Cash Management and Financial Resilience: CFO Strategies for Navigating Uncertainty
In an environment of persistent economic headwinds and geopolitical tension, senior finance leaders are prioritizing cash preservation and resilience. A Gartner survey of more than 200 CFOs found that 56 % ranked enterprise‑wide cost optimization among their top five priorities for 2026, while 51 % placed improving the accuracy and quality of financial forecasting in the same bracket. This sharpened focus on cost discipline and forecast accuracy reflects a balancing act: finance leaders must shore up liquidity and mitigate risk while still funding strategic growth.
Cost control versus growth
The same survey reveals a split in strategic intent. Fewer than half of CFOs listed allocating capital to new growth opportunities as a top‑five priority, yet more respondents ranked it as their single highest priority than any other item. Gartner warns that overly aggressive cost‑cutting may erode long‑term competitiveness and recommends embedding cost discipline into corporate culture, focusing spending on differentiating activities. For CEOs and CFOs, the challenge is to reduce costs in non‑core areas while preserving the capacity to invest in innovation.
Economic headwinds
The economic backdrop complicates planning. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond’s CFO Survey, CFOs expect the prices of their products and services to increase by 3.5% in 2026 and wages to rise by about 3%. Tariffs, demand and labor quality rank among the top concerns. Nearly 78% of large companies invested in AI during 2025 and 80% of small firms plan to invest in AI in 2026, expecting it to boost productivity and decision speed. These findings suggest that finance leaders must plan for higher input costs while harnessing technology to improve efficiency.
Themes from the Deloitte CFO Signals survey
A late‑2025 Deloitte survey reported by the Controllers Council shows that finance leaders are entering 2026 with a heightened focus on efficiency, cash preservation, disciplined investment and operational reliability. CFOs are modernizing processes through automation, technology upgrades and enhanced reporting to support faster decision‑making. Liquidity visibility, working‑capital optimization and short‑interval cash forecasting are top priorities, enabling organizations to navigate revenue fluctuations and respond quickly to disruptions. Capital spending is being scrutinized, with leaders favoring investments that directly improve resiliency. Integrated risk management—evaluating cybersecurity, data quality, vendor stability and regulatory changes together—supports more comprehensive planning. Scenario planning, margin sensitivity testing and cost‑structure evaluation are becoming routine as teams prepare for varied economic scenarios.
Practical cash‑management strategies
1. Implement dynamic cash forecasting. Build rolling forecasts with multiple scenarios to account for price and wage inflation, tariffs and demand shifts. Leverage AI‑driven analytics and automation to update forecasts in real time and detect variances early. Automated forecasting reduces manual effort and improves accuracy.
2. Optimize working capital. Accelerate receivables through improved billing practices, credit‑risk assessment and early‑payment incentives; lengthen payables where appropriate by negotiating favorable terms with suppliers. Strengthen inventory management to release cash tied up in stock. Real‑time dashboards that integrate receivables, payables and inventory enable proactive decision‑making.
3. Strengthen liquidity and treasury management. Maintain adequate liquidity buffers and diversify funding sources. Evaluate credit facilities and monitor covenant compliance. Short‑interval cash forecasts help anticipate upcoming cash crunches and inform decisions about debt repayments and capital distributions.
4. Integrate risk management. Establish cross‑functional risk committees that evaluate macro risks (tariffs, foreign‑exchange volatility), cybersecurity threats, supply‑chain disruptions and regulatory changes together. Use hedging strategies to manage currency exposure; Gartner’s research shows that many companies are increasing hedge ratios to protect cash flows.
5. Invest selectively in growth. Continue funding projects that offer measurable returns and enhance resilience, such as digital transformation and automation. Balance cost discipline with strategic investments that differentiate your business. Monitor investments closely and redeploy capital from underperforming initiatives.
6. Leverage automation and AI. With nearly all large and many small companies investing in AI, finance teams should deploy tools that streamline payment processing, reconcile accounts and surface working‑capital insights. Automation frees staff to focus on analysis and strategic decision‑making.
As CFOs enter 2026, cost optimization and financial resilience are top of mind. Gartner’s survey underscores the importance of enterprise‑wide cost control and forecast accuracy, while the Richmond Fed’s research shows that price and wage pressures will persist. Deloitte’s CFO Signals survey points to efficiency improvements, cash preservation and integrated risk management as key themes. By adopting dynamic forecasting, optimizing working capital, strengthening liquidity, integrating risk management and selectively investing in growth, finance leaders can protect cash flows and build resilience amid uncertainty.