What innovative CFOs are prioritizing
Economic volatility. Regulatory pressure. Workforce fragmentation. Tech disruption accelerating faster than adoption. If 2025 taught CFOs anything, it’s that uncertainty isn’t a season — it’s a system. And navigating it requires a fundamentally different finance mindset than even five years ago.
That is the backdrop of Wipfli’s recent executive webinar, From defense to offense: CFO tactics for uncertain markets. The conversation brought together two leaders operating in high-pressure, heavily regulated environments:
- Marc Johnson, CFO at a multistate skilled nursing provider
- Dominic Alpuche, CFO at a $185M early childhood education organization
Moderated by Wipfli partners Tiffany Karlin and Brian Powrozek, the discussion revealed what forward-thinking finance leaders are really doing to stay resilient — and position their organizations for opportunity — in a market where the rules change faster than most forecasting models can keep up.
Below are the major insights shaping 2026-ready finance teams — and why this is a conversation every CFO, controller, and FP&A leader should hear in full.
1. Strategic posture is no longer fixed — CFOs must flex between defense and offense
Organizations aren’t “either/or” anymore. They’re both — and often within the same fiscal year.
Johnson has lived this firsthand. On week one of his CFO tenure, his organization lost 24 of 36 skilled nursing facilities, a $300M business contraction that forced an immediate defensive posture focused on survival. But once stabilized, they shifted to neutral, then offense, and today are back in growth mode.
Alpuche described a similar dynamic: Rapid growth, then strategic pause, then preparing for the next shift in funding and demand cycles. Their reality: Federal and state policy changes can materially change their customer base overnight.
CFOs must:
- Know when to tighten and when to expand
- Build optionality into financial models
- Communicate shifts quickly to their CEOs and boards
- Translate environmental signals into action in days, not quarters
As Johnson put it: “Stamina. Endurance. And just be ready to be agile — ready when you need to jump.”
Takeaway: The winning finance posture in 2026 is fluid. Static annual plans don’t cut it.
2. Market pressures require deeper, more operational FP&A — not just budgeting
Both leaders face intense sector-specific pressures: Rate instability, labor shortages, union dynamics, cost of living and regulatory complexity. But the pattern is universal because external conditions now swing so fast that traditional financial planning is too slow to be useful.
Alpuche outlined their approach:
- Model the bare-minimum operating cost
- Layer in expansion only when new information emerges
- Delay noncritical capital spending
- Build and maintain reserves to capture opportunities when competitors falter
Johnson’s environment requires similar discipline, but with real-time granularity. His teams run scenario models down to daily payer mix, staffing ratios and reimbursement levels because small variations change cash flow dramatically.
Takeaway: The new FP&A model is iterative, multi-speed, and rooted in operational data. Scenario planning is no longer a “nice to have” — it’s the backbone of strategic decision-making.
3. Technology is no longer an investment discussion — it’s a survival discussion
More than 80% of CFOs in the webinar’s live polling said finance technology modernization is a priority. But the nuance behind the conversation is where the real insight lies.
Tech adoption has two speeds: Maintain v. transform
For Johnson, the first two years were about “maintaining” technology while the business stabilized. But as cash flow improved, tech became a core enabler of resident experience, staff efficiency and billing accuracy — including using AI-driven tools to detect coding errors and reduce denials.
Alpuche’s organization built an internal data function, then began layering AI and automation into workflows to support 80% organizational growth without increasing headcount. That’s the definition of scaling with control.
The biggest risk isn’t internal — it’s external AI you don’t control
One of the most important insights of the entire conversation came from Johnson: Payers and regulators are using AI to deny or delay claims at a faster rate — and not always accurately.
This is the kind of market force few CFOs plan for, yet it may have the biggest operational and cash flow impact in 2026. AI is reshaping their world whether they adopt it internally or not.
Takeaway: CFOs must treat technology as strategic infrastructure, not a discretionary upgrade. And they must evaluate not just their own systems, but the systems of every entity that touches their revenue cycle.
4. AI adoption must start with policy — or you will create new risk faster than you create efficiency
This point came through loud and clear from both panelists.
Alpuche shared that staff initially treated AI as the wild west — plugging sensitive content into public tools, experimenting without parameters, and unintentionally creating risks.
Their response:
- Establish formal AI use policies
- Mandate secure, enterprise-grade tools (e.g., Microsoft Copilot)
- Train staff on prompt engineering
- Emphasize augmentation, not replacement
- Reinforce the “green intern rule” — AI outputs must always be verified
Johnson’s team learned a hard lesson during internal testing: AI surfaced outdated accounting policies and emails that should never feed decision-making — and could become discoverable in litigation. The urgency for policy became nonnegotiable.
Takeaway: Before CFOs invest heavily in AI, they must build governance: data boundaries, usage policies, verification workflows, security controls and role-based access.
5. Talent strategy is shifting: CFO teams need technologists, analysts and communicators — not just accountants
Both leaders echoed a trend Wipfli sees across industries: The finance function is becoming a hybrid of FP&A, analytics, technology fluency, and operational insight.
Johnson describes continually reshaping roles as automation frees time and new capabilities emerge. He hires for technology comfort as much as accounting competency.
Alpuche outlined an equally important change: his search for FP&A leaders with private-equity-style rigor who can drill to unit-level economics and speak both finance and IT.
And both emphasized the same cultural reality, saying employees need to see investment in their development — or they will leave.
6. Workforce strategy matters as much as capital strategy
CFOs once stayed mostly on the financial side of the house. That era is over.
Flexible work models, burnout, retention, pay expectations and generational differences in workplace design all influence the financial model. Alpuche’s organization even uses technology and process redesign to sustain a four-day work week — a strategic differentiator for recruiting and retention.
Johnson’s challenge is different but equally urgent. He has to ensure staffing levels for 24/7 care delivery while minimizing costly outsourcing and maintaining quality and compliance.
Takeaway: Finance leaders can’t solve uncertainty without solving workforce stability — and that requires new thinking around culture, flexibility, and tech-enabled operating models.
7. The CFO’s role with the CEO and board is fundamentally expanding
In uncertain markets, CFOs are no longer back-of-house guardians. They’re becoming strategic integrators.
“You need to know everything about the agency now. You can’t just know the finances,” Alpuche said.
Johnso echoed the same, saying CFOs are the realists and the translators — balancing CEO optimism with board oversight and operational reality.
Takeaway: The CFO is now the connective tissue between strategy, operations, technology, workforce and risk.
8. The forward-looking CFO playbook for 2026
The discussion closed with two mandates for the future:
- Stay agile — and ready to pivot fast.
- Carry forward the habits that sharpened performance in uncertainty.
Stamina, endurance and agility will define which organizations accelerate and which fall behind, Johnson said.
The most critical question every CFO must ask is: “What’s the true cost of doing business — and how long can we sustain it?”
Be among the CFOs leading their organizations
Want a deeper look at how CFOs are navigating volatility, AI disruption and workforce pressure? Watch the full webinar on demand. And if you’re ready to explore what these strategies could mean for your organization, our team is here to help.
