Systems, automation, and AI in finance.
Gartner has raised its 2026 IT spending forecast three times in six months, and the increases are coming from compute, memory and integration labor rather than new initiatives finance approved.
OpenAI's finance organization is writing its own close and reporting tools with AI assistants, and most companies have no policy covering who reviews that code or whether auditors will test it.
AI use in forecasting jumped to 76% of finance organizations, but just 35% can measure the return, leaving vendors to define the yardstick CFOs will be judged against.
As vendors reprice AI features on tokens and consumption instead of seats, the most predictable line in the opex budget is starting to behave like a utility bill - and finance processes built for annual renewals aren't ready.
Calendar-year 2025 corporate returns are due on extension in mid-October, but the international provisions CFOs must sign under, from section 898 to section 987, remain proposed rather than final.
Boards are spreading risk oversight beyond the audit committee, leaving finance to reconcile the same numbers for several committees just as the SEC moves toward charging individuals.
CFOs are cutting junior headcount and buying seniority in the 2027 plan, and the hiring market is already pricing in the shortage of leaders that decision creates.