The Future of Finance & CFO Exchange 2026 brought finance leaders together at a pivotal moment. As the year unfolded, CFOs were navigating a perfect storm of transformation, balancing efficiency with growth in a world defined by constant uncertainty. With inflationary pressures, prolonged investment cycles, and geopolitical volatility challenging every assumption, finance leaders were tasked with delivering more with less while continuing to drive innovation and long-term value. It became clear that success in 2026 required sharper capital allocation, faster decision-making, and resilient leadership, where technology, people, and strategy are fully aligned to sustain performance through ongoing change.

This is exactly where the Exchange delivered value. Providing a platform for collaboration and clarity, it brought together visionary finance leaders committed to shaping the future of the function. In an intimate, closed-door setting, senior executives openly shared challenges, exchanged real-world insights, and explored what it takes to lead finance forward. The calibre of discussion was reflected in the speaker line-up, which included:

• Jenny Fletcher, Chief Financial Stabilisation Officer, ATOS
• Andreea Popescu, Global Director Business Control Digital & Technology,  The Heineken Company
• Billie O’Connor, CFO, Mulberry
  
• Rabi Patro, VP Finance Business Partner - International Corporate Banking, Barclays
• Sharon Naidoo, CFO UK & Europe, TransUnion
• Khushboo Jain, Director Financial Reporting, Carnival Cruises
• Dennis Sasse, Group Finance Director, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd

The State of Finance 2026 report is based on a survey done on around 500 finance professionals across Europe (CFOs, Heads of Finance, Controllers, FP&A managers, consolidation leads, and specialists). Its main aim is to understand how finance is changing, where teams are investing, and what’s holding transformation back.

Nearly 70% of respondents have over 10 years of experience, making this report a reflection of seasoned practitioners who have lived through ERP limitations, spreadsheet-heavy cycles, and complex multi-entity reporting. Their answers offer a grounded view of what modern finance really looks like today - not theory, but day-to-day reality.

The research explores:

• Strategic priorities for the next 12–18 months: automation, digital transformation, forecast accuracy, and cost control
• Technology investments shaping the finance stack: analytics, RPA, AI/ML, data governance, cloud, and cybersecurity
• AI adoption and readiness: who’s experimenting, who’s scaling, and what still limits trust
• The state of FP&A processes: data quality, disconnected systems, slow cycles, scenario gaps
• External pressures: inflation, regulation, talent shortages, geopolitical risk
• How trends differ by company size, from spreadsheet-driven SMEs to enterprise-level finance architectures

Together, these insights reveal a function in transition: ambitious, under pressure, and moving steadily toward connected, automated, and intelligence-driven planning.

Download the full report to access the complete analysis, charts, and benchmarks.

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Discover the complete list of attendees confirmed for the upcoming Future of Finance & CFO Exchange. This includes participating organisations, attendee job titles and geographic distribution.

At the Future of Finance & CFO Exchange, senior finance leaders from over 75 organisations came together for closed-door discussions on the realities of transformation. With representation from organisations including Heineken, GSK, TUI, Roche, and Coty, the conversations went beyond theory, focusing on what is actually working, and what is not.

What emerged is clear: the challenge is not strategy, it is execution. From embedding AI in a meaningful way to closing gaps across data, talent, and processes, finance leaders are focused on turning ambition into impact while navigating constant disruption.