Almost two-thirds of UK CFOs expect their organisations to increase business investment in 2027, with spending on technology, AI, recruitment and employee benefits among the priorities, according to new research.

The survey of 400 UK CFOs by spend management platform Pleo found that 65% anticipate higher overall investment next year, with 65% planning to increase spending on new products and services, 64% on hiring, 62% on technology and AI, and 63% on expanding into new markets.

A similar proportion expect greater investment in employee engagement (65%) and benefits and wellbeing (62%).

However, finance leaders face several challenges, with 48% identifying changing regulation and attracting or retaining finance talent as key concerns for 2027. Cybersecurity and data risks, alongside access to finance and capital, were each highlighted by 47%.

The research also underlined the importance of professional judgement in financial decision-making. More than half (53%) of CFOs said they had often or always made major business decisions over the past year using incomplete, conflicting or inconclusive data, while 61% gave their professional judgement as much or more weight than financial information.

Almost all respondents (98.5%) said they had identified something in their organisation's financial data that other business leaders had missed, resulting in a major business decision being changed.

Meanwhile, 60% believe other business leaders underestimate the complexity of financial decision-making, despite 69% being significantly involved in business transformation decisions.

Søren Westh-Lønning, CFO of Pleo, said: “Any CFO knows that good financial leadership isn’t just about having the right numbers. Some of the most important decisions a CFO makes are the ones where the data alone can't prescribe the direction the business should take.

“So much of finance is about knowing what to question, where to look and when to act. Having a clearer picture of what's happening across the business makes it easier to focus on the bigger questions, rather than getting lost in the detail.”

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