On October 22–23, Kyiv hosted the XXIV Ukrainian CFO Forum—a leading business event for C-level executives that has been organized by the FAService team for 24 years. Over the course of two days, more than 50 speakers participated in six sessions—including 22 panel discussions, interviews, and case studies—to discuss approaches to strategic planning for 2027 in the absence of the usual predictable benchmarks.
The conference brought together over 700 CFOs, top executives, and representatives of Ukrainian and international businesses from various industries: from finance, IT, and energy to agribusiness, retail, pharmaceuticals, media, construction, and the public sector. The discussions focused on practical case studies and specific management decisions that have proven effective.
The forum’s central theme was a new vision for business management: the realities of war demand, above all, speed and flexibility in decision-making. And today, it is the CFO who serves as the primary driver of such decisions. The evolution of the finance function has transformed the CFO into an architect of resilience, bridging strategy, technology, and the real-world economics of operational decisions.
Despite all the risks, Ukrainian business is not standing still: companies continue to invest, restructure their models, and seek growth opportunities. How can one plan for the future when assets and infrastructure are under attack, capital remains expensive, and input costs change daily? How can liquidity be protected, where can funding be secured, and what benchmarks should be incorporated into financial models? These were the questions that experts focused on most during the discussions.
Ihor Solovykh, CEO of FAService:
“I’ve been organizing this forum for many years, and what matters most to me is seeing the people who make decisions and continue to develop Ukrainian business. It’s clear that there’s almost no certainty, but decisions must be made today. So we focused on preparing for 2027, discussing strategies, efficiency, technologies, and, most importantly, tools that actually work.”
A practical focus was maintained throughout all conference sessions: moderators and speakers shared real-world experiences of business adaptation and measurable results of these changes.
“Today, it’s important to talk not just about risks, but also about solutions, because often the best opportunities arise precisely from risks. The worst thing we can do right now is to fail to make decisions,” emphasized Pavlo Prytyko, Director of the Department for Working with Medium-Sized Corporate Clients at PUMB, moderator of the discussion “Business Under Pressure.”
Key Takeaways from the Forum
Despite differences in industries and business scales, the speakers’ discussions boiled down to several common observations:
1. Decisions are more valuable than plans.
Planning has ultimately evolved from creating a single document to continuously modeling different scenarios. The speed of decision-making itself has become a business’s key competitive advantage.
2. Businesses must strive for growth even now
Any operational risk ultimately comes down to liquidity. At the same time, company executives emphasized that a complete freeze on investments and a halt to development are more dangerous than the risks posed by the war.
3. Toward resilience through decentralization.
Companies are shifting toward smaller and more dispersed structures: from a decentralized warehouse network to delegating authority “to the field.” The reconstruction of lost assets is carried out in the minimum necessary steps due to the risk of repeated destruction.
4. Investments in energy independence are a calculated move rather than a forced expense.
Investments in resilience—from generators to in-house energy projects—are evaluated through scenario modeling and clear payback periods.
5. People are the primary resource and the key to resilience.
As discussion participants noted, processes designed for stable times failed the test, while teams held their ground. That is precisely why businesses are investing in the safety and mental health of their employees—from setting up autonomous shelters and flexible remote work arrangements to systematic support programs for veterans.
At the same time, the speakers were unanimous: there is no single universal system that works for everyone, and each company must find its own balance between investment and operational decisions.
Financial Model 2027: Zero Growth and Flexibility
Serhiy Nikolaychuk, First Deputy Governor of the NBU, reported that the regulator’s new macroeconomic forecast, which is being prepared for publication, will be worse than the July forecast: instead of the expected 1.7% this year and 3% in 2027, economic growth will be close to zero. According to him, inflation has accelerated to 10% due to rising energy prices and attacks on industrial and energy facilities and warehouses, which is why the key rate was raised to 16%. Advice for businesses: have a baseline scenario, but be prepared to quickly adjust plans and priorities.
Andriy Dligach, founder of Advanter Group, estimates growth for 2027 at 0.5%. According to Advanter, current business losses amount to $7.7 billion, and the war is factored into 69.5% of companies’ forecasts for 2027. He emphasized the lack of financial resources and the need for long-term, low-cost lending and insurance against war risks. In response, the NBU cited the following data: business lending in the national currency is growing by over 30% annually, the share of non-performing loans stands at 11.5% (the lowest since 2014), and debt under the “5-7-9%” program has exceeded 200 billion UAH. The regulator also allowed banks to accept property rights to future revenue as collateral.
Planning as a Decision-Making Process
Experts agreed that a modern financial plan exists not for strict adherence, but to understand possible courses of action. At the same time, each company establishes its own set of benchmarks. For example, British American Tobacco Ukraine has completely abandoned annual planning in favor of two-week and monthly cycles, with a focus on liquidity and product availability. Preparing alternative scenarios has proven effective in practice: after a missile strike on its factory, BAT switched from production to imports within a month thanks to a pre-prepared plan (signed contracts, secured inventory at alternative factories, etc.). Danone uses a monthly rolling forecast covering 18 months, citing responsiveness as its key advantage. “FOXTROT” maintains a three-year vision but revises its models when sales deviate by more than 10%, while Metinvest Group establishes a single baseline scenario with contingencies, where critical external changes—such as port closures—serve as triggers for restructuring. Despite the differences in approach, financial leaders agree on one key point: making a decision on time with 80% of the information is significantly more effective than delaying it while waiting for the full picture.
Capital and Investments: Payback Versus Risks
Investment approaches in wartime require strict prioritization and a proactive stance on liquidity management. For example, the VITAGRO holding company categorizes projects by payback period (operational projects—two to three years, new projects—five years or more), invests in processing (which has already reduced the share of crop production in revenue from 80% to 50%), and effective energy independence—ranging from establishing its own fuel division to Ukraine’s first export of biomethane. BGS Rail demonstrated a case of early restructuring: having identified the risk of a cash flow shortfall for the following year, the company initiated a dialogue with creditors well in advance, providing clear calculations and a plan. McDonald’s in Ukraine, despite the risks, has opened 43 new locations over the past four years. The company’s example proved that power generation is three times more expensive than the distribution network, but keeping facilities idle while maintaining salaries and rent costs significantly more. YASNO estimates the payback period for energy sustainability projects at 2.5–3.5 years, urging that they be treated as full-fledged business solutions. The “Dobrobut” chain has doubled its revenue and market capitalization over five years without ever halting funding for its strategy. The essence of this approach to capital was aptly described by Agrogram CEO Stepan Slynchuk, who emphasized that completely abandoning investments and halting development today poses significantly greater risks to a company than the investment decisions themselves.
Business Resilience: From Reconstruction to Insurance Realities
As discussion moderator Iryna Levkivska, Group CFO of Rozetka-EVO, emphasized, business resilience during wartime is defined by the ability to handle atypical challenges, which require financial leaders to come up with new ideas and unique solutions. The response to these challenges and setbacks was a set of new rules for operational resilience, which the companies shared:
– Minimalism in reconstruction and decentralization. “Nova Poshta” treats each loss as a separate investment project and rebuilds facilities only on a case-by-case basis, to the minimum extent necessary. Despite this, in the first nine months of this year, the company opened more than 6,500 parcel lockers and 2,200 branches, delivered 371 million shipments, and paid 25% more in taxes compared to last year. VARUS also opted to consolidate its warehouses—this increases operating costs but significantly reduces war-related risks.
– Accelerating transformations. The media company Starlight Media exemplifies a case of forced, accelerated evolution: strategic changes to the business model, originally planned for 7–10 years, were implemented in just 2–3 years, allowing the company to triple its share of digital revenue.
– Limitations of insurance instruments. The focus of the discussion remains on the insufficient level of compensation. For example, Biosphere Corporation recorded actual compensation of 10 million UAH for losses amounting to $10 million. Existing government instruments cover buildings and equipment (up to 30 million UAH per company), but currently leave inventory outside the scope of protection.
Reserves First, Then CAPEX: A Hidden Resource Within the Business
When a significant portion of capital investments is directed toward reconstruction and energy resilience, the CFO’s key task becomes finding internal efficiencies. The speakers’ experience has shown that before purchasing new equipment or expanding the workforce, a business must fully exhaust the potential of its existing resources. In particular, Kansai Helios Ukraine has made this an unwavering principle. Based on an in-depth data analysis, the company identified and eliminated downtime, delays, and chaotic changes to production schedules, which allowed it to reduce lead time from 7.7 to 2.6 days, raise service levels to 93%, and save over $100,000 in CAPEX. At the TAS Association of Companies, a similar approach was applied to the finance function: by digitizing and revising the tax process map, the company eliminated duplicate data entry. This optimized operating expenses and had a direct impact on cash flow—totaling 35 million UAH in savings over two years.
Financial Monitoring: Prepare in Advance
Volodymyr Gavlytskyi, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Pivdenny Bank, urged businesses to view financial monitoring as a medical diagnostic tool rather than a law enforcement system. According to him, banks are increasingly analyzing transactions even before they are executed. Therefore, if documents and explanations are prepared in advance, the payment goes through without delays. Among the most common mistakes are: an unclear payment description, formal responses to inquiries, and silence. A correct payment description can eliminate 30–40% of inquiries, and advance notice of significant changes—from a new line of business to a major contract—allows the bank to avoid viewing them as anomalous. “Preparation for banking procedures begins not when a request is received, but when you structure the transactions,” Volodymyr concluded.
The Evolution of the CFO’s Role
Discussion participants outlined new expectations for the CFO in wartime conditions. First and foremost, this involves a strategic partnership role and serving as the “voice of reason”: for example, it was precisely a professional financial discussion that formed the basis for a key initiative at “Agromat” this year. Companies are involving finance professionals in decision-making at earlier stages, even before the first figures and calculations emerge (YASNO), and CFOs themselves are advised to boldly step beyond the purely financial function (BAT). At the same time, the new reality is expanding the financial leader’s area of responsibility to include human capital: Viktor Piddubny (Danone) suggested tracking the team’s stress levels as an important management KPI. Many speakers noted that maintaining mental health and focusing on people have become the key differences in how businesses are preparing for this winter compared to previous years.
Partners of the XXIV Ukrainian CFO Forum
Digital Innovation Partner – Business Evolution
Official Partner for Importer Financing – Done
ERP and Digital Transformation Partner – Innoware
Growth Financing Partner – Bank Pivdenny
AI-Driven IT Ecosystem Partner – SMART business
Financial Partner – PUMB
Financial Process Optimization Partner – EBS
Innovation and Digital Transformation Partner – IT Enterprise
Security Partner – SHERIFF
White-Collar Crime Partner – ARZINGER
Strategic Partner for Capital Management – Advance Finance Alliance
Strategic Partner – ODGERS
Partner for Digital Business Solutions – Vchasno
Partner for IT System Implementation – ABM Cloud
In collaboration with ERP.UA
Coffee Partner – Lavazza
Travel Partner – SILPO VOYAGE
CFO Cocktail Party Partner – Hennessy
Education Partner – ACCA
Kaizen Partner – Kaizen Institute
Water Partner – Morshynska
Global Payment Partner – Payoneer
CEO Leadership Partner – CEO Club Ukraine
Main Media Partner – Starlight Media
Professional Partner – CFO Club Ukraine
Business Networking Partner – Board
Official Logistics Partner – Bolt
Education Partner – Institute of Entrepreneurial Psychology
FMCG Partner – ASCANIA FMCG
IT Industry Partner – IT Ukraine Association
FAService – a leading organizer of business events in Ukraine. For over 20 years, the company has been creating professional platforms for top managers and business owners, facilitating the exchange of practical experience, the analysis of market trends, and the development of effective strategic solutions.
More about the Ukrainian CFO Forum: https://cfo.ua/cfoforum/
LinkedIn Post
We’re wrapping up the XXIV Ukrainian CFO Forum—the final business event of the year from the @FAService team, which brought together over 700 executives from Ukrainian and international companies. Over the course of two days, more than 50 experts sought answers to key management questions: how to build models in the absence of predictable benchmarks, maintain liquidity, and turn war-related risks into new growth opportunities.
Five practical takeaways and visions from the forum that Ukrainian businesses are using as they prepare for 2027:
▪️Decisions are more valuable than plans.
Planning has evolved into constant scenario modeling, and the speed of decision-making has become the key competitive advantage. “The worst thing we can do right now is to fail to make decisions,” emphasized Pavlo Prytyko (PUMB).
▪️Stagnation can be more dangerous than investment risks.
Businesses are adopting proactive strategies: investing in vertical integration and seeking solutions to generate foreign currency revenue; continuing network expansion despite inflation and energy costs; viewing energy sustainability as profitable business projects; systematically increasing market capitalization; and utilizing tools for proactive debt restructuring.
▪️Resilience means decentralization and rebuilding in small steps.
“A business’s resilience is determined by its ability to handle atypical challenges that require unique ideas and solutions,” noted Iryna Levkivska (ROZETKA-EVO). In response to war-related risks, companies are reviewing their operational models: they evaluate each loss as a separate investment project and rebuild only to the minimum necessary extent; they fragment their warehouse networks to protect capital; they significantly accelerate the transformation of digital revenue streams; and seeking new compensation mechanisms to address the limitations of existing insurance tools.
▪️Financial monitoring as a diagnostic tool.
Volodymyr Havlytskyi (“Pivdenny”) urges companies to prepare for banking procedures as early as the deal structuring stage. Correctly specifying the payment purpose eliminates 30–40% of inquiries, and advance notice of new contracts prevents delays.
▪️The main resource is people.
Processes designed for stability did not hold up, but teams did, so businesses are investing in employee safety and mental health. Today, the CFO has become an architect of resilience, serving as the “voice of reason” and being involved in decision-making before the first figures are even available.
We thank the speakers and moderators for their valuable case studies and willingness to share their experiences. We thank the forum’s partners, including AFA, Business Evolution, Done, Innoware, PUMB, SMART business, Vchasno, ABM Cloud, EBS, Odgers, IT-Enterprise, Bank Pivdenny, Payoneer, and others.
Interfax-Ukraine — information partner of the event
