Finance trends for 2026: how to prepare for a smarter, safer future

For the past 40 years, The Economist has published its annual future-gazing guide, “The World Ahead,” which presents readers with the trends, topics, and people most likely to shape the year to come. In “The World Ahead 2025”, The Economist’s Deputy Editor, Tom Standage, wrote about how the rivalry between the United States and China would manifest itself as a trade war and questioned whether or not it would be the year AI proved its worth, mainly because of the rise of agentic systems.

Looking at some of the biggest changes that 2025 brought to the finance sector, we can say that Standage was right about these two topics. The tariffs imposed by the U.S. and other countries’ responses have been fuelling market uncertainty and destabilising finance teams. AI tools like ChatGPT now allow anyone to generate highly realistic receipts, making expense fraud easier than ever. Additionally, the increase in ESG and e-invoicing regulations has put pressure on finance teams to stay compliant.

As 2025 comes to a close, some of the finance trends that shaped it will carry over into 2026. Markets will remain unpredictable, technology will continue to evolve, and finance teams will manage rising expectations for speed, clarity, and security. As AI becomes smarter and capable of taking on new tasks, 2026 is likely to bring even more structural changes to how finance teams operate.

Agentic AI starts working on its own

AI has shifted from a tool people play around with to something closer to a digital teammate. And Agentic AI — systems that can take initiative, perform multi-step tasks, and learn from patterns with minimal human intervention — bring us even closer to that reality.

Agentic AI in finance moves beyond simple automation into an era in which AI systems can make decisions. Instead of just analysing data, monitoring spending patterns in real time, and flagging anomalies, agentic AI can trigger corrective actions, manage cash flow fluctuations, and even predict working capital needs. For finance teams, this shift means they can move away from repetitive tasks to focus instead on judgment-based decisions.

In 2026, as Agentic AI continues to evolve, we can expect it to anticipate risks, fully automate low-risk workflows, and even recommend policy changes. CFOs will increasingly lean on AI to manage the growing volume of business expenses, detect risk earlier, and support faster, more confident decision-making, without losing human oversight.

Cybersecurity becomes part of finance

Cybersecurity is no longer just an IT problem. As AI-generated fraud becomes more accessible and harder to detect, finance teams now sit at the centre of the threat. They handle payments, reimbursements, vendor details, contract data, and sensitive financial information, which makes them a prime target for attackers.

Netwrix’s 2025 Cybersecurity Trends Report shows that over half of organisations experienced a security incident in the past 12 months, with phishing being the most common danger. Cyberattacks are no longer isolated events but a part of everyday business. Deepfake invoices, voice clones, and automated phishing campaigns are on the rise, and they impact more than a business’s financial health.

Looking ahead, CFOs need to respond to cyber threats by tightening approval chains, adding more real-time verification steps, and working far more closely with IT and compliance teams. The role of finance professionals will expand from managing money to protecting it. Financial control needs to be stronger, and finance teams are the first line of defence.

Compliance becomes faster and more proactive

Many of today’s cyber risks are also compliance risks. When a fake invoice enters an expense management system, the impact isn’t only financial, but it can lead to regulatory breaches, too. The line between “security incident” and “compliance failure” is becoming blurrier, which is why 2026 will push both areas to evolve quickly.

Compliance regulations have grown over the last couple of years. The EU’s VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) initiative, for example, has been rolled out since 2024 to use e-invoicing to improve tax collection, reduce fraud, and simplify VAT compliance. As regulations increase, technology can help finance teams become more proactive instead of reactive. AI can validate expenses and invoices at the point of entry, flagging missing details, duplicates, policy issues, or suspicious patterns. And with around 14% of expenses still non-compliant in many organisations, catching issues early makes all the difference.

Continuous, real-time monitoring will be just as important in 2026 to help finance teams reduce risk and stay compliant by default.

Real-time finance replaces monthly cycles

Monthly closing cycles have long been the norm for finance teams. But as systems become continuously updated, slow, end-of-month closing rhythms are disappearing. Real-time finance means issues surface as they occur, making it easier to spot irregularities and avoid bottlenecks at month-end.

The impact goes beyond team efficiency. Continuous monitoring gives CFOs a clearer view of their organisation’s financial health, allowing them to adjust forecasts and budgets in response to unexpected costs and changing market conditions.

Continuous finance will be the new standard in 2026. Real-time data becomes the backbone of planning, reporting, and control, helping CFOs make faster decisions and stay ahead of changing market conditions.

Visibility will become crucial to reduce risk

Real-time finance goes hand-in-hand with visibility. If data is always up to date, it should also be easy to see, interpret, and act on.

Visibility is quickly becoming the foundation of financial control. Real-time insights and clearer data help finance leaders spot issues earlier, guide teams before problems escalate, and adjust budgets with confidence. It also creates transparency and strengthens trust with leadership and stakeholders.

In 2026, visibility becomes a risk shield that allows finance teams to stay on top of irregularities, respond faster to change, and support more informed decision-making.

Finance roles and skills begin to shift

AI isn’t here to replace finance professionals, but it’s introducing new ways of working that reshape their day-to-day. According to Deloitte’s “Finance Trends 2026” report, 64% of finance leaders plan to “infuse more technical skills and capabilities within their function“, which highlights the need for more technical capabilities in finance. Businesses need to offer training opportunities on AI tools that help finance teams learn new skills and keep top talent engaged.

As manual tasks shrink, the value of analytical thinking, cross-functional collaboration, and problem-solving rises. Finance roles are shifting to become increasingly more strategic, with professionals spending more time interpreting data, guiding policy, and supporting broader decision-making.

The most successful finance teams in 2026 will be those that learn together, adapt quickly, and embrace the new ways of working enabled by AI.

In its four decades of existence, The Economist’s “The World Ahead” has failed to predict notable events, such as the global financial crisis in 2008 or the 2020 pandemic. But it has also gotten some things surprisingly right.

In 2004, it predicted that camera phones would replace digital cameras for most people, and in the 2019 edition, it featured an interview with the GPT-2 AI model by a then-still-obscure company called OpenAI.

We can’t be 100% certain these finance trends will play out exactly as described, but one thing is certain: 2026 will reward finance teams that stay flexible, curious, and open to change. Those who use automation, real-time insights, and build modern skill sets will handle challenges more smoothly and create more value for their organisations.

As AI grows more complex and markets continue to change, adaptability becomes the most important soft skill for finance professionals. At Rydoo, we’re ready to support whatever 2026 might bring by giving finance teams tools that make their work clearer, faster, and more confident.