STUDY: 2026 CFO/Controller Outlook & Sentiment Study
The 2026 CFO/Controller Outlook & Sentiment Study reflects a corporate finance and accounting leadership community that remains confident about organizational financial performance while demonstrating greater discipline in spending and margin management. Respondents indicate strong expectations for revenue and profit growth, continued investment in AI, automation and other technologies, and steady adoption of hybrid workforce models.
STUDY: Corporate Finance & Accounting Talent Study (2025)
The purpose of the 2025 corporate finance and accounting (F&A) talent study was to identity how Controllers, CFOs and related executives are effectively managing corporate F&A talent, with such challenges as talent shortages and skill gaps, evolving hybrid work environments, rapidly changing business, economic, political and technology environments, and more.
The Controller Toolkit
A controller’s challenges are many. But with this toolkit at your side, every one of them becomes an opportunity for impact. From the hidden cost of manual processes to the nuances of data-based budgeting, we’ve gathered together top takeaways, resources, and actionable tools to help you tackle inefficiencies and turn them into time-saving best practices. So you can spend your energy on driving strategic growth.
What Finance Teams Are Getting Right — and Wrong — About AI
AI in Finance, Tax and Accounting is moving beyond experimentation into measurable operational impact. The Savant 2026 Trends Report explores how enterprise finance leaders are deploying AI automation and agentic workflows to increase speed, strengthen governance, and unlock strategic capacity across the enterprise. Drawing on market data, this report details current trends, strategies and expectations shared by leading enterprise executives.
The State of AP Maturity 2026: Closing the Gaps Between Partial and Unified Automation
To understand where companies stand, we surveyed more than 200 finance leaders about their current level of automation, the challenges they still face, and their plans to close the gaps. In this report, you’ll get a clear view into how your peers are managing the invoice-to-payment lifecycle, what’s holding them back, and why unified AP automation is the key to closing the gaps that expose businesses to profit leakage, operational inefficiency, and fraud.
The Data-Driven Finance Playbook: Fix the close. End the data chaos. Make AI finally work for finance.
Finance teams today are being asked to close faster, explain variances clearly, tighten forecasts, and deliver insights on demand — all while dealing with fragmented data, mismatched definitions, and rising pressure to “use AI.”
The Strategic CFO in 2026: Building the Finance Team of the Future
The role of the CFO is no longer confined to closing the books or balancing the budget. Today’s most effective finance leaders are strategic architects of transformation, combining operational expertise with human-centered leadership and technological foresight. This exclusive report, The Strategic CFO in 2026: Building the Finance Team of the Future (sponsored by Paystand), explores how CFOs are reshaping their teams, tools, and culture to thrive in a future defined by automation, agility, and adaptability.
The CFO’s Guide to Using AI to Automate Finance and Boost Profits
Finance teams are under pressure to do more with less. Traditional processes like manual invoice approvals, reconciliations, and reporting are slowing teams down and holding back profits. But with AI-native automation, finance does not have to be this way. The CFO’s Guide to Using AI to Automate Finance and Boost Profits shows you exactly how to implement AI in your finance function without replacing your existing tools.
Global Sales Tax Benchmark Report: The tipping points that push teams to automate
Why the Month-End Close Is So Painful—and How to Fix It
Just because something has always been a cer tain way doesn’t mean it can’t change. Take the month- end close, for example: Ever yone in accounting has just accepted that it ’s a painful process. Finance teams are spending countless hours cleaning up bad data, wrangling dif ferent systems, and chasing inputs from other depar tments. But it doesn’ t have to be that way. RightRev recently went straight to the source and asked senior finance leaders what slows down their teams during close, how confident they feel about their process, and how an easier and faster close could impact their organization.
Strategic Insights from the 2025 Future of Finance Summit
Amid unprecedented uncertainty, rapid technological change, and a growing talent crunch, finance leaders are being called to step beyond traditional roles and lead enterprise value creation. Building the Frontier Organization: Tech, Talent, and Value Creation captures the most critical insights from the 2025 Future of Finance Summit—distilling real conversations, real challenges, and real lessons from CFOs and finance leaders navigating this shift in real time. Inside, you’ll explore how finance is evolving from scorekeeper to value partner, how AI and data are reshaping operating models, why talent and mindset now matter more than tools alone, and what it truly takes to build a resilient, future-ready finance organization. Download the report to learn how today’s finance leaders are not just managing change—but shaping what comes next.
Mid-Year Sales Tax and VAT Report: 2025
Welcome to Anrok’s mid-year sales tax update for 2025. Our team of tax experts has compiled the most significant developments in taxation in the first half of this year, giving you the insights you need to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of sales tax. The first half of 2025 has seen continued global expansion of digital taxation, with both U.S. states and international jurisdictions targeting technology services with new or increased tax obligations. Maryland has implemented a new tax on IT services, while Louisiana’s digital products tax took effect at the beginning of the year.
Top 10 Steps for a Successful FP&A Implementation
In today’s fast-paced economic landscape, optimizing business performance is more critical than ever. This white paper, Top 10 Steps for a Successful FP&A Implementation, is your essential roadmap to transforming your financial planning and analysis process.
Best Practices and Tips for AP Automation
Modernizing AP: How AI Transforms Invoice and Payment Processing
How can the Financial Controller Transform to Shape the Future with Confidence?
This research aims to identify and define the DNA of the future financial controller — someone who mitigates risk, catalyzes innovation, turns data into action and helps to shape the future with confidence. As such, it offers invaluable insights for controllers, as well as senior finance leaders aiming to develop their teams and drive success across their organizations. These insights form part of the CFO Imperative Series, which provides critical answers and insights to help finance leaders shape the future with confidence.
Board Effectiveness: A Survey of the C-Suite
Driven largely by market forces, business is in a third great wave of corporate governance evolution. This follows significant changes brought about over the last twenty years by the Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank Acts. This current wave is driving the modernization of long-standing governance practices, impacting how boards fulfill their decision making and oversight responsibilities. But the changes are also surfacing conflicts and discontent.
Director’s Handbook on Cyber-Risk Oversight
We need a new model of sustainable cybersecurity. One that starts with a commitment at the board level to incentivize a culture of corporate cyber responsibility in which managing cyber risk is treated as a fundamental matter of good governance and good corporate citizenship, a recognition highlighted in these pages with the inclusion of a sixth core principle for board oversight—the need for boards to encourage systemic resilience through collaboration.
A 21 Step-by-Step Guide to Selecting Your Next ERP Solution
An ERP solution is an important investment but the selection process can be a daunting task. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be. Armanino’s straightforward guide provides a comprehensive framework of considerations to drive your selection process.
Book Preview – Deep Finance: Corporate Finance in the Information Age
Accounting has come a long way since the time of the abacus, computer punch cards, or even the paper ledger. Modern finance leaders have the ability and tools to build a team that harnesses the power of business intelligence to make their jobs easier. Leaders who aren’t aware of these opportunities are simply going to be outpaced by competitors willing to adapt to the 21st century and beyond.
Deep Finance will take you from asking “What Is AI?” to walking a clear path toward your own digital transformation.
CFOs Drive Business Value
CFOs have a unique opportunity to seize the moment and elevate themselves to be architects of business transformation, in addition to their usual position as financial stewards. To do so effectively, CFOs will have to embrace the role of a value driver, taking a seat at the planning table and providing timely financial insights to help influence their companies, while also initiating changes in the finance function.
5 Signs Your Accounting System is Holding You Back
As the size, complexity, and pace of your business grow, the frustrations can multiply.That accounting system you relied on to manage finances and operations has, over time, gradually become a barrier to growth and efficiency. But in a highly competitive business climate, you can’t afford spiraling overhead costs, functional limitations, and unnecessary risks.
Have you outgrown your accounting system? Take a look at these signs.
5 Questions CFOs Should Ask Their Controller
As the office of the controller becomes ever more strategic—creating higher levels of financial visibility to help drive growth and profitability—the financial organization’s relationship to the controller role must evolve as well. Specifically: Today’s CFO needs to work closely with the controller to ensure that, one, the organization gets the full benefit of the controller’s talents and knowledge and, two, the controller’s office is operating at the highest levels of efficiency and accuracy. Ask your controller the following five questions to initiate a conversation around best practices.
What IT Disasters Keep You Up at Night? The Cost of Not Being Prepared
Disasters happen, sometimes bringing down a single application, sometimes bringing down your entire data center. No matter how careful you are or how good your IT team is, eventually some event will shut down your applications when you really need them up and running. The costs of preparing for disaster can be high, but the consequences of not planning for disaster recovery (DR) can be even higher.
Controllers Code – The Secret Formula For a Successful Career in Finance
Free for Controllers Council members
Controllers in the 21st Century need to master more than technical accounting skills to become the strategic leaders their companies need today. They need to be effective leaders and managers, explain complicated accounting at a high level for the C-suite, be a technology expert, and still ensure that their teams are doing the accounting right.
Unfortunately, these skills aren’t taught in traditional accounting classes. This book offers real world guidance from Financial professionals to help you navigate the world of the modern controller.
Controllers’ Guide to Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is permeating business and organizations of all types and sizes. For those in the accounting and finance department, AI may have one of the most significant impacts on the way you work. The Controllers’ Guide to Artificial Intelligence (AI) will provide a concise but complete view of AI and related technologies of Machine Learning (ML), Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and more. The guide will focus on the applications and opportunities for the accounting function, exploring the role of “Robots” in the Accounting process.
Cloud Success Begins with Cloud Discovery and Assessment
The Discovery & Assessment process helps businesses derive both quantitative and qualitative understanding of existing inventory so the transition to the cloud can be optimized for minimal risk, minimal cost, maximal efficiency, and maximal benefit, whether a public, private, or hybrid solution is selected.
The data collected enables businesses to understand their existing IT infrastructure, how it can benefit from cloud migration, and the best approach to cloud migration for each workload.
The Ultimate Guide to Cloud Migration
The term “cloud migration” can mean different things to different people. For some, migrating workloads from on-premises infrastructures to the cloud is an opportunity to be grasped with both hands. For others, there may be a reluctance to change existing work practices; which, possibly coupled with a fear of the unknown, can be a handicap to taking advantage of what the cloud has to offer.
For people who fall into the second category, this guide to cloud migration has been prepared for you.
STUDY: 2025 CFO/Controller Outlook & Sentiment Study
The 2025 CFO/Controller Sentiment Study reveals significant shifts in sentiments and outlooks, reflecting confidence amidst evolving challenges and uncertainties. This year’s study provides insights into evolving priorities, including financial outlooks and sentiments, work environment dynamics, and technology adoption, offering a benchmark for organizations navigating 2025’s complexities.
STUDY: Corporate Finance & Accounting Talent Study (2024)
In 2024, CFOs and Controllers continued to adapt their finance and accounting (F&A) professional talent acquisition strategies to improve retention, find quality employees, and ensure that the needs of their organizations were being met. This year’s study delves into how your CFO and Controller peers are managing ongoing talent challenges, including retention and recruitment. The survey results reveal a mix of progress and persistent hurdles, offering insights and trends that are critical for planning your organization’s future F&A talent strategies.
STUDY: 2024 CFO/Controller Sentiment Study
What will CFOs and Controllers do differently in 2024? Adopting AI is one major priority, which may assist with the ongoing talent shortage. Managing a Hybrid work environment will dominate. And carefully watching spend even with improved financial performance. The overwhelming majority of respondents serve as Controllers or CFOs, or similar financial positions for companies in the Small-Medium Business (SMB) category. This study’s demographics reflect a rich crosssection of American industries, including manufacturing, non-profit, software/technology, construction and professional services.
STUDY: Corporate Finance & Accounting Talent Study (2023)
In 2023, CFOs and Controllers across the globe revamped their accounting and finance professional talent acquisition strategies to improve retention, find quality employees, and ensure that the needs of their organizations were being met. In this year’s study, Controllers Council researchers thoroughly explored how your CFO and Controller peers are dealing with ongoing talent challenges, including retention and recruitment.
STUDY: 2023 Controller/CFO Sentiment Study
What will Controllers and CFOs do differently in 2023? This inaugural study seeks to understand how current business and economic environments are impacting corporate financial planning, strategy, priorities, and outlooks. The 2023 indexes represent a “bullish” outlook for individual company financial performance, along with a “cautious” plan for spending. The new indexes will serve as benchmarks for future data, while identifying trends in financial performance and organizational spending.
STUDY: The Digital Controller/CFO – 2022
Controllers and CFOs have shifted from the traditional roles of financial reporting and compliance, to take on greater responsibilities in many aspects of accounting/finance and corporate technology. We conducted The Digital Controller/CFO: Benchmark Study 2022 to identify the current trends in duties, roles, and responsibilities for Controllers, CFOs, and other accounting professionals.
STUDY: Corporate Finance Upskilling/Reskilling
With this backdrop, the objective of the Corporate Finance Upskill/Reskill Study is to identify how Controllers, CFOs, and their respective counterparts have adapted to the Great Resignation staff shortages, along with remote and hybrid workplaces.
STUDY: The Contemporary Controller—Changing Roles and Responsibilities
In the Fall of 2020, the Controllers Council surveyed more than 300 Controllers, CFOs, and related professionals in accounting and corporate finance roles. The objective of this study: to identify how the roles and responsibilities of these important executives have changed, adapted and evolved. The conclusions, carefully documented and analyzed in this Benchmark Study Report.
