Market volatility and rapid technological change are putting pressure on CFOs' planning efforts, as they must address new uncertainties such as tariff impacts on supply chains, AI deployment, and intensifying talent competition.

In an online roundtable discussion hosted last week by American City Business Journals, the CFO of workforce technology provider Magnit and the Vice President of Finance and Strategy at cookware company Made in Cookware both stated that continuous scenario planning is crucial.

"Thinking about today's challenges—beyond AI and technology, there is tariff uncertainty in the market, and customer demand is also contracting," said Rudy Gonzalez, CFO of Folsom, California-based Magnit. "As a CFO, you have to be a jack-of-all-trades."

Gonzalez added that CFOs should develop plans for optimization and recovery, including how to manage debt when interest rates rise, and need to anticipate risks of customer churn.

Jimmy Du, Vice President of Finance and Strategy at Austin-based Made in Cookware, said the company has been conducting scenario planning for some time. In recent years, systemic events (such as the COVID-19 pandemic and bank failures) may affect cash and revenue forecasts, requiring businesses to adjust flexibly. Currently, the company is assessing the impact of trade tariffs.

"Tariffs are somewhat beyond our control, but we are asking manufacturers to share the costs," Du said. The company is reviewing various expenses, including staffing, processes, and warehouse operations, while striving to maintain inventory and meet growth targets, and seeking ways to offset tariff impacts while strictly controlling operating expenses.

Against the backdrop of persistent inflation and high financing costs, Gonzalez noted that return on investment "must meet a higher standard than it did a few years ago."

Holding cash to invest in growth

Gonzalez said that after paying down debt, Magnit built a cash "reserve," enabling it to invest in automation and agentic tools to offset wage inflation.

Du said Made in Cookware has not made major adjustments to its asset allocation strategy due to economic pressure, but as an inventory-intensive business, maintaining payment flows to suppliers is a priority. The company has frozen hiring and accelerated cost-cutting measures.

Cost savings, including from back-office functions, will be reinvested in marketing, which the company views as a key growth driver.

"Marketing spending would probably be the last thing I cut, as long as it is efficient and aligned with the right metrics—all the money we save gets reinvested to drive growth," Du said.

Managing AI adoption

Both companies are cautiously optimistic about AI's role in streamlining tasks in finance and the broader workforce. Made in Cookware is testing AI for automated tasks, including invoice tagging.

Gonzalez said that while leveraging AI for efficiency is attractive, businesses should weigh the pros and cons of enterprise-level platforms versus piecemeal point solutions, which may be less appealing "because when costs are duplicated and integrations need to be built, it is hard to achieve return on investment."

He added that businesses also need to consider the level of human oversight required for AI-generated outputs, especially regarding data privacy.

Participants also discussed how CFOs can attract top talent, with remote work and faster career advancement paths potentially serving as incentives to attract emerging talent.

"Remote work opens the door to talent not located near physical offices, which was previously a limiting factor for businesses," Gonzalez said. Remote work also creates opportunities to bring in excellent candidates from outside the United States.