Beyond the balance sheet: the expanding role of today’s finance director

The role of the Finance Director or finance lead continues to evolve rapidly. As businesses face a perfect storm of geopolitical disruption, digital transformation, cyber threats and rising costs, finance leaders are stepping far beyond the boundaries of traditional reporting and compliance. Their remit now spans strategic insight, risk management and operational leadership.

New US trade tariffs: time to reassess your exposure

With Donald Trump now back in the White House and new US trade tariffs already announced, UK businesses, particularly those with US-facing supply chains or export markets, are being forced to re-evaluate their international exposure. For Finance Directors, this means quickly modelling cost increases, understanding margin pressures and scenario-planning the wider impact on pricing, procurement and revenue. Currency volatility and logistics disruption may also follow, requiring strong financial resilience and flexible forecasting.

Cyber threats and ransomware: more than an IT issue

Ransomware attacks and data breaches are becoming more frequent, more sophisticated and more financially damaging. Increasingly, finance teams themselves are being targeted by cybercriminals through invoice fraud, phishing and social engineering. Cyber risk has become a board-level issue, with Finance Directors playing a critical role in response planning, fraud controls and cyber insurance decisions. As the threat landscape intensifies, financial oversight and resilience planning must keep pace.

AI in finance: driving automation and deeper insight

Finance functions are rapidly adopting AI technologies to streamline processes, detect anomalies and provide richer, real-time insight. AI is being used for everything from invoice matching and expense processing to predictive forecasting and reporting. For finance leads, this shift offers a chance to free up time for value-added work while also introducing new responsibilities around data governance, integration and ethical use. The ability to harness AI effectively will increasingly separate progressive finance functions from reactive ones.

Rising employment costs and tax changes

The increase in Employers’ National Insurance contributions adds further pressure to cost bases already stretched by inflation, wage expectations and economic uncertainty. For finance teams, this means reviewing workforce models, optimising payroll strategies and ensuring compliance with evolving HMRC regulations. There’s a growing need to balance cost control with talent retention and investment in growth areas.

The expanding finance leadership remit

Finance Directors today are expected to lead far beyond the finance department. Studies from the ACCA and others show that finance leaders are now increasingly responsible for areas like IT strategy, ESG reporting, operational risk and even HR and legal oversight. They are trusted advisers to business owners and boards shaping strategy, influencing transformation and helping drive long-term performance.

Supporting strategic finance leadership

The finance function is no longer just about compliance it’s about enabling better decisions, safeguarding the business, and identifying opportunity amidst complexity. For many organisations without a formal CFO, the Finance Director is stepping into that strategic leadership space.

At Streets Whittles, we work with Finance Directors to support them through every stage from audit and tax planning to risk management, digital transformation and growth. Our aim is to help finance leaders confidently meet today’s demands and tomorrow’s challenges.