EY UK DNA of the CFO - Key findings

UK CFOs are being asked to play a bigger role in how organisations create value. As AI reshapes business models, accelerates change and transforms the nature of work, finance is increasingly expected not only to measure performance, but to help shape it. The next evolution of finance is not about producing more insight. It is about turning ambition into value.

Yet ambition alone is not enough. While 81% of UK CFOs expect AI-enabled business models, only 8% say AI is fully integrated across finance operations. The challenge is no longer recognising the opportunity for change. It is turning AI ambition, transformation investment and strategic intent into measurable business outcomes.

Drawing on insights from 170 UK CFOs and senior finance leaders, this report identifies five shifts that will help finance leaders close that gap: strengthening finance’s role in shaping enterprise value, turning AI into a decision advantage, redefining how value is measured, treating workforce transformation as the engine of value realisation, and building the leadership and governance needed for increasingly autonomous operations.

For UK CFOs, the message is clear: success will depend not on the scale of their ambition, but on their ability to realise value from it. The five shifts explored in this report provide a practical roadmap for turning ambition into execution, investment into value and
transformation into lasting business impact.