Kathmandu. The chief financial officers (CFOs) of insurance companies in the Asia Pacific region are driving finance transformation efforts, with a focus on reducing costs, creating value, and optimizing the use of technology and talent.
That’s according to the 2025 Global Survey by Ernst & Young (EY). EY said CFOs are prioritizing decision-making, improving data, strengthening capital management, improving forecasting, and ensuring compliance with standards such as IFRS-17 and IFRS-9.
However, EY’s report shows that many insurers are finding it difficult to get a return from conversions due to fragmented systems, poor data quality, and constant market disruptions. Forty-seven per cent of CFOs surveyed cited increased competition as a key pressure over the next 12 months. Since then, there have been changes in consumer behaviour, regulatory changes and an expansion into new markets, they said.
About 75 percent of CFOs said overall economic uncertainty and political tensions had eroded confidence in the outlook. To address these challenges, CFOs are simplifying processes, reducing duplication, and increasing the use of shared services and third-party providers.
CFOs are also investing in workforce skills and embracing technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) to improve efficiencies and support growth. “These efforts are aimed at creating a more flexible and integrated finance operating model,” EY said. That’s because CFOs play a key strategic role in insurance companies. -Insurance Asia
