Executive Summary

Finance leaders are entering 2025 with a clear mandate: move beyond compliance and embrace continuous, tech-enabled oversight. Research from AICPA-CIMA and Intuit’s 2025 Accountant Tech Survey shows that firms adopting AI and unified tech stacks are cutting manual work, improving forecast accuracy, and expanding advisory services,nearly 8 in 10 expect advisory to grow, with 94% projecting revenue gains. At the same time, only 28% believe current training meets tech needs, pushing CFOs to invest in both systems and skills. For CFOs, Controllers, and FP&A, the future is about real-time insight, streamlined platforms, and advisory-driven finance.

Technology as the Differentiator

Finance leaders are facing a pivotal year. The role of CFOs, Controllers, and FP&A teams is rapidly expanding beyond compliance into strategic guidance, enabled by technology and reshaped by market demands. Recent research from AICPA-CIMA and Intuit’s 2025 Accountant Tech Survey underscores the same message: the future of finance is continuous, tech-enabled, and advisory-driven.

According to Intuit’s survey of 700 U.S. accounting professionals, 81% of firms report productivity gains from AI adoption, with nearly half already using AI daily. The top areas of automation include freeing teams to focus on higher-value analysis.

AICPA-CIMA’s academic research further highlights that automation is no longer optional. Firms that fail to adopt emerging tools risk slower closes, higher error rates, and reduced credibility with executives and boards. For CFOs, the message is clear: building a unified, streamlined tech stack is not just about efficiency. It’s about maintaining a competitive edge.

Advisory as the New Core

The AICPA-CIMA report points to a redefinition of finance leadership. Controllers and FP&A teams are being asked to provide continuous insight, not just retrospective reporting. Intuit’s data backs this shift: nearly 8 in 10 firms expect advisory services to increase, with 94% projecting revenue growth as a result.

This shift is reshaping identity. Accountants and finance professionals are becoming architects of business growth, with advisory and analytics now at the center of their role.

Talent and Skills in Transition

Technology adoption is not just about tools,it is also about people. Intuit’s findings show that only 28% of firms believe their current training fully meets tech needs, but 75% are increasing their focus on tech skills during hiring. AICPA-CIMA’s research echoes this gap, noting that finance leaders must reskill teams for data fluency, scenario planning, and automation oversight.

CFOs who prioritize tech-savvy hiring, flexible work arrangements, and clear growth paths will win the talent race.

The Strategic Mandate for CFOs

Taken together, the insights from AICPA-CIMA and Intuit outline a new CFO mandate for 2025:

• Embed continuous oversight. Move beyond periodic reporting into real-time anomaly detection and predictive planning.
• Standardize and unify systems. Intuit’s survey found that 98% of firms see benefits from a unified tech stack.
• Invest in skills as much as systems. The tools are only as powerful as the teams using them.
• Expand advisory capacity. Finance must move from cost center to growth driver, advising executives on strategy, risk, and opportunity.

For CFOs, Controllers, and FP&A leaders, the mandate is clear: finance must become continuous, predictive, and advisory-driven. Tools like AuditFlow and BudgetFlow help make this possible, giving teams the ability to detect anomalies early and improve forecast accuracy so finance can move from compliance to foresight.

Attribution:

• Intuit, 2025 Accountant Tech Survey, April 2025.
• AICPA-CIMA, Academic Research Report on the Future of Finance, 2025.

Financial leaders today face a difficult balance. On one side is the familiar world of compliance with annual audits, quarterly reports, and reconciliations. On the other is a fast-moving reality of complex supply chains, volatile markets, and rapid capital flows. A recent academic paper highlights the growing tension between these two worlds. Traditional audit and planning processes are no longer enough to keep up.

The Core Challenge: Oversight Is Falling Behind

The paper highlights three major risks for finance teams:

• Information Overload. The volume of financial and operational data overwhelms review processes. Risks are buried until it is too late.

• Lagging Oversight. Audits and compliance checks remain backward-looking. Anomalies often appear only after they have distorted results.

• Systemic Fragility. Complex reporting systems create space for both errors and manipulation. These issues are often uncovered slowly.

For Controllers and FP&A teams, these risks are not academic. They are daily challenges that undermine trust with executives, investors, and regulators. Markets punish uncertainty, and delays in oversight can quickly damage valuation.

Why This Matters for Controllers and FP&A

Controllers must ensure accuracy and compliance. FP&A must guide strategy with forecasts and plans. Both functions face the same obstacle: delayed insight.

• Deloitte found that 70% of finance leaders rank manual reconciliations as their top time drain.

• Gartner estimates that finance teams spend up to 40% of their time collecting and validating data instead of analyzing it.

• Hackett Group benchmarks show that inaccurate or stale forecasts cost companies 6–8% of annual revenue.

Controllers often uncover irregularities after the fact. FP&A teams frequently base forecasts on incomplete data. Together, this widens the gap between compliance and foresight.

A Shift Toward Continuous Oversight

The paper calls for a new model of oversight. Finance must adopt what can be called dynamic assurance. Instead of static point-in-time reviews, oversight must be continuous.

• Proactive Anomaly Detection. Reduce the time to uncover irregularities from weeks or months to hours or days.

• Continuous AI-driven Forecasting. Stress-test assumptions quickly. Accenture reports this can cut planning cycles by 30 to 50 percent.

• Integrated Intelligence. Connect oversight with operational data in real time. McKinsey finds this can increase forecast accuracy by 20 to 25 percent.

This evolution does not replace audits or compliance. It strengthens them with always-on intelligence and gives finance leaders more time to analyze and guide strategy.

Technology’s Role in Closing the Gap

Technology now delivers measurable improvements.

• For Controllers, machine learning tools can reduce false positives in anomaly detection by up to 60 percent. This frees staff to focus on critical issues.

• For FP&A, predictive analytics and rolling forecasts can shrink planning cycles from six weeks to two. At the same time, accuracy improves in volatile markets.

The payoff is clear. Faster detection means fewer surprises. More accurate forecasts mean better allocation of resources. Finance teams that move to continuous oversight earn credibility with executives, boards, and investors.

AuditFlow helps Controllers surface anomalies faster and with higher accuracy, turning weeks of review into hours of detection.
BudgetFlow gives FP&A leaders AI-powered forecasting and scenario analysis, cutting planning cycles and improving accuracy. Both tools support the shift the paper calls for. Finance can move beyond compliance and into foresight.