Business Radar 2026 Understanding the businesses that drive Australia's economy

Given the changing economic landscape, the latest confidence numbers from middle market business leaders may be a surprise. Current and future confidence spiked, bringing the figures close to the surprising highs seen in 2023.

While numbers are up across all categories, confidence in the 12-month growth prospects of the global business economy spiked from 6.63 to 7.08. However, timing is everything.

The latest confidence figures were collected just days before US–Middle East tensions sharply increased. We eagerly await our next survey results to see how this disruption has affected these historically optimistic leaders.

Cost pressures continue to loom large   

When asked about the biggest threats to confidence, the cost of doing business is the driving concern. Inflation has jumped 10% from our last survey to 41%, taking the top spot. The second and third most influential factors are increased operating costs (32%) and increased labour costs (24%, +8%).

More than a finance leader  

While all C-suite executives are essential to successful business management, the CFO’s oversight relates to business performance in the most direct way. Cash flow, margins and runway define whether a business can operate or not. CFOs set hard limits on what’s possible.

Given this broad position and breadth of foundational skills, it’s no surprise that 82% of our middle market business leaders say the role is taking on responsibilities beyond traditional finance.

Almost half of respondents said their CFOs took care of risk, governance and compliance, with a further third naming data and analytics, and tech and digital oversight.

The catch-all exec 

This step-change in responsibility is coming from increasing regulatory and compliance requirements (62%), growth and business complexity (60%), and advances in AI and automation (59%).

While distinct executive roles remain the most common structure (43%), most organisations (57%) operate with one person managing blended or overlapping roles. This vagueness could be adding to the issue of the CFO as a catch-all: if accountability lines or roles are blurred, responsibility tends to default to finance, reinforcing the CFO’s position as a default point of responsibility.

Who’s the CFO 

More than half (57%) of businesses have either a dedicated CFO or another senior finance leader overseeing financial leadership and decision-making. In 35% of organisations, that responsibility fell to the CEO or owner. 

Future CFOs need to build on accounting foundations

The CFO’s role expansion is not seen as a short-term fix, but a broader long-term evolution. Of those surveyed, 78% believe finance leaders will take on greater responsibility for technology, data and automation in the future, while 63% expect them to step further into wider, non-financial leadership roles.

The top skills leaders expect will be needed: technology, data and AI literacy (54%), cross-functional working (33%) and ongoing skills development (31%).

Risk of over-reliance 

Many organisations manage well with their finance leader overseeing everything from IT to ESG reporting. Respondents see benefits: diverse thinking (86%), improved cross-departmental alignment (84%), faster decision-making (84%) and strategy grounded in operational and financial reality (81%). 

However, respondents appear less cognisant of the downsides, with only 39% naming unclear accountability, 35% succession risks and 32% difficulty replacing talent. 

Meet our middle market businesses

This report defines middle market businesses as typically employing 20–200 people with annual revenue of $2–$500 million. While their operating models, sizes and industries vary widely, these businesses can be categorised into four lifecycle stages.