North American CFOs grapple with finance talent shortages
North American finance chiefs face a dwindling supply of finance talent. Here’s what they’re doing to bolster the ranks.
According to recent Deloitte research, organizations are increasingly looking for chief financial officers who possess quantitative and research skills, including data analysis.1 But that’s only part of the job description. Notably, CFOs have long been tasked with ensuring that the basic, nuts and bolts operations of finance—such as cash management and reporting—run smoothly.
Satisfying both requests can get complicated, however, if finance departments don’t have fully engaged employees—or the requisite skillsets—to carry out business. Our first quarter 2025 North American CFO Signals survey indicates that CFOs are keenly aware of the finance workforce challenges at hand, and their potential impact on performance.
The survey polled 200 CFOs across five sectors who work at organizations with at least US$1 billion in revenues. In it, finance chiefs identified employee engagement (50%) and lack of skilled talent (45%) among the biggest workforce challenges in meeting C-suite expectations for their finance departments.
The situation could intensify as increasing numbers of experienced finance employees reach retirement age and the number of college graduates with accounting degrees continues to decline.2 When we asked CFOs to name their biggest worries related to pipeline concerns about accountants (figure 1), increased workload for existing employees was the top response (44%). Loss of credibility with institutional and private investors was the second most cited concern (42%) about pipeline issues for accountants. Erosion of board confidence in finance (41%) was third on the list.
Such consequences can put CFOs squarely in the hot seat. Only 15% of respondents said their organizations are not experiencing a shortage of accountants or other finance talent. The burning question, then: How do you operate an efficient and effective finance department—one that meets its remit on any number of fronts—in the face of a skills and experience shortage?
CFOs look to AI to bridge finance skills gap, but face worker pushback
One solution for an overtaxed finance department could be to deploy technology to automate tasks, and that does seem to be top-of-mind for many CFOs. In fact, 79% of finance chiefs in our survey said they believe it is likely or very likely they will use generative artificial intelligence in the coming 24 months to help bridge skills gaps in their finance department.
Generative AI may be suited for taking over maximum-effort, minimum-impact tasks such as data entry, a boon for time-strapped finance employees. In addition, recent advances in AI such as agentic AI, a technology which utilizes autonomous AI agents, may soon be able to handle tasks higher up the value chain. For example, AI agents could enable internal stakeholders to access and analyze data with minimal human intervention.
Deploying self-service systems appears to already be in the works for some CFOs. In Deloitte’s fourth quarter 2024 CFO Signals survey, we asked finance chiefs to name the transformation effort they will likely focus on the most in 2025. The top response was developing self-service for business users requesting financial information.
Automating tasks with technology is only helpful, however, if workers embrace the technology. Our first-quarter 2025 survey reveals that some finance employees remain less-than-enthusiastic about the adoption of technology in their departments (figure 2). Forty-eight percent of surveyed CFOs cited staff resistance to using new technology as their biggest challenge in meeting C-suite expectations of finance, lagging only worker engagement (50%).
CFOs scout other departments for reinforcements
Overcoming finance employee reluctance to technology adoption might take some time. In the interim, CFOs appear to be taking more immediate steps to address the lack of available finance talent.
We asked survey participants how their workforce strategy is evolving due to pipeline concerns about accountants and other finance talent. To help counter the shortfall, CFOs in our survey look to be taking a two-pronged approach to talent (figure 3): Thirty-five percent of surveyed CFOs said they are increasing their use of external human resourcing firms to identify appropriate candidates, and the same percentage of respondents are also bringing in employees from other functions in the organization. Recruiting talent from functions outside of finance may be a reflection of the shift in skill sets now needed in finance.
Although CFOs said they are turning to outside sources to help with hiring, they’re also turning to a more familiar internal resource to help in recruitment: themselves. Thirty-four percent of respondents said they are taking a larger role in the hiring process.
The do-it-yourself approach makes sense. CFOs have a front-row seat in the inner-workings of the finance department. The hands-on approach—effectively, CFO as the chief human resources officer of finance—might help finance chiefs get the right candidates in the right seats.
Still, when talent has the upper hand in the job market,3 converting job candidates to job holders can be a tough sell. Among a number of factors, benefits have become a prime consideration for many recruits weighing up an employment offer.4
Which benefits do job candidates particularly prize? According to our survey, 44% of surveyed CFOs cited retirement plans (401(k), pension, etc.) as the benefits that they think are valued most by prospective hires. Forty-two percent cited life insurance, while the same percentage selected health insurance.
New hires in finance may be in for a surprise, however. In the fourth-quarter 2024 survey, 47% percent of CFOs indicated their organizations intended to change benefits or transfer some of the costs to workers to help manage employee costs in 2025.
Managing through a talent shortage in finance may not be straightforward. Evolving staffing strategies will likely help CFOs fill some gaps. Still, the lack of new or experienced accountants or overworked employees could remain for a while. In a time of workforce challenges, CFOs have their work cut out for them.