The idea of the strategic CFO comes up in almost every conversation I have with finance executives these days. The role has expanded well beyond accounting and reporting. Many CFOs now oversee functions such as procurement, supply chain and technology, and they’re increasingly seen as the No. 2 or No. 3 candidate to become CEO. But, the increase in relative importance in the corporate hierarchy doesn’t translate into bigger compensation packages in relation to the CEO. The latest edition of Bloomberg’s CFO Briefing looks at what’s driving that disconnect.

It’s earnings season again, and with that come a ton of questions from analysts and investors. As companies report their second-quarter results, CFOs have to prepare for one set of questions in particular: How much do you spend on AI tokens, and is that investment paying off? More in the latest edition of Bloomberg’s CFO Briefing.

SK Hynix’s $26.5 billion listing in New York, the largest ever by a foreign issuer, came just days after the conflict in the Middle East reignited. While the South Korean chip maker went ahead with its transaction, European defense firm KNDS postponed a planned IPO earlier this month after a slump in a rival’s stock put its valuation target out of reach — serving as a reminder of the tough judgment call that companies face in choosing when to go public or sell shares. For the latest edition of Bloomberg’s CFO Briefing, I spoke to finance chiefs and advisors about how to navigate this challenge.

It’s only the midpoint of the year, but finance chiefs have already had plenty to deal with — from knowns they had been navigating before, such as AI, to unknowns like the war in Iran, which threw new uncertainties into their planning. As we enter the second half, here’s a look at the key issues CFOs will be grappling with in the coming months.

Looking at Nike’s choice for CFO — Pfizer’s Dave Denton — I found myself wondering: How much industry expertise does a chief financial officer need these days? The latest edition of Bloomberg’s CFO Briefing explores this question.

Time flies! January marks my third anniversary at Bloomberg in New York. While that may seem like a blink of an eye at a company where many colleagues stay for 10, 20 or even 30 years, it’s been a very meaningful chapter for me.

During my time here, I first managed a team of reporters, editors and strategists in New York and Toronto covering credit and structured finance. More recently, I had the opportunity to launch CFO Briefing and grow it into a franchise, with events in major financial hubs around the world as well as regular TV and radio segments.

I’m very grateful for the support I have received — especially now that I am on maternity leave. I plan to return in June.

Happy New Year! As CFO Briefing kicks off 2026, finance chiefs discuss the themes of the year ahead. Spoiler alert: They’ll sound familiar to you. After last year’s shocks, turns and surprises, my sense is that the coming 12 months could turn out to be a little calmer (even though the first week of the year seems to suggest otherwise). There are many potential scenarios for CFOs, ranging from trade and tariffs to the economy, interest rates, AI and dealmaking.

For our last edition of the year, I spoke to Magnum’s finance chief Abhijit Bhattacharya about the ice cream company’s carve-out from Unilever and its plans to boost capex and growth in 2026. The The Magnum Ice Cream Co., as the new entity is known, started trading as a separate company earlier this month. It plans to increase revenue by 3% to 5% next year, a little faster than the overall market. Being a standalone company allows Magnum to allocate more resources toward capital expenditures, have a more targeted salesforce and focus on product innovation, said Bhattacharya, who previously served as the finance chief of health technology firm Philips.

2025 is on track to become one of the best for global M&A since at least 1995, with deal values expected to hit $4.8 trillion, up 36% from the prior year. Finance chiefs I spoke with expect that momentum to continue. Here’s why.