by Sara Daw, CEO of The CFO Centre.
As 2025 draws to a close, business owners are reassessing not just performance, but preparedness.
The CFO Centre’s latest survey of more than 500 senior CFOs in businesses with £1m-£50m turnover, reveals a mood best described as measured confidence. There is considerable optimism about growth opportunities, balanced by realism about the risks that continue to shape the trading environment.
For established businesses, this sentiment provides a clear financial playbook for entering the new year with control, resilience and decision flexibility.
Confident but not complacent
According to the survey, 56% of finance leaders say they are very confident about hitting targets in the year ahead. This confidence is grounded in experience, established customer bases, known cost structures and operating models that have already survived inflationary pressure, as well as interest rate rises and supply chain disruption.
Yet, the remaining respondents highlight why complacency remains risky. Volatility has become a permanent feature of the business landscape, not a temporary shock. The strongest businesses are not relying on a single budget or forecast, but are actively planning for multiple scenarios and identifying trigger points for action.
In practice, confidence today is all about preparedness.
Turning opportunity into financial return
Despite ongoing uncertainty, finance leaders are clear about where opportunity lies. 41% identify AI and automation as the biggest growth opportunity for businesses, but the emphasis is firmly on financial return, not novelty.
For established businesses, a CFO mindset reframes technology investment in three ways:
- Cash impact first. Automation should accelerate billing, improve collections, reduce error rates or lower operating costs.
- Focus on scale. Mature organisations benefit most when technology simplifies previously complex processes.
- Disciplined measurement. Investment decisions are measured by how much they improve margins, free up working capital, or increase productivity.
When technology is aligned with financial outcomes, it helps stabilise the business and drive growth.
Managing the risks that won’t go away
The survey shows that external risks remain at the forefront of financial leaders’ minds, with participants citing key concerns, including macroeconomic conditions (42%), exchange rate volatility (38%), tariffs and geopolitical risk (35%), supply chain disruption (32%), and inflation and interest rates (32%).These are not risks businesses can eliminate, but they can manage them with structure. Established organisations that maintain confidence typically share a few core disciplines, rolling 12-13 week cashflow forecasts, regular margin reviews, clear visibility of currency exposure and proactive supplier management.
Crucially, risks are translated into financial terms, enabling faster and more confident decision-making.
Staying ready for policy and regulation
Finance leaders are also vocal about what they want from policymakers, including greater investment in business, incentives for AI adoption, simplified regulation and more effective tariff negotiation.
While policy direction is outside any individual business’s control, readiness is not. Businesses with clean financial data, robust forecasting and strong governance are far better positioned to act quickly when grants, incentives or regulatory changes emerge.
Preparation shortens the distance between opportunity and execution.
A disciplined start to the year
Across survey responses, one theme is consistent – financial confidence follows financial control.
Businesses entering the new year in the strongest position typically operate with a clear, financial plan linking strategy, growth priorities, cash and risk. They focus on a small number of KPIs that explain performance rather than simply report it and maintain a live risk register that is reviewed regularly at leadership level. In an environment defined by uncertainty, the most successful businesses think like CFOs. Optimistic but disciplined, ambitious but prepared.
As business owners look ahead to the new year, now is the moment to step back and view the business through a CFO lens. Strengthen cash visibility, pressure-test plans and ensure decisions are grounded in clear financial insight. Those who enter the year with clarity will be best placed to not just withstand uncertainty, but to turn it into advantage.
For more information on The CFO Centre’s outlook on 2026 and to get prepared for the year ahead, visit www.cfocentre.co.uk
