The overwhelming majority of Romania’s finance leaders (94%) consider technology as key for improving the efficiency of the finance function, while over three-quarters (79%) see the lack of skills as a major barrier to business development, found the latest EY survey „CFO Imperative: Enabling Financial Controllers to Shape the Future with Confidence” released on Tuesday.

73% of local finance leaders are actively involved in data governance, exceeding the global average of 69%. At the same time, only 44% of the respondents have confidence in the ability of financial controllers to create value, compared to 78% globally.

94% of those surveyed – significantly more than the global average of 65% – consider technology to be important for increasing the efficiency of the finance function and consider that the top three training needs and support areas for financial controllers to be able to effectively respond to the changing demands of their roles are: adopting emerging technologies (73%), managing automation (63%) and formulating digital strategies (64%).

According to the survey, many Romanian finance leaders express a desire for additional training in areas such as data analysis, technology integration and leadership skills. Also, 79% of those interviewed cite the lack of certain skills as a major barrier to development, indicating an urgent need for organizations to prioritize training and development initiatives.

The Romanian finance leaders believe that data analysis is an extremely important area for financial controllers, in a significantly higher proportion (70%) than their global counterparts (51%).

„The findings of the ‘CFO Imperative’ survey highlight the critical role of CFOs in shaping the future of finance. Faced with the complexities of the modern business environment, CFOs must embrace innovation, foster collaboration, focus on value creation, and leverage data-driven insights to ensure organizational success. By investing in their development and adapting to the changing economic landscape, CFOs can position themselves as key contributors to the growth and sustainability of their organizations,” the research states.

The survey „CFO Imperative Series: Enabling Controllers to Shape the Future With Confidence” was conducted by EY Romania through the Qualtrics XM platform between December 2024 and January 2025 on a sample of 85 respondents, financial leaders from various industries and income levels. The data collected locally was compared with the results of the EY global report.

AGERPRES