Next Gen Finance: The CFO’s Strategic Co-Pilot Playbook

Belgium’s CFOs are expanding their remit—ESG, digital, AI, data, and talent—while modernizing finance to become true business co-pilots. Get the key findings, frameworks, and day one actions your team can apply immediately.

Insights from the 2025 Belgian CFO Survey—real data, practical roadmaps, and quick wins for your next 90 days.

• Why “more of the same, but better” no longer works—and how CFOs are stepping up as strategic co‑pilots across the enterprise.
  
• The reality check: 60% of CFOs rate their finance function as average or below—see the root causes and the modernization path.
  
• The AI adoption gap: only 9% use AI in production today; learn where leaders start (accounting/reporting, FP&A) and how to scale safely.
  
• Data and platforms that unlock speed: move from fragmented ERPs and spreadsheets to integrated platforms and a single source of truth.
  
• The people shift: the skills mix CFOs are hiring for now—transformation, digital, and data—plus how to upskill the team you already have.
  
• ESG becomes finance’s job: why responsibility is shifting to CFOs and what “good” looks like beyond spreadsheets.
  
• Your blueprint: a practical Target Operating Model (TOM) and a digital finance roadmap to sequence wins and sustain value. 

• CFO and Office of the CFO – Prioritize the next 18 months: standardize and automate core processes, modernize ERP/EPM, and operationalize AI use cases starting in accounting/reporting and FP&A. Use the included TOM layers and roadmap to sequence initiatives and track value.
  
• CEO – See how finance becomes the strategic co‑pilot that links performance, risk, and growth—with clear milestones for platform, data, and talent investments. Use the survey benchmarks to frame board discussions.
  
• CHRO/HR – Align on the skills shift (transformation, digital, data) and craft an upskilling plan; close the capability gap that 57% of CFOs report.
  
• CMO/Marketing – Partner with finance on one narrative: bring financial and non‑financial (incl. ESG) signals into performance storytelling for investors and markets.
  
• CIO/IT – Prioritize integration, data quality, and AI‑ready architectures; address the multi‑ERP reality (37%) and outdated landscapes (50%).
  
• Procurement and Operations – Translate the roadmap into working‑capital, cost, and sourcing actions; see where automation and AI create immediate throughput.

• 90‑day CFO action plan – Standardize priority processes, stand‑up data quality routines, and launch 1–2 safe AI pilots (close and reporting; planning commentary).
  
• TOM checklist – Processes, service delivery, data/reporting, technology, people, governance and controls—so finance, IT, and HR can plan together.
  
• Digital finance roadmap – A sequenced path from quick wins (EPM, dashboards) to platform and AI‑enabled capabilities.