics and Precisely, Sept. 18, 2024

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