As 2026 approaches, the role of the CFO in the KSA is undergoing a major transformation. Gone are the days when treasury and finance functions could operate reactively or in silos. In today’s unpredictable economic environment, CFOs are expected to be strategic, agile, and data-driven leaders.
Whether you're navigating volatile cash flows, preparing for geopolitical shocks, or rethinking how your finance team operates in a digital-first world, the new financial agenda is clear: build resilience, gain real-time visibility, and lead with intelligence.
In this guide, we explore the top treasury and finance priorities KSA CFOs must focus on in 2026, and how tools like Pemo help bring those priorities to life.
Beyond 2025's volatility: setting the 2026 financial agenda
The past few years have tested every finance team’s ability to adapt. From interest rate hikes to inflation pressures, supply chain disruptions, and regional uncertainty, CFOs have been operating in crisis mode.
But 2026 marks a turning point.
The new mandate isn’t just about survival; it’s about strategic transformation. That means:
- Prioritizing operational efficiency across every financial function
- Adopting AI-powered tools to go beyond raw data and extract actionable insights
- Shifting from reactive reporting to proactive, scenario-based risk management
Treasury is no longer a back-office function. It’s becoming a real-time control center, one that enables smarter decisions, stronger liquidity, and future-ready growth.
Priority 1: Achieving real-time cash visibility
In today’s fast-moving markets, waiting for end-of-month reports is no longer acceptable. CFOs need to know, right now, how much cash the business has, where it’s held, and how it’s moving.
The demand is growing for multi-bank dashboards that provide:
- A live, consolidated view of all accounts, across currencies and regions
- Real-time updates on inflows and outflows, categorized by vendor, department, or transaction type
- Alerts or flags when cash positions deviate from expectations
This real-time visibility is what empowers a shift toward exception management, where treasury teams don’t waste time gathering data but instead focus on investigating anomalies and making strategic decisions faster.
With Pemo, KSA CFOs gain the clarity they need to protect liquidity and allocate capital with confidence.
Priority 2: Embracing "self-driving" finance through automation
Automation is no longer a nice-to-have; it’s the operating model of the future. The concept of a “self-driving” finance function is simple: let software take care of repetitive tasks, so people can focus on strategy.
Here’s what leading finance teams are automating in 2026:
- Cash forecasting powered by real-time spend data
- Invoice processing with automated matching and approval flows
- Employee expense reporting with mobile receipt capture and card-linked controls
- Payment reconciliation that syncs instantly with accounting systems like Wafeq or Odoo
This automation does more than save time. It allows treasury teams to evolve into strategic partners, advising on:
- Working capital optimization
- M&A strategy
- Fundraising or investment planning
And with embedded controls, it also improves governance and reduces risk, without adding headcount.
Priority 3: Leveraging AI for data intelligence, not just data processing
AI is everywhere, but in finance, the value lies not in volume of data, but in the quality of insight it can generate.
The most progressive CFOs are using AI to:
- Forecast with greater accuracy, accounting for seasonal trends and external drivers
- Detect anomalies or fraud, flagging transactions that don’t align with typical patterns
- Extract trends from spend data, identifying savings opportunities or supplier risk
The shift is clear: AI isn't just processing transactions. It’s transforming the treasury into a value-creation engine.
However, AI can only work with clean, structured, real-time data. That’s where platforms like Pemo come in, delivering the right foundation to power your AI journey.
How Pemo aligns with the 2026 treasury
Modern CFOs don’t just need tools; they need platforms that are built for visibility, automation, and intelligence. That’s exactly where Pemo fits in.
Let’s map Pemo’s core capabilities to your 2026 priorities:
Real-time dashboard
- Unified view of company spending
- Instantly see cash flow activity, categorized by project, department, or vendor
- Helps treasury leaders spot risks and act before problems escalate
Automated reporting and workflows
- Set smart approval flows based on spend category or amount
- Eliminate manual expense reports and paper receipts
- Cut down time spent reconciling payments and preparing books for the month-end faster
Data capture and analytics
- Every transaction is logged with metadata and receipt
- Built-in categorization and search for auditing, forecasting, and vendor management
- Clean, structured data ready for export, analysis, or AI tools
Pemo is not just a spend management tool; it's the financial infrastructure KSA CFOs need to lead with clarity and control.
Conclusion: the future of finance is here, and it’s real-time, automated, and intelligent
2026 is not about doing the same things faster. It’s about doing smarter things; with better data, stronger visibility, and leaner operations.
The CFO’s role has never been more complex or more important. As you redefine how finance works in your business, you’ll need more than spreadsheets and legacy ERPs. You’ll need tools that match your ambition.
Pemo gives KSA finance leaders everything they need to meet the moment:
✅ Instant visibility into cash
✅ Automated financial workflows
✅ Clean data that powers smart decisions
Start building your 2026-ready finance function today, with Pemo as your strategic partner.
Get started here.
