New Kyriba Survey Heralds the ‘Era of Engineered Growth’ in Finance Transformation

CFOs are evolving from financial stewards to strategic engineers, with engineered growth emerging as a guiding principle for 2026, a new global survey from treasury and finance technology provider Kyriba finds.

The survey, which tapped 1,400 global CFOs and senior financial decision-makers across eight countries, revealed that within the overarching mission of engineered growth, innovation and digital transformation stood out as the top two priorities, selected by 35% and 34% of respondents, respectively.

Rounding out the top three among most important concerns was cost reduction and efficiency gains, at 26%. Overall, the findings reflect a shift in how CFOs think, as substantial technology gains allow them to focus on forward progress beyond the bottom line.

“Growth used to be ‘growth at all costs,'” said Nick Dahm, former CFO of Salesloft, in conjunction with the Kyriba survey. “Now CFOs are taking a more balanced approach–marrying both growth and profitability… investors want these businesses to be self-sustaining.”

The report also highlights how the priorities change in proportion depending on where the CFOs are located. In high-connectivity markets like the US and the UK, businesses emphasize innovation (US: 46%; UK: 41%) and digital transformation (US: 34%; UK: 36%). In contrast, Italy stands out as a low-connectivity market with a high appetite for innovation (38%) and transformation (43%), showing that ambition can outpace technical readiness.

Singapore, with its strong infrastructure, takes a different approach from its developed peers. There, CFOs and finance leaders stress capital structure optimization (32%) and working capital gains (31%) over innovation (27%) and digital transformation (28%). Meanwhile, the remaining low-connectivity regions take more measured approaches, focusing on cost efficiency, ESG priorities, and operational discipline.

Kyriba’s survey results strongly suggest that for all respondents, achieving engineered growth depends on the financial infrastructure that businesses have built. Connectivity powers real‑time data and automation, raising a CFO’s ability to act with speed and precision.

The challenge in 2026 centers on improved connectivity, and how it bolsters a CFO’s ability to progress from the theoretical to the practical — or, as the report puts it, from “optimism to outcomes.” A positive outlook may set the stage for moving forward in terms of enterprise technology, but it’s all for naught if low connectivity dominates, because it raises execution risk.

The survey also delves into the variables and trends surrounding risk-intelligent performance. Kyriba publishes its findings at a time when CFOs face mounting pressure to balance innovation with governance. For SAP finance leaders, the message is clear: AI holds potential to reshape forecasting, liquidity management, and financial reporting — but successful deployment hinges on the ability to strengthen security frameworks and earn stakeholder trust.