In an economy expected to grow by ~1.2% this year, South Africa’s CFOs face pressure to do more than safeguard the balance sheet. They are increasingly expected to help fund growth through financial discipline, ensure AI investments deliver measurable returns, and develop future business leaders.
Research from the Oliver Wyman Forum and the New York Stock Exchange shows that 69% of CFOs globally rank strategy, portfolio, growth and transformation leadership among their three most important roles, and 72% expect these responsibilities to increase in importance. In BRICS countries the figures are higher at 88% and 91% respectively.
For South African businesses, including those operating across the continent, this shift matters. Alongside slow domestic growth, they face differing currency, regulatory and operating conditions across African markets. Every rand of capital needs to work harder, making decisions about investment and resources more consequential.
As such, CFOs are increasingly bringing together strategy, investment, risk, technology, and talent development to help turn plans into results. Three priorities are closely connected: financial discipline creates room to invest, AI can improve productivity and decision-making, and talent development helps sustain those gains.
Fund growth through discipline
Cost management and growth need not be competing priorities. Globally, 64% of CFOs chose a growth lever as their top priority for increasing shareholder value, while 60% placed cost management among their three leading priorities. Controlling costs can create room to invest in technology and skills needed for growth.
In South Africa, efficiency programmes should do more than deliver short-term savings. Cash released through productivity improvements, working capital management and investment choices can be redirected towards customers, resilience, new capabilities and selected growth opportunities across Africa.
The question for CFOs is not simply “Can we afford this?”, but also “Which investments could materially improve performance, and what can we stop or reduce to fund them?” AI should be assessed in the same way: as a capital allocation decision, not simply a technology project.
Make AI earn the right to scale
AI puts that investment discipline to the test. Four in five CFOs globally see AI as a leading priority for transforming finance, yet only 8% report deployment at scale, with most activity still in planning or pilot stages. Among BRICS CFOs, 88% expect AI spending to rise in 2026, compared with 77% globally. But greater investment does not guarantee returns. Without clear objectives, accountability and measures of success, AI can add costs before it creates value.
For South African businesses, technology spending competes with pressing operational and growth needs. CFOs should therefore share responsibility for decisions about the organisation’s AI portfolio, prioritising applications such as forecasting, scenario planning, decision support and understanding the cost of serving customers.
That means agreeing what value an initiative should deliver before implementation, then deciding what to stop, improve or scale based on tracked results. As AI becomes more widely used, it will also change the work people do in finance and the skills they need to progress.
Protect the leadership pipeline
This creates a challenge for developing future finance leaders. Globally, 64% of CFOs expect to shift away from junior roles, while 70% plan to increase their focus on succession planning and leadership development. In BRICS countries, 44% expect finance headcount to fall by more than 10%, compared with 30% globally, while 50% expect their teams to shift toward more senior roles.
In South Africa, the stakes are high. Routine finance work has traditionally helped employees learn controls, develop commercial judgement and understand how businesses operate. If automation removes those tasks without replacing the learning opportunities, businesses risk weakening the pipeline of future controllers, CFOs, and other senior leaders.
Entry- and mid-level roles will need to offer more experience in analytics, business partnering, risk, technology and decision-making. Automation and shared services should support learning and progression, rather than becoming career dead ends. That is how productivity improvements can translate into lasting capability.
For Finance Indaba and beyond, the question is whether South African organisations are giving CFOs the mandate, information, operating model, and people needed to shape their businesses. Just as importantly, finance functions must continue developing the leaders businesses will need in future.
Financial discipline, measurable returns from AI and investment in talent are not separate objectives. Together, they will help shape how effectively CFOs can contribute to business performance and long-term growth.
