The real bottleneck in 2026 finance is the mismatch and misalignment. The strategy team sees the long vision, whereas the finance team focuses on resource allocation. This is the main reason why the long-term plan usually fails. Hypothetically, if any organisation’s strategy team aims to achieve an X plan with a proper roadmap in the upcoming 5 months, and the finance team is usually busy achieving quarterly targets, that’s the void many organisations are facing on a humongous scale. Research from Harvard Business School by Dr Robert Kaplan and Dr David Norton notes that 90% of organisations fail to execute their strategies. The leading culprits cited are ineffective resource allocation and misaligned departmental priorities.
The Data Makes an Uncomfortable Case
A McKinsey CFO pulse survey found that only 30% of finance leaders cited long-term planning as a top priority in 2023. By 2024, that figure had nearly doubled to 55%, a signal that the finance function is waking up to what it surrendered.
Meanwhile, Gartner’s December 2025 research confirms that CFOs are still navigating tension between short-term cost-cutting imperatives and long-term growth investments, with 56% ranking enterprise-wide cost optimisation as a top-five priority while simultaneously acknowledging they are under-resourced for the horizon thinking that actually shapes enterprise destiny.
From Corporate Scorekeeper to Chief Strategic Architect
One thing that will never change is that no one in the C-suite is better positioned to own long-term planning than the CFO. Not the Chief Strategy Officer, who often operates without budget authority. Not the transformation office, which exists to execute someone else’s vision. Not the consultant, who leaves after the engagement. It is the CFO, the only executive who sits at the intersection of capital, risk, incentive design, and performance accountability, the four pillars upon which every long-term ambition is actually built or broken.
A survey, Deloitte’s Q4 2025 CFO Signals™ by TriFinance, found that 58% of senior leaders believe the CFO should take the lead in transforming the finance department.
FAQs:
Q1: Why do most organisations fail to execute long-term strategy?
Research shows 90% fail due to ineffective resource allocation and misaligned priorities between finance and strategy teams.
Q2: How have finance leaders’ focus on long-term planning changed?
Only 30% prioritised long-term planning in 2023, but that number nearly doubled to 55% by 2024, according to McKinsey.
Q3: Why is the CFO best positioned to lead long-term planning?
CFOs sit at the intersection of capital, risk, incentives, and performance, the core pillars that shape long-term success.
Q4: What tension do CFOs face between cost-cutting and growth?
56% rank cost optimisation as a top priority, even while acknowledging they lack resources for real long-term thinking.
