Deloitte: CFO Confidence on the Rise Despite Macroeconomics
Deloitte notes a rebound in CFO confidence in its latest North American CFO Signals survey.
The first increase in confidence in 2026, Deloitte reports that scores have risen from 5.9 in Q2 to 6.1, placing it back in the “high” category, which is defined as between 6.0 and 7.9.
The score is calculated by averaging the scores of five current and five future business environment questions, and then discounting it with the US equity markets and equity financing conditions by 80%. Debt-financing conditions are discounted by 50%.
Speaking exclusively to Finance Chief about the report, Ed Hardy, US Financial Services Leader at Deloitte, says:
"Our latest CFO Signals survey found that technology deployment, including generative AI, ranks as CFOs' leading internal concern, but I wouldn't interpret that as a loss of confidence in AI.
“If anything, it reflects the fact that aspirations for AI are moving from the margins of the business to the centre of enterprise decision-making, and that brings with it greater complexity for finance leaders to navigate.”
The report highlights that 90% of CFOs have increased their optimism significantly or by some measure about their company’s financial prospects this quarter.
The greater the risks
While optimism increases, risk appetite decreases. Since Q2, there has been an increase by 3% as the risk appetite rises to 36%.
The rise is reflected as 53% of respondents say that now is a good time to take greater risks - a score higher than the two-year average of 51.7%.
External risks were also ranked, as half indicate that cybersecurity is now a top concern.
Taxes ranked the lowest, with only 25% listing this as a top priority. Second and third external risks, respectively, were the economy (49%) and inflation (48%).
The conversation has shifted from 'Should we invest in AI?' to 'How do we generate measurable business value from AI while managing risk and cost appropriately?' That's why AI remains top of mind for many CFOs today.”
Looking inward, at AI
Meanwhile, the highest internal risk concern focussed on technology development, including gen AI.
Ed continues: “As organisations invest more heavily in AI, CFOs are increasingly being asked to determine where those investments should be made, how success should be measured, and what safeguards need to be in place.
“That's also consistent with our Finance Trends 2027 research, which found that 54% of finance leaders are helping lead enterprise AI and technology capital allocation decisions, while 48% are overseeing AI trust and technology spending.”
- CFO confidence scores have risen from 5.9 in Q2 to 6.1
- 50% say Cybersecurity is the main external risk concern
- 53% of respondents say that now is a good time to take greater risks
- 50% report that the biggest internal concern is tech development, including gen AI
- 90% say that this quarter, they’re significantly or somewhat more optimistic about the financial prospects for their companies
Just under half (48%) rank cost management as an internal risk, followed by 45% who are concerned with strategy execution.
The lowest ranked internal risk was lack of agility/ resilience, which 35% of CFOs reported as a top internal risk.
Ed concludes: “The conversation has shifted from 'Should we invest in AI?' to 'How do we generate measurable business value from AI while managing risk and cost appropriately?' That's why AI remains top of mind for many CFOs today.”
Deloitte partners:
Salesforce: Salesforce and Deloitte Digital form a global strategic alliance combining Salesforce’s cloud technologies (CRM, AI, Agentforce) with Deloitte’s industry consulting. Together, they deliver large-scale digital transformations, AI integration and customer-experience solutions across 40+ countries.
Amazon Web Services: AWS is a comprehensive cloud platform offering on-demand computing power, database storage, machine learning capabilities and content delivery network services to businesses across the globe.
Google Cloud: Google Cloud delivers enterprise-grade cloud computing services, data analytics tools, cybersecurity solutions and advanced AI technologies designed to help organisations scale efficiently and innovate rapidly.
Microsoft: Established in 1975, Microsoft has expanded to become a dominant global technology leader, celebrated for its Windows operating system, Office software suite and cloud computing platforms. Operating worldwide in over 190 countries, Microsoft is currently led by CEO Satya Nadella, who took the helm in 2014. It is headquartered in Redmond, Washington, US.
