The CFO in the Age of AI: Executive Role Transformation in AI-Enabled Digital Transformation—An Integrative Review and Multilevel Research Agenda

Counts differ because each database indexes a different set of publications. We treat OpenAlex as the canonical count; Google Scholar is not shown (no API, and crawling it violates its ToS).

Purpose: This review explores how artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-enabled digital transformation (AI-DT) may reshape the executive role of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO). It treats the CFO as a member of the top management team and as a strategic, operational, and governance actor rather than only as the leader of the finance function. Design/methodology: An integrative review synthesizes 22 publications identified through targeted searches, review through the CFO lens by one of the authors, publisher and DOI verification, and backward and forward citation searching. One author conducted the identification, initial screening, extraction, and coding; the second author independently audited every inclusion, classification, extraction, and claim–source decision. All differences were resolved by consensus. The final hierarchy contains two direct role-transformation studies, one direct executive-relationship study, five CFO antecedent-and-outcome studies, and fourteen contextual finance-function studies. Findings: The strongest direct evidence does not support simply replacing traditional finance tasks with AI-related strategic tasks. Instead, the reviewed publications suggest a cumulative rebalancing across seven dimensions: (1) responsibilities and mandate, (2) decision rights and authority, (3) strategic influence, (4) executive relationships, (5) competencies and capabilities, (6) professional identity, and (7) governance and accountability. Evidence is strongest for digitalization, analytics, automation, and multi-technology transformation; it is more limited for AI-specific research and very limited for generative or agentic AI. Four provisional configurations—AI Value Strategist, Transformation Catalyst, Digital Steward and Governor, and Efficiency-focused Finance Operator—are presented as emerging but testable propositions rather than validated job types. Originality/value: The review clearly distinguishes between direct insights into the CFO’s role and those that originate from the broader finance and organizational context or are related but less robust. It specifies which technologies are involved and develops a multilevel research agenda covering AI investment, AI-related value creation, human–AI work allocation, and responsible corporate governance.