Healthcare is in the midst of a profound transformation, and at the forefront of this change is the CFO. In addition to managing margins, strategic finance leadership now requires a broader lens that integrates workforce, technology, and access. According to HFMA survey data, 88% of healthcare CFOs expect to devote more time to strategy over the next three years, with nearly half also anticipating increased focus on workforce. This shift underscores a new imperative: a sustainable financial strategy must align service offerings with workforce capacity.
Financial Resilience in a Complex Environment
Healthcare CFOs are navigating an increasingly complex macroeconomic landscape. Rising costs, staffing shortages, affordability challenges, and policy shifts — such as proposed Medicaid cuts and supply chains impacted by tariffs — require CFOs to think beyond cost containment. They must now design financial strategies that enable growth, transparency, and equitable access to care. Financial leadership goes beyond managing costs and demands building systems that can scale sustainably and serve communities equitably.
Embracing Technology to Strengthen Financial and Workforce Health
Technology will be a critical differentiator in the next chapter of healthcare leadership where AI and automation will prove to be essential tools for CFOs. From streamlining patient encounters to boosting revenue yields and reducing administrative overhead, these innovations unlock capacity across the board. More importantly, they free up time and resources that can be reinvested in patient care and workforce engagement. Embracing this shift is central to restoring financial health and rebuilding trust with patients who view the system as increasingly fragmented.
Strategic Planning That Reflects Operational Realities
Strategy must go deeper than traditional service planning. To lead effectively, CFOs must reframe strategic planning as a dynamic balancing act—aligning the organization’s service mix with the realities of workforce capacity. In today’s environment, health systems can’t afford to scale low-margin services that stretch already limited labor resources. Instead, forward-thinking CFOs are leveraging workforce performance data to pinpoint high-performing service lines that create room to reinvest in underutilized or overextended areas. This results in improved efficiency, reduced burnout, and more reliable access to care where it’s needed most.
Building Models for Long-Term Resilience
True success will come from care models that are both financially sound and operationally resilient. This requires delivering high-value services supported by a workforce that is appropriately sized and engaged. As leaders face ongoing pressures from labor shortages and shifting patient expectations, embedding workforce considerations into every financial decision becomes essential. Viewed through a modern lens, strategic finance fully integrates revenue capacity, labor optimization, and health equity into every decision.
Defining the Next Era of Financial Leadership
As 63% of CFOs plan to increase focus on revenue cycle and 62% on cost management, these functions remain core. The CFO of the future must go further still, shaping strategies that extend beyond the balance sheet. That includes reimagining how workforce deployment, service line strategy, and financial planning work together to support sustainability and access. Healthcare leaders who proactively embrace this expanded role will shape the future trajectory of the industry.
