Breaking Through to CFO: A Digital Roadmap for Women in Finance

The chief financial officer (CFO) role is currently undergoing a structural reset. Across global enterprises, finance chiefs are being asked to lead transformation, not just account for it. They thus find themselves steering growth bets, scaling automation, and delivering forward-looking insight in volatile markets.

In OneStream’s Finance 2035: Return to Investment Report, 65% of CFOs say expectations on their role have multiplied in the last three to five years. In addition, 88% of investors believe the CFO will be even more important by 2035. This finding underscores the expanding mandate and the investor attention that comes with that mandate.

Investors are not just watching — they’re rewarding credible finance leadership. For investment decisions, CFO competence ranks as the second most important factor (ahead of CEO competence). When the CFO is the main strategic growth driver, investors increased their initial investment by an average of 2.6% (rising to 3.6% for the largest asset managers). That premium also shows up when CFOs modernize finance operations, with average initial investments rising 2.9%.

At the same time, the number of women at the very top remains stubbornly low. Fewer than one in four CFOs are women in Global and FTSE 100 companies — a largely static figure for more than a decade. The issue isn’t a question of capability, but rather one of access to scope, visibility, and pathways that accelerate readiness for the top finance seat.

This post translates findings from The Glass Chair into a four-step playbook for aspiring women CFOs. Specifically, we show how to build digital fluency, take non‑traditional routes that expand enterprise acumen, cultivate sponsors, and lead with data‑driven confidence. The post also brings in context from Finance 2035: Return to Investment Report — on investor expectations, operating barriers, and the “burning platform” for technology and data. In doing so, we aim to help you and other aspiring women CFOs with practical next steps.

Take the next best action: Download The Glass Chair, and bookmark the Women in Finance hub for ongoing tools and community.

1. Embrace Digital Literacy, Leverage Automation to Lead, and Close the AI Confidence Gap

The case for digital fluency is no longer theoretical. In Finance 2035, 74% of CFOs say artificial intelligence (AI) and automation will completely reshape finance functions by 2035. Meanwhile, 70% of chief executive officers (CEOs) believe organizations that fail to invest now in technology, infrastructure, and skills won’t survive the next five years. Sixty-eight percent of CFOs agree.

In parallel, 74% of CFOs say unified data and data‑based decision‑making are now key determinants of organizational success. The message is clear: Automation and data discipline are table stakes for the modern finance leader.

In The Glass Chair, senior women in finance flag digital literacy and strategic leadership, data analytics, and cybersecurity as top priorities for future CFOs. The study also surfaces a practical challenge: Enthusiasm for AI is high, but confidence in everyday adoption lags. This finding suggests that targeted, well‑governed pilots can become career‑defining wins.

The playbook:

1. Define the baseline. Document a 90‑day skill plan covering automation concepts, prompt design for copilots, and data governance essentials. Align the plan with your controller and chief information officer (CIO) to fast‑track adoption.
2. Pilot purposefully. Select a narrow, high‑value use case (e.g., forecasting, scenario planning, monthly close automation, or self‑service reporting). Then time‑box a pilot with explicit success metrics (e.g., cycle‑time reduction, forecast accuracy, or variance explainability).
3. Demand explainability. Build trust by insisting on auditability and transparency in AI outputs – a critical step as you institutionalize automation under finance governance.
4. Reinvest capacity. Communicate automation as a shift of capacity into strategic analysis and business partnering. Watch how external perspectives reinforce the shift as transactions get more “touchless” and finance’s advisory remit expands.

2. Take Non‑Traditional Career Routes

The route to CFO isn’t a ladder. Analysis in The Glass Chair shows that 35% of women CFOs in the Global 500/FTSE 100 sample followed non‑traditional routes. In the process, these women often accumulate experience in technology, risk, governance, and data analytics alongside classic controllership and corporate finance tracks. These rotations create the enterprise‑wide perspective and operating fluency that boards prize in modern finance leaders.

Pacing also matters, and the research is candid about the journey. On average, women reach the CFO role in 18 years (and ~20 years in the FTSE 100). These women go through lots of company and role transitions along the way — moves that can deepen cross‑functional credibility.

Those transitions can be used to craft a leadership narrative that maps to recognized CFO “personas.” For instance, such personas include the Financial Guardian (governance, controls) and the Strategic Architect (corporate strategy, people leadership).

The playbook:

1. Translate outcomes to value. Frame each rotation by the enterprise lever you moved — cash conversion, cost‑to‑serve, forecast accuracy, or resilience. Keep a one‑slide value map to share with boards, search firms, and sponsors.
2. Connect the dots. Show how a tech or risk stint improved decision velocity and the control environment. Tie the outcome to investor‑relevant outcomes that the Finance 2035: Return to Investment data highlights (AKA competent, strategic CFOs attract capital).
3. Don’t stagnate. Move on when a job feels too easy, as emphasized in our webinar “Women in Finance: The Glass Chair — Journey to the CFO.” Look for the next challenge if you could perform your current role in your sleep.

3. Invest in Mentorship and Sponsorship

Progress accelerates when advocacy enters the room. In The Glass Chair, leaders who reached senior roles consistently cite mentorship and sponsorship (alongside transparent promotion processes and networking) as catalysts for advancement. Sponsorship particularly converts performance into opportunity by placing your name into scope expansions, transformation programs, and succession shortlists.

Now pair the above info with the investor lens from Finance 2035 report. Investors value CFOs with strategic, operational, and technical competence — and ultimately reward leaders who modernize finance and communicate a long‑term vision. That means your sponsors should be positioned where investment narratives form (e.g., the C‑suite, board committees, and transformation offices). By doing so, sponsors can amplify your impact and readiness for enterprise‑scale leadership.

The playbook:

1. Map two sponsors. Aim for one enterprise‑level advocate (e.g., CEO/board‑facing leader) and one cross‑function operator (e.g., CIO/COO). Look for those who can put you on high‑leverage initiatives that demonstrate strategic and digital leadership. See Harvard Business Review’s excellent guide on how to get started with this process.
2. Make it easy to sponsor you. Keep a “wins” docket (top-five quantified impacts) and a 12‑month roadmap aligned to enterprise priorities (growth, margin, cash, and risk). Give sponsors crisp proof points for promotion and succession conversations.

4. Lead with Data‑Driven Confidence

Boards and investors expect finance to turn data into decisions. In our Finance 2035 research, 75% of CFOs believe data will be their organization’s biggest asset by 2035. Additionally, 74% say unified data and data‑based decision‑making are now the key determinants of success.

The same report notes a “burning platform,” as supported by 70% of CEOs and 68% of CFOs underscoring the importance of data. Both groups think companies that don’t invest in tech, infrastructure, and skills won’t survive the next five years — a call to standardize decision‑quality data now.

The Glass Chair complements that call with a pragmatic blueprint. First, lead with predictive analytics and scenario modeling to anticipate market shifts, make faster decisions, and guide the organization with confidence. Then pair these capabilities with governance (explainability and auditability) for durable credibility with audit and the board.

The playbook:

• Define the decision first. State the business question, the metric you need to move (e.g., working capital turns, net revenue retention), and the time horizon before pulling data.
• Build predictive and scenario models. Use driver-based models for demand, price, cost, and risk. Schedule monthly “what-if” reviews with the business.
• Standardize executive summaries. Create a one-page template: context → scenario range → recommended decision → control implications.
• Embed governance early. Partner with audit and risk to ensure models are explainable, auditable, and compliant — which sustains speed and trust.

Conclusion

Two realities can be true at once: the number of women at the top is limited, and the opportunity in front of aspiring women CFOs is substantial. Here, the research body points to a clear path:

1. Build digital literacy
2. Claim visible automation wins
3. Pursue enterprise‑wide experiences, activate sponsors
4. Lead with data‑driven confidence under strong governance

Start this quarter. Own a pilot with measurable impact, publish the results, and use that momentum to step into cross‑functional initiatives that expand scope. Codify your wins, align with enterprise priorities, and keep your analytics cadence focused on decisions that move growth, margin, cash, and risk. These are the moves investors recognize... and reward.

Ready to make the next move? Download our free playbook, then check out the CFO Guide: 5 Steps to Getting Started with AI to catapult your career forward.