Technology is reshaping value creation, and companies are racing to keep up. Nearly a quarter of CEOs now worry their companies won’t survive without transformation. To succeed, they need to define transformation strategically. Many companies treat AI and “transformation” as interchangeable, but a transformation that builds resilience and lasting value goes far beyond AI use cases.

The most valuable and sustainable transformations start with a holistic rethinking of budgets, processes, and talent rather than with a particular project or role. Every member of an organization’s finance team has the potential to act as a transformation leader, regardless of their job title.

The Chief Transformation Officer Can’t Do It Alone

The relatively new role of Chief Transformation Officer is the most visible manifestation of the drive to transform. The pandemic seems to have jump-started this trend. The number of companies hiring CTOs jumped 140% from 2019 to 2021, reflecting the push to leverage technology to pivot to digital channels. Within the first year of having a CTO, companies surveyed by BCG increased their total shareholder return to 8% above the average for their industry. That value creation makes a strong case for hiring a CTO to lead transformation efforts.

Transformational leadership is important, but it’s not the only role that matters. Expecting transformation to flow from the top down isn’t enough. That approach creates a false sense that transformation is the remit of one leader and that everyone else can continue business as usual. Companies that hire a CTO and support cultural change across the organization will get the most value from their CTO-led initiatives. Companies that don’t have a CTO but commit to transformational initiatives through the CFO and other leaders can realize strong results as well.

Empowering a Transformational Culture in Finance and Accounting

The finance and accounting department is a good place to start empowering a transformational culture. These employees and managers already understand how to quantify value. They’re also in a position to see the potential for small, repeatable practices to add up in ways that align with technology transformation.

For example, redesigning processes for fewer clicks and cleaner handoffs can lead to better quality data for more timely insights. Those clearer insights enable faster adjustments and accelerate time to value from technology transformations. Transforming finance and accounting processes can also reduce the employee burnout that results from rote tasks and drives churn.

The transformational mindset can apply to processes and workflows across the organization. Controllers, managers, and team members are most familiar with the friction points in the processes they use or oversee. They may have the best ideas about how to improve them, and wise CTOs cultivate their input and collaboration.

Transformation Levers Finance Teams Can Pull Now

CTOs and other leaders who want to foster a culture of transformation can start by working with their finance team in three areas with the most potential for leverage.

1. Employee experience. Finance and accounting talent is in short supply and has been for years. In 2025, the average organization had 5 open roles in this area, up from 2 the year before. Keeping the employees you have, and keeping them engaged, requires involving them in identifying pain points that technology can address. Use their feedback to shape process transformations that reduce workloads and burnout. That will give your team the breathing room they need to perform better at higher-value tasks. That shift can improve engagement and decrease turnover, which helps maintain transformational momentum.
2. Finance and accounting processes. Mapping existing processes and factoring in team member feedback can identify steps that can be removed and areas that need data standardization to operate efficiently. These activities are a critical step before implementing AI pilots or scaling up AI use cases to generate real ROI. Consider last year’s finding that 95% of GenAI investments delivered no returns as a cautionary tale. The companies that are seeing value are those that customize AI to meet specific needs, and the only way to uncover those needs is through team input and process analysis.
3. Budget and internal capacity. In addition to AI automation, outsourcing high-volume, repetitive tasks and processes can free internal capacity. Then the in-house team can deliver more value and find more opportunities for more transformation. In 2025, 65% of organizations outsourced some finance and accounting activities, particularly in accounts receivable and accounts payable.

These steps support a mindset of identifying everyday improvements that can drive transformation. Incremental improvements in AP, AR, close, and reporting can serve larger transformation goals like organizational resilience, scalability, and data-driven decision-making. This approach underlines the fact that sustainable transformation is a cultural value and regular practice, not a one-time program or a single technology solution.

Transforming Your Organization’s Transformation Strategy

The need for transformation is real, but when efforts focus only on marquee projects and the latest AI tools, the people and processes that drive lasting transformation can be overlooked.

Building a durable culture of transformation starts with a commitment from the top, including but not limited to the Chief Transformation Officer and the CFO. Start by setting process improvement targets such as EX improvements, workflow auditing, data organization, and employee engagement in the transformation conversation. Working toward these targets can unlock the kind of insights and technology use cases that create long-term value.