Last week, EBC's CEO Richard Bradshaw and Managing Director Shalynn Ler joined the CFO Leadership Forum 2026 to share what we're seeing on the ground in finance leadership hiring.
The conversation centred on one big shift: the CFO role has fundamentally changed. The 2026 CFO isn't hired to protect the business. They're hired to transform it.
The briefs landing on our desks reflect this. Skills like AI fluency, finance-to-data team translation, and change leadership are no longer nice-to-haves. They're the whole conversation. And yet most finance functions know AI matters but very few are operationally ready for it.
That gap, between awareness and execution, is exactly where the hiring challenge lives right now.
Richard and Shalynn also walked through the key dilemma facing finance leaders today: do you build capability from within, buy specialist talent from the market, or redesign your workflows first? There's no single right answer, but knowing which path fits your organisation is half the battle.
It was a great room, full of sharp questions and honest conversation about where the finance function is heading.
It was a great room, full of sharp questions and honest conversation about where the finance function is heading.

If you're thinking about your finance leadership team and want a perspective from the market, reach out to us at fs@ethosbc.com
