More than 1 in 3 Nordic CFOs do not change course when the world shifts
Close to 500 Nordic finance leaders have answered what really happens in the finance function when circumstances change.
In Hypergene’s report Confessions of a Nordic CFO 2026, 77 percent rate their finance function as very or fairly well equipped for scenario planning. Almost all trust their team’s ability to forecast. But when something happens, things slow down: 23 percent wait until the next planning cycle before replanning, and 13 percent let decisions carry on as usual. In total, 36 percent change nothing there and then.
One in five need a month or more to update their forecast after a major external event. An interest rate decision or a shift in trade policy can change the whole calculation long before that.
“This is the core of the report: the gap between perceived preparedness and the actual ability to act. Not because CFOs lack ambition, skills or tools, but because in many organizations the finance function still works in processes that are better suited to planning and follow-up than to rapid change. Many feel prepared – until something serious happens.” – Bo Gyldenvang, CEO Hypergene Group
Confidence is falling
Compared with last year’s report, the strongest confidence has declined noticeably. The share who are very confident in their team’s ability to produce accurate twelve-month forecasts has fallen from 55 to 36 percent. The share who rate their finance function as very or fairly well equipped for scenario planning has also fallen, from 87 to 77 percent.
Swedish CFOs fear cyberattacks most in the Nordics
When CFOs were asked to describe their worst-case scenario – what they hope never happens because they do not know how their team would handle it – Sweden stood out with markedly greater concern about cyberattacks, ransomware and data loss. In Finland, war and geopolitical unrest are the most prominent fear, while the Norwegian answers center mainly on economic crises, bankruptcies and market collapses.
- 30 percent of Swedish finance functions build external factors into budgeting and forecasting structurally through quantified scenarios, compared with 41 percent in Norway and 19 percent in Finland.
- 52 percent of Swedish CFOs feel comfortable to very comfortable with AI, compared with 60 percent in Norway and 48 percent in Finland.
- 75 percent in Sweden say AI has improved their ability to handle uncertainty clearly or somewhat, compared with 80 percent in Norway and 65 percent in Finland. The question was put to the respondents who received the follow-up question on AI and uncertainty.
- 95 percent of Nordic CFOs use AI. But only just over one in ten see AI primarily as a tool for better decisions. For nearly half, the benefit is still mainly about working faster.
Only 1 in 3 is fully open with the board
The report’s perhaps most striking finding concerns the boardroom. Only a third say they are fully transparent and raise every uncertainty. By far the largest group, just over four in ten, describe themselves as mostly honest but playing down some parts. Just over one in five say they mainly present what the board needs to hear.
“Being transparent doesn’t mean telling the board or management absolutely everything. If you think that, you’ve misunderstood your role. The job is to raise what’s important for the recipient to know. The important question is whether you feel safe enough to raise uncomfortable truths too, when they need to be put on the table. That’s where real transparency and trust show themselves.” – Anders Hay Kloster, CFO Hypergene Group
About the survey
The survey was carried out as a digital questionnaire among 489 senior finance leaders in the Nordics – CFOs, finance directors, heads of finance and equivalent roles – with a quality-checked base. Respondents came from three markets: Sweden (n=243), Norway (n=111) and Finland (n=135). Fieldwork took place in June–July 2026. The participating organizations span the private, public and non-profit sectors, with anywhere from 50 to more than 5,000 employees. Analysesjefene conducted the survey on behalf of Hypergene. We also interviewed four Nordic CFOs in depth – our CFO panel: Anders Hay Kloster (Hypergene), Pernilla Ullsten (Westpay), Johan Dovander (Rillion) and Mats Wittholt (Liseberg).
Read the full report: Confessions of a Nordic CFO 2026 →
About Hypergene
Hypergene is a leading Nordic SaaS company in financial and strategic business management. It connects financial planning and analysis (FP&A) and project and portfolio management with Stratsys’ solutions for compliance, risk management, sustainability and strategy.
Hypergene is part of Hypergene Group together with Stratsys, a group with around 400 employees and more than 1,200 customers in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Germany.
Press contact
Lisen Zethraeus, CMO Hypergene Group
Would you like to know how Hypergene can help you?
