April 23, 2026
Every quarter, finance professionals across Australia and New Zealand sit down with their boards, their clients, and their senior leadership teams and face some version of the same conversation. How is the cash holding up? Are we on track? What does the next six months look like?
This year, Fathom surveyed 370 finance professionals across four global regions in our State of Financial Storytelling Report. We wanted to know which financial questions are landing most often this quarter, how people are answering them, and where the real pressure is coming from. 106 of those respondents were based across APAC. Here's what they told us.
Across every cut of the APAC data, one theme dominates: cash flow.
When we asked finance professionals what their clients or boards were asking most this quarter, the answers we reremarkably consistent. "How's the cash looking?" "Where did mycash go?" "When will we run out?" "Can we afford to hire?" These aren't abstract concerns. They're real questions landing in real meetings, and they're coming up again and again.
For accountants in firms, 44% said cash flow and runway is the primary focus their clients will carry into next quarter. For in-house finance teams, that figure sits at 29%, still the single biggest concern, ahead of both revenue growth and profitability.
None of that is surprising. Cash flow ha salways been the foundation. What is striking is just how universal the concernis. Whether you're working with a property business in Melbourne, a SaaS company in Auckland, or a professional services firm in Singapore, the questionis essentially the same: do we have enough, and for how long?
Here's the thing: it's not just the frequency of cash flow questions that's shifted. It's the complexity of what's being asked underneath them.
APAC finance teams told us their clients and boards increasingly want to go beyond the numbers and into the implications.The questions we heard included things like:
These aren't reporting questions. They're strategic ones. And answering them well requires more than a P&L and a spreadsheet. It requires the ability to model assumptions quickly, stress-test them against real data, and present the results in a way the board can actually act on.
Profitability is close behind cash flow. 22% of respondents said margin protection would be their clients' main financial focus next quarter, and the questions here are just as nuanced: why are our SaaS margins low? What's driving the movement in our NPAT? How do we improve gross margin without cutting headcount?
These are the kinds of questions that usedto require hours of work. The finance teams handling them well have figured outa smarter way.
Read the full data breakdown here.
Among APAC respondents who said Fathom has helped them answer this quarter's questions, a clear pattern emerges in how they work.
They're not relying on a single report. They're layering.
Respondents described building monthly management reports alongside rolling forecasts. Running three-way financial models, combining P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow, to give a complete picture rather than individual snapshots. Using breakeven analysis alongside scenario planning to model the impact of cost increases, hiring decisions, or changes to revenue mix. Tracking KPIs and budget variances together so the conversation with the board moves from "what happened?" to "what should we do about it?"
77% of respondents said Fathom has helped them answer this quarter's toughest questions, either somewhat or significantly. The finance professionals getting the most out of it aren't just running one report. They're combining forecasting with management accounts, scenario planning with cash flow analysis, and KPI tracking with trend data. They're building a layered toolkit that lets them answer the follow-up question before it's even asked.
Not everyone is there yet, and that's worth saying.
Some respondents described still being early in their journey, working through base reports, getting their data set up, building the foundations before layering in more advanced analysis. Others flagged real challenges: multi-entity consolidation, multi-currency forecasting, and the gap between what boards want to see and what's currently straightforward to produce.
The APAC finance landscape is genuinely varied. From small accounting practices in regional Australia to multi-entity property groups and fast-growing SaaS businesses in Singapore, the challenges look different depending on where you sit. There's no single playbook. But the direction of travel is consistent: boards and clients want more forward-looking analysis, delivered faster, with more scenario depth than most traditional finance tools were ever built to handle.
When we asked APAC respondents what their primary financial focus would be heading into next quarter, the picture sharpened.
Cash flow and runway lead at 40%. Profitability and margin protection follows at 22%. Revenue growth sits at 16%. Scenario forecasting, listed as a stand alone priority by a growing number of respondents, came in at 7%.
What's worth noting is that these aren't separate conversations. For a manufacturing business managing cost increases, cash flow, profitability, and scenario planning are all part of the same board discussion. For a technology business weighing a hiring decision against a revenue forecast, the cash question and the growth question are inseparable.
The finance professionals who are best placed to handle that pressure are the ones who've already built the systems to answer it. Not scrambling after the meeting. Before it.
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This data is drawn from Fathom's 2026 State of Financial Story telling survey, conducted in March 2026. The global survey captured 370 responses from finance professionals across the UK, North America,Australia, and New Zealand. APAC figures are based on 106 respondents across Australia, New Zealand, and wider APAC, including accountants, bookkeepers, and in-house finance and operations leaders.
Ellie is a campaign marketing manager at Fathom, with a degree in branding and marketing. With a background in campaign strategy and creation, Ellie is passionate about showcasing how Fathom can make a real difference to finance professionals and businesses.
