By Lori Hilman, President & COO, Plains State Bank
While shifting economic indicators often prompt a defensive posture from C-suite executives, recent data suggests that Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) are departing from the traditional ‘capital preservation’ playbook. Historically, financial leaders might have prioritized cash hoarding during market volatility; however, current trends indicate a pivot toward ‘active liquidity.’
As examined by Plains State Bank, recent industry reports confirm that finance leaders are increasingly leveraging their banking partnerships to fund technological infrastructure. This aggressive investment model suggests that leadership is betting on operational efficiency and upgraded equipment to navigate ongoing market disruptions, viewing strategic capital allocation as a more effective hedge than passive saving.
A Surprising Surge of Confidence
Deloitte’s latest CFO Signals survey, conducted in Q1, offers a look at this strange trend. Usually, these reports are full of talk about defensive cash-piles, but this time, investment is the focus. While approximately 52% of surveyed executives remain focused on internal cost-containment and supply chain stabilization, nearly half—48% specifically—are prioritizing large-scale capital expenditures in technology and core infrastructure over traditional defensive measures.
The Journal of Accountancy, using data from Maximor’s Finance AI Adoption Benchmarking Report, reports that nearly four out of five middle-market CFOs (79%) report that at least 25% of their accounting and finance workload is now handled by agentic AI tools. However, this high adoption rate does not imply total autonomy.
The report suggests that “responsible adoption” currently requires significant human intervention. Two-thirds of CFOs at companies with revenue between $50 million and $500 million characterize human oversight as “extremely or very critical” to ensuring accuracy. This caution is well-founded, as 86% of finance teams have already encountered inaccurate or “hallucinated” data while using these tools. As the report notes, “Strategy stalls when data is doubted.”
This lack of data confidence creates a significant operational paradox. While 96% of CFOs agree that the primary benefit of AI is that it allows more time for high-level strategic work, the reality is that 69% of these leaders are still spending at least half of their time on day-to-day operations.
Given that “verifiable, traceable, and explainable outputs” are now non-negotiable, the role of the community bank has never been more vital. This “trust gap” is where the partnership with a dedicated business bank becomes a strategic asset. By providing the human oversight and verified financial frameworks that AI currently lacks, community banks allow CFOs to move past “doubting the numbers” and finally focus on the strategic planning that 96% of them desire.
Safety Still Matters
Another useful source of CFO sentiment data is the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) and its most recent Liquidity Survey from 2025. It finds that safety is the main driver of investment decisions for 61% of organizations, unsurprisingly given the aforementioned market-wide uncertainty. At the same time, this study still shows a degree of confidence, with almost 30% of companies planning to switch up investment policies in the coming year, indicating a desire to take bold action and unlock value rather than resting on their laurels.
When identifying the vehicles for these investments, community business banking remains the primary engine for mid-market liquidity. Rather than moving capital away from traditional institutions, organizations are utilizing sophisticated bank-offered solutions—such as Sweep Accounts and Commercial Money Market products—to gain yield without sacrificing the immediate liquidity required for rapid equipment upgrades.
For small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs), these banking relationships are essential. Community banks provide the personalized lending and SBA-backed financing that allow firms to invest in upgraded technology while maintaining a healthy balance sheet, ensuring they remain positioned for growth as the economic cycle shifts.
A Strategic Pivot Toward Long-Term Value
What’s clear from research into CFO sentiment and market movements is that financial decision-makers remain intimately familiar with where things stand and where they’re headed, both for their individual organizations and the wider economy. How they’re tackling uncertainty and disruption with active investing rather than passive cash hoarding should signal that they’re familiar with the ongoing risks as well as the opportunities that come with them.
The shift toward active value creation is particularly vital for small businesses and mid-market firms. While multinational organizations may have broader cash reserves, SMBs rely on the strategic agility provided by community banking to modernize their operations. By pushing investments into upgraded equipment and process automation now, these firms can mitigate the impact of labor shortages and rising operational costs.
Ultimately, identifying and ‘unlocking’ hidden value is no longer a luxury for the ultra-wealthy corporation; it is a survival strategy for leadership at firms of all sizes, proving that a proactive partnership with a business bank is the most reliable tool for navigating modern economic disruption.