Could CFO and CHRO Collaboration Drive Business Growth?

According to the 2025 SAP Concur CFO Insights report, most CFOs feel responsible for driving growth amidst the challenges that their organization faces. In fact, 81% of CFOs believe that they are the primary drivers of growth for their business. But could they be missing out on important growth benefits by monopolizing this responsibility?

CHROs are interested in collaborating further with their finance counterparts, and they can point to several areas of immediate opportunity. After all, the core functions of their role have a strong connection to growth, from talent attraction and retention to company culture and employee experience.

This year’s report draws on data from a survey of 350 finance leaders, 115 HR leaders, and 115 IT leaders across eight countries to explore challenges in 2025 and approaches the C-suite can take—including opportunities for collaboration—to help an organization grow.

Here are some of the key themes from the HR leader edition of the report:

CFOs and HR leaders see the connection between talent and growth—but HR needs more support to make it a reality.

• Nearly half (48%) of finance leaders see attracting and retaining talent as one of the most important factors in driving growth.
• HR leaders say the most impactful elements in attracting finance talent include competitive pay and benefits, clear paths for career growth, and flexible work options.
• Although 83% of HR leaders say improving employee experience is a priority, 38% say they don’t have the appropriate resources to achieve this.

HR leaders are keen to align with CFOs on multiple initiatives.

• Forty-two percent of CHROs want to work more closely with finance leaders on compensation and benefits strategies.
• Fifty-four percent of HR leaders want the CFO to provide them with financial insights to support workforce planning, while 48% want their help measuring the impact of HR initiatives and 44% would like finance to increase their budget allocations.

However, several obstacles are getting in the way of this collaboration.

• HR leaders say the biggest obstacles to cross-functional collaboration are insufficient data sharing and transparency, conflicting departmental priorities, and lack of time for regular meetings
• They believe the best ways to remove these blockers and break down silos are to create cross-functional working groups, regular cross-functional meetings, and flexible budgets for collaborative projects.

Additionally, the evolution of their role to account for AI, duty of care, and ESG continues to keep HR leaders on their toes.

• While 68% of HR leaders say AI initiatives have met or exceeded expectations, 33% say that AI initiatives fell short of or only partially met expectations—suggesting that about a third of organizations are falling behind on AI use to support HR goals.
• Nearly all (99%) of HR leaders say they have updated their travel policies to fit new requirements. Fifty-one percent have enhanced travel safety protocols, while 46% have offered more flexible travel options and 42% have increased support for remote work.
•  Most (94%) of HR leaders report that ESG compliance is impacting their travel policies, and 59% are incorporating eco-friendly options in response.

For more information, including actions that HR leaders can take to accelerate growth, download the HR leader edition of the 2025 SAP Concur CFO Insights report.

Methodology: SAP Concur surveyed 350 CFOs and senior finance leaders, 115 HR leaders, and 115 IT leaders for its latest CFO Insights report. The research, conducted in December 2024 and January 2025, covered Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Japan,