As we continue to move forward into 2026, business success will require more than solely outperforming competitors; it will require agility, foresight, and the ability to create sustainable value in new ways — with finance professionals playing a pivotal role. We are seeing several emerging trends:
The rise of digital ecosystems: As the platform economy continues to mature, businesses are increasingly shifting from stand-alone products to integrated digital ecosystems. These platforms connect customers, suppliers, and business partners in real time, streamlining services such as payments, logistics, data analytics, and customer engagement to drive efficiency, innovation, and competitiveness.
Sustainability becomes strategy: In recent years, corporate sustainability has evolved from a niche concern to being a core tenet of business strategy — driven by investor pressure, consumer demand, regulatory requirements, and the need to attract talent. Much like digital transformation, this will require businesses to rethink their business models, strategies, and daily operations as they pursue sustainable value creation, drive long-term performance, and build resilience.
Hybrid and agile structures: Traditional workplace structures are giving way to flatter, more flexible structures, where fluid, cross-functional teams can quickly respond to emerging challenges and opportunities. The most successful finance teams will be those that embrace agility and design their operations with the future in mind, rethinking how they measure performance, engage in business partnering, allocate resources, and foster collaboration.
AI becomes a strategic enabler: AI is no longer a futuristic concept — it’s a present-day force reshaping industries, economies, and everyday life. When thoughtfully integrated, AI empowers organisations to make better decisions, drive operational efficiency, boost growth and innovation, and strengthen risk management. But unlocking its full potential will require strategic alignment, significant investment, and an open mind to learn and adapt to new ways of working.
The opportunity for finance professionals
Over the past decade, the role of finance professionals has evolved faster than we could have ever anticipated — and that pace won’t slow anytime soon.
Our professional expertise allows us to sit at the heart of any organisation, at the crossroads between finance, business strategy, and management. Our role is to provide, analyse, use, and communicate decision-relevant financial and nonfinancial information to enable organisations to seize opportunities and mitigate risks.
In 2026 and beyond, our ability to turn information into strategic insight, embrace emerging technologies, and align performance with purpose is more vital than ever.
We are uniquely positioned to lead the way — moving beyond the numbers to become strategic business partners who enable businesses to become resilient, responsive, and responsible.
Andrew Harding, FCMA, CGMA, is chief executive–Management Accounting at the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants.