Control Company Costs
How finance leaders manage spend during economic volatility
Most finance leaders know what economic volatility feels like. What separates those who navigate it well from those who struggle isn't the depth of their cost cuts — it's how proactively they protect their organization's strategic capabilities.
New SAP Concur research of 400 finance leaders across eight countries draws a sharp contrast between two groups: adaptive CFOs, who deploy five or more strategies in response to disruption, and reactive CFOs, who deploy just one. The gap between them in investment protection, decision-making confidence, and long-term resilience is significant and consistent.
What makes a CFO “adaptive” during economic volatility?
The SAP Concur 2026 CFO Pulse groups finance leaders by the number of strategies they are deploying to improve their organization's ability to respond to changing conditions. Reactive leaders select just one. Adaptive leaders select five or more.
The strategies themselves span a wide range:
- Enhanced market monitoring
- Expanded scenario planning
- Improved real-time spend visibility
- Shortened forecasting cycles
- Increased budget flexibility
- Investment in AI and automation
Adaptive CFOs are not simply doing more of the same thing. They are deploying a broader, more diverse toolkit for navigating uncertainty.
This distinction matters because it reflects a fundamentally different mindset. Where reactive leaders address one challenge at a time, adaptive leaders are building systemic capacity for response — treating volatility not as a one-time disruption to manage, but as an ongoing operating condition to prepare for.
Adaptive CFOs protect more investments across every area
The most striking finding in the SAP Concur research is the consistency of the investment protection gap between adaptive and reactive finance leaders. Adaptive leaders report higher budget protection across all five measured areas and by significant margins.
| Investment Area | % of Adaptive Leaders Who Plan to Protect This Budget | % of Reactive Leaders Who Plan to Protect This Budget |
| Cybersecurity controls | 88% | 65% |
| AI and automation | 74% | 63% |
| Product or service innovation | 72% | 60% |
| Workforce and talent investment | 60% | 46% |
| Growth initiatives | 60% | 49% |
These are not isolated differences in one or two priority areas. Reactive leaders trail across every dimension, suggesting that their narrower response to disruption reflects a more constrained view of what deserves protection, not a deliberate strategic trade-off.
Look before you cut: How finance leaders spend amid disruption
SAP Concur 2026 CFO Pulse explores how 400 finance leaders across eight countries are navigating economic volatility through smarter spend strategies, scenario planning, and targeted investment protection.
How CFOS protect cybersecurity, AI, innovation, talent, and growth during volatility
Adaptive CFOs don't protect these investments arbitrarily; each serves a distinct strategic purpose in a volatile environment.
Cybersecurity strengthens control and resilience at a time when AI-enabled cyberattacks are increasing. AI and automation support operational adaptability, enabling finance teams to respond to changing conditions faster and with less manual effort. Product and service innovation preserves future commercial opportunities at a time when competitors may be pulling back. Workforce and talent maintain the execution capacity the business needs to act on its strategy. Growth initiatives position the organization to capture opportunities when conditions improve.
Treating these as a connected portfolio — rather than individual line items competing for the same budget — is what enables adaptive CFOs to protect all five areas simultaneously, even under pressure.
"Static plans are relics of the past. Finance leaders have to look at where the growth is, what will contribute to the company's long-term success, and what investment is needed to remain competitive." — Lukas Deutsch, Chief Controlling Officer, SAP
Building the decision-making discipline to act with confidence
Two in five finance leaders expect that balancing cost reduction with growth investment will become harder in 2027. This signals not a lack of capability, but an acknowledgment of real complexity: these are harder decisions than blanket cuts, and getting them right requires a disciplined process.
SAP Concur research recommends treating decision-making itself as a capability to develop. That means requiring stated assumptions for every major allocation decision, reviewing outcomes against those assumptions, and creating explicit routes for challenge and reversal when the evidence changes. The goal is not perfect decisions the first time, but a process that continuously improves through each cycle of action and feedback.
Finance leaders who build this discipline are better equipped to act with confidence in the face of uncertainty, rather than defaulting to the path of least resistance when pressure intensifies.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an adaptive finance leader?
Based on SAP Concur's 2026 CFO Pulse research, an adaptive finance leader deploys five or more strategies to improve their organization's response to changing conditions — including enhanced market monitoring, expanded scenario planning, real-time spend visibility, and investment in AI and automation. Adaptive leaders are distinguished by the breadth and diversity of their response toolkit, not just by the absence of cuts.
How do adaptive and reactive CFOs differ in investment protection?
Adaptive finance leaders consistently protect more investment across every strategic area measured. The largest gap is in cybersecurity controls: 88% of adaptive leaders plan to protect those budgets compared with 65% of reactive leaders. Similar patterns appear across AI and automation, innovation, talent, and growth initiatives, with gaps ranging from 11 to 23 percentage points.
What investments should CFOs protect during economic volatility?
SAP Concur research identifies five investment areas most clearly linked to organizational resilience and future performance: cybersecurity, AI and automation, product or service innovation, workforce and talent, and growth initiatives. The research recommends defining which of these to protect — and communicating those decisions clearly — before pressure intensifies rather than responding reactively when budgets come under threat.
How should CFOs approach investment decisions during uncertainty?
SAP Concur research recommends treating investment decisions as a connected portfolio and setting different ROI criteria for different types of investment. Preventive or long-term capabilities such as cybersecurity and talent should not be judged by the same short-term return metrics applied to routine spending. Requiring stated assumptions and building in formal review and reversal processes improves decision quality over time.
