Pascale Desplentere is Associate Director of Management Resources, Contract Finance and Accounting and Accounting Operations.
Pascale brings nearly two decades of success in the recruitment world, and two decades of workplace trends knowledge. Starting in Belgium then moving to Sydney, she heads up the contract and interim division at Robert Half targeting senior finance positions. She also leads both permanent and contracting transactional teams who place roles like Accounts Payable, Receivable, Assistant Accountants and Payroll.
The focus areas under Pascale’s leadership give her deep expertise in financial projects relating to system implementations, transformation, M&A and process improvement. While also leading the accounting operations team, Pascale is knowledgeable on broader workplace trends, making her well-placed to comment on how these shifts are impacting finance and accounting professionals and employers. Her vantage point provides unique insights into not just the technical evolutions, but also the evolving expectations for talent, leadership, and operational efficiency within the modern corporate landscape.
Any CFO will tell you that the role has never just been about ‘being good with numbers’. In 2025, they’re bound to tell you that the role has evolved into something else entirely.
Sankar Narayan, former CFO of Xero (now CEO of SiteMinder), says, “As a leader in a company, the modern CFO needs to propel a culture of security. No longer is our job just about revenue, costs and budgets. There is a strong emphasis on managing risk, driving performance and ensuring the integrity and accuracy of company information.”
With my experience in the recruitment world and knowledge of workplace trends, I’m inclined to agree with him.
As an Associate Director at Robert Half, I head up the contract and interim division, targeting senior finance positions. Day to day, I witness the evolving expectations for talent, leadership and operational efficiency within the modern corporate landscape.
It’s a unique vantage point that’s allowed me to observe just how much a CFO’s role has had to shift to meet the needs of a dynamic global business climate.
In our digital economy, high-performing CFOs are ditching the one-dimensional stereotype of 'the finance operations expert'. They’ve shifted gears to assume a more holistic role that I’m coining, ‘the corporate strategist’.
Why?
Because these finance leaders sit at the intersection of data, risk, investment, and business performance. And, in the race to digitally transform, the CFO is ultimately the gatekeeper of capital.
It’s the CFO who must take an active role in technological innovation – making decisions, ensuring efficiency, and articulating their rationale to other business leaders.
In this blog, I’ll share my insights about the shifting responsibilities of the CFO. I’ll share why tech fluency matters for aspiring finance professionals like yourself, as well as the core skills and technologies that you’ll need to master to assume a seat at the C-suite table.
Related: How to build my personal brand to become CFO
The modern CFO: A role in transition
Every day, I see firsthand how CFOs are redefining the boundaries of their role.
At the centre of this evolution is technology.
Once an issue for IT, technology has permeated the C-suite, and make no mistake, it’s setting the great CFOs apart from the good ones.
Subsequently, the responsibilities of the CFO have expanded to include technology leadership due to the growing need for:
Digital transformation
Automation
Data-driven decision making
Financial oversight of tech investments
Gone are the days limited to financial reporting and cost control. Today, a CFO is expected to spearhead digital transformation to ensure that the organisation’s digital tools align with financial goals while delivering measurable ROI.
As I explain to my teams, and to senior finance professionals looking to take the next step up, this evolution places finance leaders at the centre of tech strategy. They aren’t just responsible for funding innovation, they’re responsible for guiding it.
These responsibility changes have entirely changed how we hire.
For recruiters like me, finding a CFO with technology experience is no longer optional. It’s necessary, and essential. Staying relevant and resilient in 2025 (and beyond) hinges on finding finance professionals with strong digital fluency.
When I meet with aspiring CFOs, I’m quick to highlight the strategic demands of today’s C-suite. For one, understanding things like automation, data analytics, and cybersecurity risk is quickly becoming just as important as knowing how to set budgets.
But, at a macro level, these executives face growing pressure to think beyond traditional leadership. They’re expected to future-proof businesses through digital innovation, strategic team building, and risk management (all while navigating economic uncertainty and stakeholder expectations).
The ones who thrive in C-suite roles are those who can operate as part of a united, innovative leadership team, capable of adapting quickly and aligning technology, people, and purpose.
Take a candidate I had, let's call her Jane, as an example - as CFO of a mid-sized logistics company, she embraced tech and transformed her role.
When she began at the company, Jane identified outdated financial systems and rising operational costs. Boasting primarily accounting experience, Jane stepped out of her comfort zone to lead the implementation of a cloud-based ERP system, integrating real-time analytics into the finance function.
Framing this as a commercial necessity rather than a mere upgrade, Jane secured buy-in from executives and employees alike.
Within five months, Jane’s team had halved the month-end close time, uncovered procurement inefficiencies, and delivered performance dashboards to leadership.
What stands out to me about Jane’s story is how digital tools (along with digital literacy) can empower CFOs to shape business strategy and deliver financial and technological transformation.
It’s a powerful example of how a modern CFO can shape business strategy not only with financial acumen, but with agility, vision, and a grasp on technology.
Related: How do CFOs leverage technology for business growth
Why tech fluency matters for finance professionals
According to research recently developed by Robert Half:
91% of finance business leaders say their department is participating in a major digital transformation initiative (e.g., modernising tools, migrating to cloud-based platforms, using AI to automate business processes) in the next two years*.
32% of finance leaders say their company is planning on implementing or upgrading a core Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system*.
As a recruitment specialist, one thing is crystal clear to me: tech fluency underpins the success of financial professionals today, namely aspiring CFOs.
I believe this comes down to three key factors:
1. Data-driven decision-making is a core expectation
Adaptive Insights CFO, Jim Johnson, distilled this requirement perfectly.
He says, “Data is the lifeblood of an organisation. It separates opinions from facts and can provide a competitive advantage for an organisation. From knowing who your customers are and what they are doing with your products, to understanding how profitable a line of business or geography is, more companies are looking to the CFO to define the metrics and measurements that will be tracked to manage growth, enable agility, and ensure long-term sustainability.”
Of course, finance has always been built on data, but the speed and scale at which data is now generated is completely unprecedented.
Today’s finance professionals aren’t just required to report on the past – they need visibility of the future.
In 2024, during Robert Half’s Aspiring CFO series, guest speaker Jaco Jonker, CFO at highpages Group Limited said “we have a wealth of information at our fingertips. As CFO, it’s important not to get lost in the details – focus solely on strategic data analysis.”
Many of the C-suite leaders I speak with are required to deliver real-time insights through tools like dashboards, predictive analytics, and AI-assisted modelling. That’s because their organisations want financial leaders who can translate numbers into actionable strategy.
To drive decision-making at speed, the responsibilities of the CFO have shifted from financial acumen to comfort with modern platforms and systems.
As I’ve witnessed, those who can harness these coveted skills can sharpen their competitive edge as a CFO through:
Informed decisions. Going beyond merely reporting the data and instead interpreting it thoroughly.
Process resilience. Keeping operations running when systems fail.
Exception handling. Trusting personal judgment when data falls outside the expected.
Tool mastery. Utilising finance technologies with confidence.
2. The CFO is a bridge between finance, IT, and operations
I always tell senior finance leaders that one of the most effective things you can do in your business is to lead by example.
Uncertain if you should stick with what you know or take risks and embrace new skills?
I can guarantee that there are team members (and even other leaders) who feel the same.
So, why not inspire them?
Your position at the intersection of finance, operations, and technology gives you enormous reach within your business.
I’ve seen finance leaders take the reins on ERP implementations, automation rollouts, and even digital customer journeys. Often, they are the ones leading cross-functional initiatives to improve efficiency and innovation.
If you ask me, this comes down to their unparalleled perspective. They are the ones who understand cost, performance, and risk across the business. Being able to see things through an IT and commercial lens is what allows high-performing CFOs to be such powerful agents of change.
On the other hand, I’ve seen many CFOs fail to turn their digital tools into tangible results.
Without a CFO who can empower the people behind the platforms, even the most advanced tools will become underutilised in an organisation.
Sure, the responsibilities of the CFO are extensive, but so too is their power to ignite change, motivate others, and deliver real business impact.
3. Strategic thinking trumps coding
Staying relevant in a rapidly digitising world comes down to tech fluency, and by that, I certainly don’t mean knowing how to write code.
What I’m referring to is the ability to think strategically, leverage finance tools, and understand how systems can seamlessly integrate to grow and scale your business.
Being tech-fluent is one of the many responsibilities of the CFO, and it’s what helps them to ask the right questions, trust the right tools and confidently lead transformation initiatives.
As digital technologies like automation tools and cloud-based systems become more central to day-to-day financial processes, the ability to optimise them is no longer optional.
The challenge I see businesses facing is that they don’t have the leaders who can turn the investment into a dynamic advantage.
Recently, I spoke with one CEO who said, “We struggle to find CFOs who are true strategic thinkers in the digital space. We have the tools, but we need someone to extract the most out of it.”
“The right expertise is hard to come by. While we’ve had some good CFO’s in the past, they haven’t met our expectations in the digital arena. Often, they found it difficult to keep up with the digital demands while managing the usual CFO responsibilities.”
Take it from me, strategic thinking is your ticket to having a competitive edge in a digital arena. The finance leaders who lack it are the ones I see being left behind, whereas those who can harness it are poised to lead, innovate and stay relevant (not to mention, in demand).
The core technologies CFOs must understand
It can be easy to feel overwhelmed by the pace of tech change – trust me, you’re not alone.
I regularly speak with professionals about their desire to be tech-literate leader and innovators instead of simply ‘number crunchers’.
To remain impactful and influential, you need to get a handle on what I’m calling the ‘leadership necessities’.
Here are the five technologies that I believe are changing the face of finance:
1. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems
These systems provide centralised and streamlined data access across business functions. They are arguably the backbone of modern finance.
This single platform connects everything from finance to HR, budgeting to reporting to boost efficiency, minimise risk, and align financial strategy with wider business goals.
I’ve seen CFOs deliver real results by rolling out ERP platforms that scale with the business to optimise operations. These CFOs report greater real-time visibility into financial performance, sharper data accuracy, and an ability to make more informed decisions.
2. Artificial intelligence (AI)
It seems every industry has been touched by AI, finance is no different.
Given the responsibilities of the CFO, AI is proving to be an effective support in areas like forecasting, reconciliation, modelling, and scenario planning.
So much so, new research in 2025 by Robert Half discovered that 91% of finance hiring managers, including CFOs, plan to hire talent on a contract or permanent basis for AI and automation implementation.
AI-adopting CFOs have given glowing reviews about the ability to enhance the speed, accuracy, and depth of financial insights.
These are the leaders I see making smarter, data-driven decisions. They’re also the ones freeing up their teams from manual tasks so they can deliver value in more impactful areas.
3. Data analytics
Do you have any experience with Power BI and Tableau?
If not, it’s something I’d highly encourage.
These data analytics tools have become a ‘must’ for modern CFOs, helping them to move from static reporting to real-time strategic insight.
As I tell aspiring CFOs, agility and precision set high-performing CFOs apart.
Given the ability of these tools to transform raw financial and operational data into actionable insights, you must know how to use them.
If you are wanting to measure performance, analyse trends, or identify opportunities or risks, data analytics platforms can help (while sharpening your leadership capabilities in the process).
4. Cybersecurity risks
We’ve all seen businesses fall victim to cybersecurity breaches.
In today’s digital economy, it’s not an area that any CFO can afford to ignore (especially with their reputations on the line). With financial data being a prime target, CFOs must actively help to shape cyber-resilience strategies.
Why?
Because the responsibilities of the CFO lie in assessing cyber risk, allocating appropriate budgets, and ensuring compliance with regulatory standards.
Trust me, you don’t need to be an IT expert, but you do need to know how to collaborate with those experts to build resilience.
5. Automation
I’ve never met a business leader who doesn’t want to free up their team to focus on more strategic, high-impact work.
That’s the beauty of automation.
It’s a core part of financial leadership today, streamlining repetitive tasks like payroll, invoicing and month-end reporting.
The same research study by Robert Half found that 35% of finance teams already had moderate automation integrated in their departments with several processes automated but not widespread.
In my conversations with CFOs, they are reporting great success in leveraging automation in:
Automated financial consolidation
Budgeting and planning automation (56% of businesses are doing this according to our survey)
Cash flow forecasting automation
Regulatory and compliance reporting
What this means for aspiring CFOs
Technology is reshaping the financial landscape, and the responsibilities of the CFO have never been greater.
I regularly meet with aspiring CFOs who want to future-proof their finance careers, and as I tell them, this comes down to two things:
Your mindset – It’s imperative that you shift your perception of the CFO role from a controller to a tech-enabled strategist. Don’t just strive to be a financial gatekeeper, but rather, a guide on the journey to digital transformation.
Your skillset – Being a ‘numbers person’ won’t get you far. Look to develop your skills around digital literacy, cross-functional collaboration and data fluency to remain impactful (and in-demand).
As I always say, the leaders of tomorrow will be those who adapt today.
Related: How to be a CFO beyond the numbers – leadership soft skills
Practical First Steps
Hire today
Thinking beyond the traditional scope of finance is a good place to start.
My next suggestion is embracing key technology and building the skills that can position you as a confident, cutting-edge leader.
There is a growing list of certifications and learning platforms that can help. Below are three globally recognised options that I consider to be highly valuable:
Coursera – Covers areas like digital finance, AI and data analytics through executive-level courses from institutions like the University of Melbourne.
The CFA Institute – Highly regarded in the financial education space, The CFA Institute offers fintech and data science modules that can help senior finance professionals navigate the digital shift.
MIT Sloan – As one of the world’s most prestigious business schools, an MIT Sloan credential carries strong weight (especially in innovation-driven sectors like finance). Offering high-level executive programs (such as Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Business Strategy), MIT graduates are associated with advanced strategic thinking and technical fluency.
Related: The 6 technical skills in finance needed to progress to CFO
Remember, formal qualifications alone won’t necessarily set you apart as a tech-savvy CFO.
Other practical steps can help you to future-proof your career.
Below are some of my top suggestions for sharpening your tech abilities:
Assess your digital fluency – Identify the gaps in your knowledge and investigate ‘quick wins’ like short courses, webinars or finance-tech podcasts.
Shadow tech projects – Become familiar with the inner workings of digital initiatives. See how initiatives are scoped, managed and integrated into business operations.
Join cross-functional task forces – Partner with the tech teams in your organisation to understand how systems integrate and how data flows.
Explore new tech opportunities – Start exploring opportunities where you can implement improvements like data-led insights and automation.
Don’t stop learning – Staying curious and informed will help you navigate the evolving fintech landscape. Follow industry trends, attend conferences and grow your professional networks to stay abreast of new developments.
Related: Is experience more important than education for aspiring CFOs?
In my conversations with CFOs and senior finance professionals across Australia, one thing is certain—technology has completely shifted the responsibilities of the CFO. Put simply, tech fluency is no longer optional if you want a seat at the strategic table. The candidates I see turning aspirations into achievements are the ones who can navigate the systems as well as the numbers to drive insight and innovation.
Looking for a new senior finance role, get in touch with me.
Robert Half is a leading finance and accounting recruitment agency. If you’re looking to find your next hire, connect with us.
*Source: The study is developed by Robert Half and was conducted online in July 2025 by an independent research company of 500 hiring managers in finance, technology and human resources. Respondents are drawn from a sample of SMEs as well as large private, publicly-listed and public sector organisations across Australia. This survey is part of the international workplace survey, a questionnaire about job trends, talent management, and trends in the workplace.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What are the roles and responsibilities of a CFO in Australia?
Providing leadership, direction and management of the finance and accounting team.
Providing strategic recommendations to the CEO/President and executive management team members.
Managing the processes for financial forecasting and budgets, and overseeing the preparation of all financial reporting.
Advising on long-term business and financial planning.
Reviewing all formal finance, HR and IT-related procedures.
Continuously improving financial systems, reporting structures and processes to improve accuracy, efficiency and scalability.
How will AI transform the CFO's role in Australia?
Given the responsibilities of the CFO, AI is proving to be an effective support in areas like forecasting, anomaly detection, modelling and scenario planning.
AI-adopting CFOs have reported improvements regarding the speed, accuracy and depth of financial insights.
This allows them to make smarter, data-driven decisions in real time. They are also able to free up their teams from manual tasks so they can deliver value in more impactful areas.
What is the strategic role of the CFO in Australia?
Broadly speaking, Australian CFOs are responsible for ensuring robust financial oversight, including accurate reporting, compliance, budgeting, and safeguarding the organisation’s fiscal health.
The role has undergone a noticeable shift - today, CFOs are key business partners driving long-term growth, risk management and innovation.
This requires CFOs to understand and leverage emerging technologies such as automation, data analytics and AI to improve forecasting, optimise operations and support agile decision-making.
What is the role of the CFO in an Australian company’s digital transformation?
When it comes to digital transformation in Australian businesses, CFOs are playing a pivotal role.
Not only are they responsible for ensuring financial viability and risk management, but CFOs also work to align technology investments with strategic business outcomes.
They are considered a key collaborator between finance, IT and operations, to spearhead digital initiatives that drive long-term value.
