According to Grant Thornton’s Q1/26 CFO survey, 68% of CFOs said they expect IT and digital transformation spending to increase over the next year — marking the highest level recorded in the 21 quarters the survey has been conducted. Even amid ongoing economic uncertainty, CFOs are prioritizing technology investments aimed at driving growth, efficiency and long-term competitiveness, with a clear focus on return.
“Companies can’t afford to treat AI as optional,” Paul Melville, chief growth officer at Grant Thornton Advisors, said. “And investment alone isn’t enough. You need to deliver ROI.”
The survey, which included responses from more than 230 finance leaders across industries, showed CFOs accelerating what they view as practical, targeted AI investments, rather than pulling back in anticipation of slower economic growth, even as many acknowledge uncertainty about execution.
That focus on return is also reshaping cost discipline. CFOs are refraining from cost cutting more than at any point in the past five years, with 28% saying they do not plan to cut costs at all, well above the prior high of 18% in Q4/24. Expectations for cuts to consulting support, human capital and vendor spending all declined sharply from the previous quarter, with anticipated reductions in consulting spend falling to a 15-quarter low.
Grant Thornton’s audit growth leader, Mike Desmond, described current CFO spending as “intentional,” with leaders investing to improve internal efficiency while adding value for customers.
“Companies are balancing short-term profitability requirements with the long term,” he said. “They have today’s cost and profitability pressures, but they’re also focused on the investments needed to drive value in the future.”
The survey also revealed muted layoff expectations, expanding use of outsourcing to address talent and technology gaps and growing reliance on advanced pricing and analytics to protect margins while responding to consumer affordability pressures.
CFOs Funding Growth — Not Just Efficiency Gains
The findings revealed that finance leaders are betting heavily on AI as a growth driver.
Technology spending is at record levels, yet most leaders are not cutting costs elsewhere to fund those investments. Nearly three quarters (72%) expect net profit to increase over the next 12 months, up from 68% last quarter.
That confidence may be tied to tech-enabled growth rather than cost reduction alone, which could help explain why expectations for layoffs remain low. In some cases, organizations are retaining — or even expanding — headcount to support the growth AI is delivering, as increased production capacity drives demand across go-to-market functions.
“To deliver growth, AI-driven productivity often requires investments in people for sales and product support where the existing headcount does not have the requisite skillset for the work,” Dana Lance, national tax leader, solutions and growth for Grant Thornton Advisors, said.
Still, confidence in realizing the full value of technology investments is not universal. Only 62% of finance leaders said they are confident they will achieve their technology objectives, with data quality, system fragmentation and technology constraints cited as the top barriers to digital transformation in the finance function.
“If you have a complex technology environment with inconsistent data quality it becomes very challenging to realize value from your program,” Raul Vega, a partner in Grant Thornton’s advisory practice and the CEO of Auxis, a Grant Thornton company, said. “AI needs good data, compatible systems and effective knowledge management.”
Persistent Talent Gaps Reshaping CFO Workforce Strategy
Many organizations are increasingly turning to outsourcing to access specialized skills. More than half (54%) of finance leaders expect ongoing challenges attracting and retaining talent over the next six months. Outsourcing is emerging as a key strategy to address those gaps.
Sixty-four percent of organizations are already implementing or actively evaluating offshoring or nearshoring for their finance operations, while just 36% plan to maintain a fully U.S.-based model.
Just over one-third of finance leaders cited cost reduction as the primary benefit of outsourcing, while almost two-thirds (66%) cited other strategic factors. Respondents ranking the following outsourcing benefits from 1 to 5 chose them No. 1 in the following percentages: cost reduction (34%); scalability and process standardization (22%); access to talent (19%); technology and AI enablement (17%); internal focus on higher-value functions (10%).
This data spotlights a market shift, as organizations increasingly evaluate outsourcing not just as a cost lever but as a mechanism for modernizing operations and supporting broader transformation efforts. These expanded benefits are bringing more mid-market organizations to the table for outsourcing.
“Outsourcing used to be something only large organizations pursued, but it is increasingly becoming the de facto model across the board,” Vega said. “What’s changing is the reason why. Today, companies are turning to outsourcing to access specialized talent, support higher-complexity work and accelerate innovation — not simply to reduce costs.”
Location strategies are evolving alongside these priorities. While offshoring remains the most established delivery model, more organizations report evaluating nearshore locations for future operations (17%) than offshoring (13%). Nearshoring is also experiencing less pullback, with only 2% reducing nearshore operations compared with 7% scaling back offshore activity. As organizations move beyond cost-driven outsourcing, they are placing greater emphasis on delivery models that provide real-time collaboration (61%) and a greater ability to support complex processes (95%) when deciding on an outsourcing location.
At the same time, the scope of outsourcing services is expanding. Providers are now delivering end-to-end accounting, collections, exceptions management, reporting and financial planning and analysis, with improved technology also opening new opportunities in compliance.
Affordability Pressures Reshaping Business Strategy
With affordability becoming a defining concern for consumers, finance leaders are feeling the pressure. In fact, more than half (57%) said customer price sensitivity has increased in their sector, and 84% report passing some cost increases on to customers over the past year.
At the same time, inflation continues to weigh on businesses, prompting nearly six in 10 CFOs to restructure their cost and operational efficiency practices over the past 12 months.
Rather than choosing between margin protection and affordability, many CFOs are turning to AI, analytics and productivity improvements to manage both. Advanced pricing models are increasingly being used to balance customer sensitivity with profitability, including segmented pricing for different customer groups and dynamic pricing based on demand or inventory. While 16% of organizations have fully implemented these approaches, another 35% are rolling them out more broadly across the business.
“AI and productivity improvements are helping companies protect margins while remaining responsive to customer price sensitivity,” Melville concluded. “The most effective pricing strategies are rooted in value, not just cost recovery. If the pricing needs to go up, CFO need to articulate the additional value that’s being delivered in association with that rise in price.”
