At the start of 2025, Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) find themselves at a crossroads, facing a constantly changing economic and political environment. A highly successful study highly successful study conducted by PwC France and Maghreb in partnership with the DFCG (the network of CFOs and management controllers) – 2025 Priorities for Finance Departments – Building the Future with Optimism – reveals the priorities and challenges that CFOs will face in the coming months.
The economic landscape of 2025 is shaping up to be one of uncertainty. After a period marked by the 2024 Paris Olympics, which gave the French economy a boost, the outlook remains mixed. Business investment, once the engine of growth, is showing signs of slowing down. Household consumption is stagnating, despite an improvement in purchasing power, reflecting consumers' increased caution about the future. In this context, CFOs are called upon to play a crucial role in steering companies through turbulent waters.
1 major challenge: managing cash flow and economic performance
The study highlights that 56% of CFOs remain optimistic about their companies' growth prospects in 2025, an encouraging figure, but one that also reflects the challenges ahead. The number one priority for CFOs in 2025 will logically remain performance management. Faced with market volatility and rapidly changing business models, CFOs will need to refine their forecasting and analysis tools. The study reveals that 59% of respondents are satisfied with their current forecasting processes, a significant improvement over previous years. However, more than half of executives want to continue investing in this area, particularly to improve responsiveness and strengthen the integration between financial and operational forecasts.
Cash and financing management remains a major concern. In an environment where margins are under pressure and cash requirements fluctuate, 45% of CFOs identified monitoring working capital requirements as a priority for their treasury function. This increased focus on cash reflects the need for agile financial management that can adapt quickly to changes in the economic environment. Changes in cost and margin calculation models are also a key concern. As business models become more complex, 30% of executives surveyed want to improve the accuracy of their costing model to better understand the profitability of their activities. This approach is crucial not only for optimizing performance, but also for making informed decisions about pricing and investment.
The drivers: acceleration of digitization and process automation
To meet the challenges of increasingly sophisticated financial management, digital transformation continues to be a major lever for CFOs. The study indicates that 45% of finance departments want to invest in digitalization in 2025, with a particular focus on artificial intelligence. These investments are aimed at automating processes, improving data quality, and strengthening predictive analytics capabilities.
The digitization of financial flows is more than ever a priority in order to free administrative and financial teams from repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus on high value-added tasks, such as economic analysis or strategy development.
In addition, economic and financial analysis tools, which are now more accessible and integrated into ERP systems, offer performance indicators (KPIs) and customizable dashboards. Thanks to these solutions, CFOs can fully play their role as strategic advisors by providing relevant financial analyses in real time, while developing projections and simulations tailored to the company's strategic objectives.
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Other challenges: Cybersecurity & CSR
Another crucial issue for 2025 is the growing integration of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) into the activities of finance departments. The study notes a significant increase in the integration of CSR into financial practices over the past two years. CFOs are increasingly called upon to integrate non-financial criteria into their management models and contribute to their companies' sustainable development strategies. Talent management remains a constant concern, although it is often relegated to the background in the face of operational emergencies. However, in a context of rapid transformation, attracting and retaining talent is crucial to ensuring the long-term effectiveness and attractiveness of the Finance Department.
CFOs must also deal with emerging risks. Cybersecurity is one of the top three risks identified for 2025, alongside political and economic instability and geopolitical conflicts. This awareness highlights the need for CFOs to play a proactive role in managing the company's digital risks.
Faced with these multiple challenges, CFOs in 2025 will need to embody a long-term vision while navigating a constantly changing environment. They will be called upon to be not only guardians of financial performance, but also strategic partners capable of guiding the company toward sustainable growth.
Key skills for CFOs to meet challenges
In response to the findings of the study, it is possible to draw up a profile of the CFO of tomorrow, capable of responding to the many challenges posed by the internal and external environment of the company. To succeed, CFOs will need to cultivate several key skills. Flexibility and adaptability will be essential in order to respond to rapid changes in the economic environment. A thorough understanding of emerging technologies, particularly AI and advanced data analysis, will be crucial to taking advantage of the opportunities offered by digitalization.
The ability to collaborate effectively with other functions within the company, particularly operational and IT teams, will be crucial. CFOs will also need to develop a global vision of the company, integrating financial and increasingly non-financial considerations into their decision-making. Finally, communication will be more than ever a key skill. CFOs will need to be able to translate complex financial information into actionable insights for executives and stakeholders, while promoting a culture of performance and innovation within their team.
In conclusion, 2025 promises to be a pivotal year for CFOs. Faced with an uncertain and rapidly changing economic environment, they will have to juggle rigorous financial management, technological innovation, and long-term strategic contributions. Successful CFOs will be those who embrace change, anticipate risks, and guide their companies toward sustainable and responsible growth. The future of the finance function looks complex, but rich in opportunities for those who know how to seize them.
Electronic invoicing reform: soon to be in the final stages
Among the priorities for the year for administrative and financial departments, the transition to electronic invoicing is high on the list. The deadline, set for September 2026, is fast approaching... Docoon supports companies as a partner dematerialization platform in this major digitization project. A solution that offers many advantages:
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