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CFOs are weathering economic shifts in today’s ever-changing business environment.
Are finance chiefs simply adapting to this unending unpredictability? “Uncertainty has become the new norm,” Steve Gallucci, global and U.S. leader of Deloitte’s CFO Program, said during our discussion of the firm’s Q3 2025 CFO Signals report released this morning. Gallucci emphasized that it’s critical for CFOs to foster strategies and mechanisms designed to manage persistent variability—a reality that’s unlikely to change soon.
According to the report, the CFO confidence score came in at 5.7, slightly up from last quarter’s 5.4 reading. In North America, only 19% of CFOs said the economy is good now, but 34% believe it will improve within a year.
Although some policy decisions, such as those around trade, remain unsettled, Gallucci noted there is now a bit more clarity regarding some major economic drivers. For example, CFOs have a better sense of the direction of interest rates.
The Federal Reserve made its first interest rate cut of 2025 in September, the first reduction since December, and the potential remains for additional cuts before year-end.
While a geopolitical shock is always possible, most finance chiefs remain more optimistic about their own organizations’ financial prospects, even as they are cautious about the broader macroeconomic landscape, Gallucci explained. In North America, 90% of finance chiefs said their companies’ financial prospects are much better or better than three months ago—up from 48% in Q2.
However, CFOs have named talent, whether in hiring, retention, or skill gaps, as their top internal risk. Upskilling and reskilling the workforce is crucial, Gallucci said, as organizations build for the future with strong tech capabilities and employees who are tech savvy—both the talent they hope to retain and the new recruits they aim to attract in a competitive market. Regarding finance talent specifically, the industry faces a talent shortage crisis as millions of baby boomer accountants prepare for retirement, making it critical to attract more Gen Z professionals to the field, Fortune reported.
External risks—inflation, interest rates, and cybersecurity—remain top concerns for CFOs. As companies invest more in exponential technologies, including generative and agentic AI, focus on cybersecurity remains heightened. Cyber threats have not diminished, and CFOs are as vigilant as ever, Gallucci noted.
Deloitte’s survey includes 200 client CFOs from public and private organizations in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, each with at least $1 billion in annual revenue.
Another finding is that risk appetite is understandably subdued. Nearly two-thirds of CFOs do not believe now is a good time to take greater risks. CFOs in the financial services industry are even more cautious, with about 77% saying it’s not a good time to assume additional risk. Examples of such risks may include significant business expansions, M&A, or launching new products.
So far in 2025, the North American M&A outlook mirrors the global trend: deal volume is down compared to prior years, but overall deal value has remained steady or even increased due to a greater number of megadeals and strategic acquisitions.
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Deloitte’s survey found that 46% of CFOs think U.S. equity markets are overvalued, while 34% said they are undervalued, and 21% were neutral—highlighting a divided outlook. “There’s certainly a continued focus on capital structure, capital allocation, and shareholder value,” Gallucci said.
Finance chiefs are embracing agility, investing in talent and technology, and staying disciplined in managing risk and opportunity to deal with an uncertainty that’s become all too familiar.
Written by Sheryl Estrada for Fortune as “Navigating the new normal: CFOs manage uncertainty as talent remains a big worry” and republished with permission.
