Chief financial officers in the Asia-Pacific across various sectors such as financial services, life sciences and health care, manufacturing, public sector, TMT, energy and resources, and consumer business are generally optimistic and neutral about the regional economic outlook.
This is the findings of Deloitte's Asia-Pacific CFO Survey which asked 276 CFOs in the region in a bid to understand the challenges, priorities and ways they seek to navigate the years ahead.
In the face of the severe economy situation and the internal and external challenges of enterprises, CFOs expanded role sees them leading transformation initiatives and increasingly turning to technology as an enabler.
Seventy-seven percent of the respondents reported expectations of them had increased over the past two years.
Among the key findings of the survey include:
- Managing risks: Regionally, 51% of CFOs prioritise technology automation to manage risks, 38% focus on enhancing operational procedure monitoring, and 33% emphasise more aggressive cost management. ​
- Future focus: In the next 12 months, CFOs in Asia Pacific aim to concentrate on revenue growth (62%), cost control (56%), and productivity enhancement (37%).​
- Expansion of CFO responsibilities: 77% of Asia Pacific CFOs noted increased responsibilities in the past two years driven by C-suite expectations; 71% in Asia-Pacific saw expanded duties through leading transformation initiatives, while 65% cited broadening responsibilities due to emerging regulations and standards at the regional level​.
- Talent concerns: 73% of CFOs highlight the lack of career advancement opportunities as their primary workforce challenge, followed by 57% noting competitive compensation packages as a secondary concern.​
- Tech as a financial enabler: 53% of CFOs utilise technology for electronic invoicing, 48% for Robotic Process Automation, and 47% for finance management and mid-end data platforms.​
- Mandatory climate reporting requirements: Approximately 46% of Asia-Pacific CFOs foresee a moderate impact, while 18% expect a significant impact on their organisation's financial reporting within 2-5 years. Only 27% of CFOs in the region report having adequate processes in place; 62% of CFOs said they plan to implement processes in the future.
Optimistic market outlook
While overall optimism or neutrality outweighs pessimism, overall economic sentiment varies among CFOs in the Asia Pacific region: 30% of Asia’s CFOs express confidence in the economic future, with India CFOs having the highest confidence in their nation’s economic future (76%). 57% of CFOs also named the global economic slowdown or recession as the other top external risk facing their businesses.
