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Grant Thornton CFO survey: Tech investment on the rise as economic optimism fades

via Business Wire

— 47% of CFOs are optimistic about the U.S. economy

— 41% are confident in meeting supply chain needs

— 78% expect growth in net profit

— 71% consider customer experience as a major factor in digital transformation decisions

A new survey from Grant Thornton, one of America’s largest brands of professionals providing end-to-end audit, assurance, tax and advisory services, revealed a dramatic decline in optimism in the first quarter of 2025 from chief financial officers (CFOs).

Grant Thornton’s first quarterly CFO survey of the year showed that just 47% of finance leaders are optimistic about the U.S. economy, an unprecedented 21-percentage-point drop from the previous quarter, with pessimism at a 10-quarter high. This response is reflective of the tariff announcements and increased labor worries.

“Finance leaders have a lot of uncertainty about labor and tariffs and how those are going to affect growth, but they think they can manage through this once they gain more certainty,” said Paul Melville, national managing principal of CFO Advisory for Grant Thornton Advisors LLC.

At the same time, the 226 survey respondents showed that CFOs’ endorsement of technology modernization as a strategy to advance their businesses remained as strong as ever. Even though economic optimism plummeted, technology upgrades edged out cost optimization as the top focus for the next six months.

Tariffs weigh on supply chain confidence

Forty-one percent of CFOs said they were confident in meeting their supply chain needs, a drop of 21 percentage points from the previous quarter and the lowest mark since the runaway inflation period of Q2 2022.

Meanwhile, confidence in meeting labor needs (41%) and cost control goals (43%) fell 19 percentage points each from the previous quarter.

This response for CFOs can be attributed to uncertainty over the new administration’s aggressive stances on tariffs and immigration enforcement.

“Planning is becoming incredibly difficult,” Melville said. “And resources are being used in performing a lot of what-if scenarios as opposed to focusing on growing the business.”

Melville said companies are forgoing long-term planning as they work feverishly to figure out which levers to pull for short-term business success. The survey reflects that sentiment by showing an increase of seven percentage points in those who plan to cut costs on long-term strategic initiatives.

As a result, profitability expectations became more modest. Although the portion of respondents who expect net profits to grow increased to 78% compared with 75% the previous quarter, the magnitude of those expected profits decreased.

The drop in confidence about meeting labor needs was accompanied by a seven-quarter low in the percentage of CFOs predicting potential contraction of their workforce through layoffs (29%).

At the same time, the 38% of respondents expecting higher retention rates hit a four-quarter low, with manufacturing, healthcare, public sector and not-for-profit CFOs among those with concerns about retention.

After rising for seven consecutive quarters, the percentage of finance leaders who expect to increase sales and marketing spending fell 18 percentage points to 40%. This data emerged shortly before a sudden, substantial drop in consumer confidence statistics — indicating that a long-sustained strong sales environment in the United States might be shifting.

Customer data platforms emerge as area of focus

The survey showed that finance leaders see the potential in new technology to improve relationships with customers.

Seventy-one percent of CFOs said customer experience is a major consideration in their digital transformation decisions, and the portion of respondents deploying GenAI to improve customer relationship management and the customer experience has risen 19 percentage points over the past 15 months to 64%.

Meanwhile, higher customer satisfaction is the top factor that CFOs use to calculate the benefits derived from GenAI implementation.

According to Tony Dinola, principal of Technology Modernization for Grant Thornton Advisors LLC, customer data platforms have emerged as a significant focus for technology investment.

“Whenever Uber and DoorDash pick us up or make a delivery, we understand exactly the time they’re going to arrive and even when they’re picking up our food at the restaurant,” Dinola said. “B2B businesses are working to drive similar experiences, but they’re not quite there yet. A continued focus on customer experience and investment in modern technology will be required to achieve these goals.”

However, the survey shows that a significant portion of organizations are missing the building blocks they need to take full advantage of the benefits that technology modernization offers. One-third of respondents said their data needs a lot of improvement to support digital transformation — or worse, is poorly organized and formatted.

Digital transformation remains a top priority

Consistent with the past several quarters in the survey, technology modernization is a huge priority for CFOs, who are implementing new tools for financial operations and data analytics.

The survey results show that even in a time of great economic upheaval, technology improvements can provide a reliable return on investment — while also potentially helping to deal with the uncertainty.

“Digital transformation allows you to be more proactive in terms of scenario planning and how you can cope with this continuing shift of environment,” said Melville. “Digital transformation helps you manage some of this.”

Half of respondents said the cost of implementing new technology is a barrier to digital transformation, and 46% identified integration with existing systems as an obstacle.

“If you haven’t done anything about digital transformation, you’re going to be in a mess,” Melville said. “This isn’t easy when you’re also doing your day job, but you have to cut through the noise and do what you need to do for the long-term health of your organization.”

To see additional findings from Grant Thornton’s Q1 2025 CFO survey, visit: https://www.grantthornton.com/insights/survey-reports/cfo-survey/2025/cfos-invest-in-tech.

About Grant Thornton

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