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Three years into the SEE CFO Compass, one theme has overtaken cost and speed: trust—in data, in systems and in the people overseeing AI.
The 3rd SEE CFO Compass Survey, based on the answers of 230+ regional finance leaders, shows a fragile reality. Companies are modernising fast, but the foundations often lag. They close books in five days yet burn out their teams to get there. They introduce AI while half the workforce isn’t trained to use it. They invest in ERPs while a third still reconcile in spreadsheets. Cybersecurity is a top concern, yet 0% fund business continuity or disaster recovery.
What’s different now is that CFOs aren’t ignoring these gaps. They’re prioritising certainty over speed, ecosystems over monoliths and upskilling before upgrading.
Our survey focuses on three critical areas—control environment and systems, digital resilience and cybersecurity, and AI—to show how to build a finance function that’s not just modern, but durable.
In a region where regulation and technology shift fast, trust isn’t a bonus. Trust is what holds the business together.
Among the key findings from the survey:
- 54% of CFOs still operate with moderate-to-no-standardised accounting data within the group
- 34% load accounting data into spreadsheets that require manual adjustments
- 28% of organisations overestimate their cyber capabilities by failing to leverage external expertise
- 0% invest in Business Continuity Management/Disaster Recovery, indicating that these critical areas remain largely undervalued
- 61% are exploring or have already implemented AI agents. Despite the high interest, most organisations haven’t established formal AI policies yet.
- Almost 80% of finance leaders allocate less than €50,000 for AI implementation
- Employees’ limited technical skills are the biggest barrier to unlocking AI value
Control environment and system integration The “One ERP” concept isn’t always applicable
More than half (54%) of CFOs say their organisations still don’t have standardised accounting data across the group
Ou survey results show that common chart of accounts and unified ERP systems aren’t yet in place for most organisations. This weakens data flow and amplifies error risk. Where data isn’t standardised, manual reconciliation fills the gap. When around one‑third of organisations operate mainly in Excel without automation, upgrading to more advanced solutions becomes challenging.
For years businesses believed that they should aim for a single, unified ERP as the backbone of their finance function. Our 3rd SEE CFO Compass Survey, however, shows that this expectation no longer reflects the reality in South‑East Europe. Diverse business models, local regulations, industry‑specific requirements and legacy architectures make full standardisation across one platform difficult—and in many cases, not even desirable.
Standardised data is the goal—but an ERP alone rarely delivers it.
The real enabler is a well-designed ecosystem, not a single monolithic system. Modern finance organisations are now shifting towards such integrated ecosystem—a coordinated set of systems that work together, each serving its strongest purpose, connected through structured processes and shared data models. The right mix of systems, each selected to address a specific gap and integrated in a way that preserves data integrity, strengthens controls and supports the organisation’s strategy.
Manual effort doesn't scale into agility
Common chart of accounts aren’t yet in place
The standardisation of accounting data hasn’t yet reached the desired level of maturity across the corporate landscape. 54% of finance leaders categorise their standardisation process as moderate to none. For group reporting purposes, companies are trying their best to align their chart of accounts—through ERP systems or highly structured, software‑like Excel solutions—to reduce the burden of consolidation. This shift away from fragmented practices suggests an uplift in the quality of the control environment. Yet, half of the finance partners are near the finish line to minimise manual intervention.
What are the main bottlenecks in ERP implementation?
CFOs report a combination of overlapping issues: limited internal expertise, dependence on external vendors and constrained budgets that often stall projects.
However, internal competence is the number one challenge for implementing an ERP. And it goes beyond ERP. Across all industries, people remain the foundation that no business can operate without.
Petko Petkov,
Partner, SEE Risk Assurance Services Lead, CEE Digital Identity Lead
Today, the question for finance leaders is no longer just how to move faster, but how to ensure that people trust the ground they’re building on. In a region where tax rules shift between fiscal years and businesses are replacing ERP systems with fit-for-purpose platforms, speed alone is no longer a competitive advantage. The real differentiator is integrity at speed.
Digital resilience and cyber Cybersecurity: a non-profit function with critical value
Cybersecurity isn’t merely an IT concern, it’s a fundamental pillar of operational business resilience, and the wave of new digital regulatory frameworks entering into force reflects exactly that shift. As organisations of all sizes undergo digital transformations, concern over data privacy and cyber risk is no longer confined to large enterprises.
Yet awareness in the region is only beginning to turn into action. Fewer than one in six organisations describe their functions as well-developed, while nearly half are still in the process of building out their capabilities.
Most organisations are only beginning their journey toward mature cybersecurity—highlighting an urgent need to move from reactive fixes to fully developed resilient security functions.
What are the top priority cybersecurity areas?
The survey shows that only 4% of CFOs allocate budget to Threat Intelligence, 2% to Zero Trust Architecture and none to Business Continuity Management (BCM) and Disaster Recovery (DR).
The traditional model of network security isn't enough. With remote work, cloud adoption and third‑party integrations expanding the attack surface, Zero Trust’s “never trust, always verify” principle has become essential—yet investment still lags. Even more concerning, BCM/DR is completely missing from budgets, despite being the backbone of operational resilience.
Investing in people is crucial, but it can’t stand alone. Threats like deepfakes demand continuous awareness, supported by strong structures and contingency plans. Without them, even well‑trained teams won’t be ready when prevention fails.
Adoption of AI Technology isn’t the challenge. Integration is.
6 in 10 CFOs have begun taking a step past the research phase to pilot
Survey results suggest clearly that today's real challenge isn't the technology—it's the way we put it into practice. Organisations that build strong business processes and clear controls are better positioned to generate reliable, high‑quality data and unlock the full potential of new technologies.
CFOs look for practical ways to apply AI. This is a major milestone towards human-centred intelligent finance. The peak interest is due to agents’ capabilities to operate autonomously within set boundaries. Successful adopters take a gradual approach. They start with specific, high‑value use cases, validate results and expand only when the organisation’s technical and regulatory foundations are ready.
Ambition is high, but investment often falls short
Ogranisations assume they can “adopt AI” quickly, cheaply or even at no cost mainly because they lack an understanding of how AI works and the many forms it takes. To account for the growing complexities of AI and deep learning, we can expect an increase in how traditional software and systems are priced.
What often goes unnoticed is that AI isn’t a one‑time expense. Developing and maintaining it involves ongoing investment. Constant model training and system upkeep become recurring costs. CFOs must choose whether to rely on in-house or external experts.
Almost 80% of the organisations allocate less than €50,000 for AI implementation
However, in-house development isn’t always the safest path.
Some organisations try to build AI internally because it feels innovative. But in finance, this often leads to tools that can’t be audited or governed—especially when coding happens directly on public models like GPT.
This is why many organisations benefit from externally governed, specialised AI solutions, built together with experienced teams.
75% of organisations haven't established formal policies or controls to evaluate the trustworthiness of AI
Survey results show that even early AI adopters rarely have clear codes of conduct. This creates a considerable risk—users frequently exhibit automation bias, leading them to over-rely on AI-generated content. Combined with occasional AI hallucinations, this can result in flawed budgets and cash flow projections based on fictional sales and market trends or duplicated vendor payments.
Organisations should introduce clearly defined metrics and measurable outcomes. Protocols and established procedures must be continuously refined in response to unexpected challenges and risks.
Stefan Milenkov
SEE CFO Compass Survey Lead
Senior Manager,
Capital Markets & Accounting Advisory Services, Finance Function Transformations
One message stood out in this year’s survey: the biggest barrier to transformation isn’t technology—it’s people. Upskilling teams to work confidently with automation and digital tools has become the top priority. ERP modernisation also remains critical, but the mindset in SEE is shifting. Instead of relying on a single system, organisations are now embracing combinations of fit‑for‑purpose, state‑of‑the‑art solutions.
People: the most important control and the biggest barrier
Employees’ insufficient technical competence—not budget or trust—stands out as the biggest barrier to realising value from AI. Technology is advancing faster than teams can adapt, creating a skills gap that directly slows implementation. Human review is currently the most trusted and most widely used control. Finance leaders rely on their teams to challenge inconsistencies, identify unusual patterns and prevent automation errors.
Yet the survey results reveal a striking contradiction: the same employees organisations rely on to supervise AI are also viewed as one of the biggest obstacles to realising its value.
There's no need to hit the brakes on AI adoption. Instead, let's embrace it in a way that teams can maintain.
CFOs should focus on upskilling programmes to boost AI literacy and get legacy systems ready. This means providing role-specific training for reviewers, documenting expected behaviours clearly, offering practical examples of right and wrong outputs, and knowing when human judgement is essential.
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3rd SEE CFO Compass Survey
About the SEE CFO Compass Survey
We launched the CFO Compass Survey in the South-East Europe cluster, leveraging our deep expertise in finance transformation. Our aim was straightforward: to create a platform for CFOs to share insights, exchange practices, and gain new perspectives.
As interest grew, so did the survey's reach and participation within the region, mirroring its dynamic growth, varied business maturity, and complex market dynamics. The data gathered enabled us to compare peers more precisely and share valuable findings.
By examining organisations across industries and countries, the CFO Compass Survey provides finance professionals with a tool to evaluate their finance function's maturity and identify opportunities for real improvement.
Let’s shape the future of finance together.
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