2027 CFO/Controller Outlook & Sentiment Study

Learn what your corporate finance and accounting peers are planning for in 2027! Participate in this important study by taking a brief survey (est. 5 minutes) and be the first to receive a complimentary copy of the results of the 2027 CFO/Controller Outlook & Sentiment Study. All responses are anonymous and strictly confidential.

With rapidly changing business and economic environments, significant geo/political risk, rapidly changing AI technologies, and ongoing talent challenges, what are financial Controllers and CFOs doing differently to manage in 2027 and beyond?

The annual CFO/Controller Outlook & Sentiment Study seeks to understand how these macro-economic trends are shaping corporate finance planning, strategy, priorities and outlooks.

Be sure to register for the 2026 CFO/Controller Outlook & Sentiment Study Results – Panel Discussion to be announced (TBA)

Question Title

1. What is your overall prediction of your organization’s financial performance in 2027 vs. 2026? (Required.)

2027 will achieve better financial performance than 2026

2027 will have similar financial performance as 2026

2027 will have lower financial performance than 2026

Question Title

2. Please rate your organization’s key financial metrics for 2027 vs 2026: (Required.)

	Increase	Stay the Same	Decrease	N/A
Revenue	Revenue Increase	Revenue Stay the Same	Revenue Decrease	Revenue N/A
Gross Margin	Gross Margin Increase	Gross Margin Stay the Same	Gross Margin Decrease	Gross Margin N/A
Sales/General/Administrative (SG&A) costs	Sales/General/Administrative (SG&A) costs Increase	Sales/General/Administrative (SG&A) costs Stay the Same	Sales/General/Administrative (SG&A) costs Decrease	Sales/General/Administrative (SG&A) costs N/A
Profits	Profits Increase	Profits Stay the Same	Profits Decrease	Profits N/A
Organization Headcount	Organization Headcount Increase	Organization Headcount Stay the Same	Organization Headcount Decrease	Organization Headcount N/A
Finance/Accounting Headcount	Finance/Accounting Headcount Increase	Finance/Accounting Headcount Stay the Same	Finance/Accounting Headcount Decrease	Finance/Accounting Headcount N/A
Other	Other Increase	Other Stay the Same	Other Decrease	Other N/A

(please list)

Question Title

3. How will business, economic and geo-political uncertainties impact your organization’s 2027 spending plans? (Required.)

We plan to increase spending and budgets in 2027 in comparison to 2027

We plan to maintain spending and budgets in 2027 in comparison to 2026

We plan to reduce spending and budgets in 2027 in comparison to 2026

Other (please specify)

Question Title

4. What are your organization’s 2027 Hiring Plans by Function? (Required.)

	Increase	Stay the Same	Decrease	N/A
Finance/Accounting	Finance/Accounting Increase	Finance/Accounting Stay the Same	Finance/Accounting Decrease	Finance/Accounting N/A
Operations including Labor	Operations including Labor Increase	Operations including Labor Stay the Same	Operations including Labor Decrease	Operations including Labor N/A
HR	HR Increase	HR Stay the Same	HR Decrease	HR N/A
Administrative	Administrative Increase	Administrative Stay the Same	Administrative Decrease	Administrative N/A
Marketing	Marketing Increase	Marketing Stay the Same	Marketing Decrease	Marketing N/A
Sales/Customer Support	Sales/Customer Support Increase	Sales/Customer Support Stay the Same	Sales/Customer Support Decrease	Sales/Customer Support N/A
Engineering/Technical	Engineering/Technical Increase	Engineering/Technical Stay the Same	Engineering/Technical Decrease	Engineering/Technical N/A
IT/Technology	IT/Technology Increase	IT/Technology Stay the Same	IT/Technology Decrease	IT/Technology N/A
Procurement	Procurement Increase	Procurement Stay the Same	Procurement Decrease	Procurement N/A
Legal	Legal Increase	Legal Stay the Same	Legal Decrease	Legal N/A
Other	Other Increase	Other Stay the Same	Other Decrease	Other N/A

(please list)

Question Title

5. What will be your organization’s work environment plans for 2027? (Required.)

HYBRID combination of ONSITE and REMOTE

Full ONSITE

Full REMOTE

Other (please specify)

Question Title

6. What are your organization’s 2027 plans for implementing Technology? (Required.)

	Increase	Stay the Same	Decrease
AI and/or Automation	AI and/or Automation Increase	AI and/or Automation Stay the Same	AI and/or Automation Decrease
Accounting/Finance Back-Office/Operations (AP/AR/Close/Tax/Other)	Accounting/Finance Back-Office/Operations (AP/AR/Close/Tax/Other) Increase	Accounting/Finance Back-Office/Operations (AP/AR/Close/Tax/Other) Stay the Same	Accounting/Finance Back-Office/Operations (AP/AR/Close/Tax/Other) Decrease
ERP Software/Systems	ERP Software/Systems Increase	ERP Software/Systems Stay the Same	ERP Software/Systems Decrease
Cybersecurity	Cybersecurity Increase	Cybersecurity Stay the Same	Cybersecurity Decrease
Business Intelligence	Business Intelligence Increase	Business Intelligence Stay the Same	Business Intelligence Decrease
Cloud and/or Data Storage	Cloud and/or Data Storage Increase	Cloud and/or Data Storage Stay the Same	Cloud and/or Data Storage Decrease
Other	Other Increase	Other Stay the Same	Other Decrease

(please list)

Question Title

7. What keeps you up at night? Greatest concern(s)? (Rate all that Apply 1 – 3; 1 being of highest concern) (Required.)

	1	2	3	N/A
Talent/Retention/Recruitment	Talent/Retention/Recruitment 1	Talent/Retention/Recruitment 2	Talent/Retention/Recruitment 3	Talent/Retention/Recruitment N/A
AI and new Technologie	AI and new Technologie 1	AI and new Technologie 2	AI and new Technologie 3	AI and new Technologie N/A
Inflation	Inflation 1	Inflation 2	Inflation 3	Inflation N/A
Interest Rates	Interest Rates 1	Interest Rates 2	Interest Rates 3	Interest Rates N/A
Recession	Recession 1	Recession 2	Recession 3	Recession N/A
Geo-Political Risk	Geo-Political Risk 1	Geo-Political Risk 2	Geo-Political Risk 3	Geo-Political Risk N/A
Supply-Chain Issues	Supply-Chain Issues 1	Supply-Chain Issues 2	Supply-Chain Issues 3	Supply-Chain Issues N/A
Other	Other 1	Other 2	Other 3	Other N/A

(please list)

Question Title

8. What is your title or role? (Required.)

Controller

CFO

VP Accounting

VP Finance

Chief Accounting Officer

Other (please specify)

Question Title

9. What Industry is your organization in? (Required.)

Accounting / Legal

Agriculture / Mining

Business / Industrial Services

Construction

Consumer Services

Educational Services

Energy / Utilities

Financial Services

Government

Healthcare

Hospitality / Recreation

Insurance

Pharma / Biotech / Life Sciences

Manufacturing

Not for Profit / Faith-Based

Professional Services / Consulting

Publishing / Media / Marketing / Advertising

Real Estate

Retail

Software / Technology

Telecommunications

Transportation

Wholesale / Distribution

Other (please specify)

Question Title

10. Approximately how many employees does your organization have? (Required.)

1-49

50-99

100-249

250-499

500-999

1000-4999

5000+

Question Title

11. What is your company’s approximate revenue? (Required.)

Less than $25M

$25M to $100M

$101M to $250M

$251M to $500M

$501M to $1B

Over $1B

Don’t know or prefer not to say

Question Title

12. Where is your business headquartered? (Required.)

United States

Canada

Europe

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 1. What is your overall prediction of your organization’s financial performance in 2027 vs. 2026? (Required.)

Question Title

* 2. Please rate your organization’s key financial metrics for 2027 vs 2026: (Required.)

Question Title

* 3. How will business, economic and geo-political uncertainties impact your organization’s 2027 spending plans? (Required.)

Question Title

* 4. What are your organization’s 2027 Hiring Plans by Function? (Required.)

Question Title

* 5. What will be your organization’s work environment plans for 2027? (Required.)

Question Title

* 6. What are your organization’s 2027 plans for implementing Technology? (Required.)

Question Title

* 7. What keeps you up at night? Greatest concern(s)? (Rate all that Apply 1 – 3; 1 being of highest concern) (Required.)

Question Title

* 8. What is your title or role? (Required.)

Question Title

* 9. What Industry is your organization in? (Required.)

Question Title

* 10. Approximately how many employees does your organization have? (Required.)

Question Title

* 11. What is your company’s approximate revenue? (Required.)

Question Title

* 12. Where is your business headquartered? (Required.)

Question Title

* 13. Thank you for completing the survey! If you would like a copy of the study report, please provide your email address here.

1. What is your overall prediction of your organization’s financial performance in 2027 vs. 2026? (Required.)

2. Please rate your organization’s key financial metrics for 2027 vs 2026: (Required.)

3. How will business, economic and geo-political uncertainties impact your organization’s 2027 spending plans? (Required.)

4. What are your organization’s 2027 Hiring Plans by Function? (Required.)

5. What will be your organization’s work environment plans for 2027? (Required.)

6. What are your organization’s 2027 plans for implementing Technology? (Required.)

7. What keeps you up at night? Greatest concern(s)? (Rate all that Apply 1 – 3; 1 being of highest concern) (Required.)

8. What is your title or role? (Required.)

9. What Industry is your organization in? (Required.)

10. Approximately how many employees does your organization have? (Required.)

11. What is your company’s approximate revenue? (Required.)

12. Where is your business headquartered? (Required.)

13. Thank you for completing the survey! If you would like a copy of the study report, please provide your email address here.