We are operating in a period with very few historical parallels. Trade policies are changing more quickly than most organizations can realistically plan for. Tariff frameworks that appear settled early in the year can be thrown into doubt within weeks. Currency markets are reacting sharply and unevenly, while a broader macroeconomic backdrop- moderate global growth, easing but persistent inflation, and gradually declining interest rates- leaves little scope for simply waiting for stability to return.
Against this backdrop, finance leaders need to say something clearly and repeatedly: the CFO cannot afford to be a passive observer. In conditions like these, the CFO must act as a central architect of the organization's response rather than a recipient of decisions made elsewhere.
The Role Has Changed- Whether We Acknowledge It or Not
For much of the last twenty years, the credibility of the finance function rested on precision: accurate reporting, clean audits and disciplined cost control. These foundations remain essential. However, a function focused primarily on explaining the past is insufficient when the future is being reshaped in real time.
A major global survey of finance leaders conducted ahead of 2026 placed tariffs among the top three priorities for CFOs, alongside economic volatility and technology adoption. More tellingly, 57 percent of respondents reported taking a leading role in shaping enterprise-wide strategy. This reflects a genuine shift in where risk now sits within organisations- and who is best positioned to evaluate it.
When a single tariff change can materially alter a company’s cost structure within one quarter, the executive responsible for the numbers must be involved at the point of decision-making, not briefed after the fact.
What This Uncertainty Is Actually Costing Us- Industry Wide
The impact of trade volatility has proven to be both more immediate and more uneven than many leadership teams initially expected.
Research across mid-market companies through 2025 shows that firms experiencing high uncertainty were more than twice as likely to report customer churn, postponed expansion plans and tighter liquidity. Half also reported material margin pressure. Among organizations sourcing more than 40 percent of inputs internationally, reported operational uncertainty was nearly double that of firms with predominantly domestic supply chains.
What stands out in these findings is not their scale, but their precision. This is not an abstract macroeconomic risk. These are concrete pressures- margin erosion, working capital strain and delayed investment- that appear directly in income statements and balance sheets, whether they are explicitly labelled as tariff-driven or absorbed into unexplained variances.
The responsibility of finance leadership is to identify these costs clearly and to help the organization respond in a way that is both informed and executable.
What I Have Learned to Do Differently
Finance teams that performed well through the disruptions of 2025 shared three defining characteristics.
First, they moved away from static annual budgets toward continuous planning. A plan locked to a single set of trade assumptions quickly becomes a constraint when conditions change. More resilient organizations adopted rolling forecasts, updated with real operational signals, allowing for quicker and more informed decisions. This shift is cultural as much as technical, requiring finance to work closely with operations, procurement and commercial teams as an integrator rather than a reporter.
Second, they treated scenario planning as a standing capability rather than a crisis response. Organizations that navigated tariff shocks most effectively had already mapped key scenarios and agreed on response actions in advance. They understood how a change in tariffs could affect supplier liquidity, delivery timelines, customer commitments and revenue recognition. By tracing these interdependencies early, CFOs were able to guide decisions with clarity at critical moments.
Third, they viewed the supply chain as a financial construct. Supplier agreements, inventory levels, payment terms and sourcing locations represent financial exposures, not just operational choices. A CFO who evaluates total cost of ownership- including tariff exposure, currency risk, lead times and supplier resilience- brings a depth of strategic insight that cannot be replicated elsewhere.
The Standard We Should Hold Ourselves To
All of this places higher expectations on finance teams, many of whom are still developing the required capabilities. Technology plays an important role- AI-enhanced forecasting tools are already improving cash flow visibility- but tools alone are not sufficient.
The standard we should hold ourselves to is simple: when the business faces a decision under uncertainty, finance should already have modelled the relevant scenarios, clarified key assumptions, quantified downside risk and prepared a clear recommendation. Not a volume of data, but a point of view.
That is the difference between managing numbers after decisions are made and helping to shape those decisions in advance. The ground has shifted. Finance must move with it—and, where possible, ahead of it.
About the Author
Nirmal Nath is a Chartered Accountant (ACA) and Cost & Management Accountant (ACMA) with more than three decades of experience in both manufacturing and service industries in different sectors. He had a brilliant academic record, having been a gold medalist in college and securing ranks at all India levels in both his CA and CMA.
He has experience in handling audits of large corporations and financial institutions. He has a proven track record of handling the finance and accounting functions of large multinational companies in India and abroad. Nirmal has vast experience in handling acquisitions, system integration, process improvements, statutory compliances, audits, and taxation.
Nirmal joined Dexian in 2017 and handles the F&A function of the group and provides guidance to the India and International F&A teams operating out of Dexian India Chennai office. Nirmal has been instrumental in bringing to Dexian awards at the 7th and 9th Finance Transformation Asia Summit of Inventicon and the Best Finance Transformation award at the India CFO Awards.