This article is a guest post by Stephan Liozu, Chief Value Officer at Zilliant. The views expressed are solely those of the author.

For CFOs of companies without a dedicated pricing team, the current reality is stark: slowing growth, persistent inflationary pressures, and the looming risk of stagflation. Meanwhile, companies lacking a dedicated pricing team are particularly vulnerable as cost fluctuations and competitive pressures erode profits. Without internal pricing expertise, CFOs must take on the responsibility of safeguarding profitability and ensuring the company's resilience amid economic turbulence.

Pricing: From Tactical Move to Strategic Imperative

Once viewed as a tactical operation, pricing has become a strategic imperative. In times of price volatility, supply chain instability, and unpredictable demand, pricing cannot rely on reactive measures or gut instinct. Success hinges on mastering three core elements:

  1. Cost—which now changes almost every minute;
  2. Competition—requiring anticipation of competitors' reactions to market changes;
  3. Customer value—which must be reassessed as buyer perceptions evolve rapidly during uncertain times.

Unfortunately, most companies focus only on cost, missing key opportunities on the competitive and value fronts. If a company lacks a dedicated pricing function, the CFO must personally take charge of this critical lever affecting financial health.

Protecting Profit Margins Under Pressure

Margin erosion is one of the most direct consequences of economic uncertainty. In recent years, material, labor, and transportation costs have risen sharply, yet companies often struggle to adjust pricing strategies quickly enough to keep pace. Delayed price adjustments, uncoordinated discount management, and ignoring customers' willingness to pay can all shrink profits—even in industries with relatively strong demand.

Consumer behavior amplifies these challenges. Research shows that pricing uncertainty often triggers hoarding behavior, accelerating shortages and intensifying inflationary pressures, ultimately harming both businesses and consumers. Therefore, clear communication about pricing changes is as important as the pricing decisions themselves.

For CFOs, the first step is to establish control over pricing decisions and bring financial rigor to the pricing process. Without a robust pricing strategy, companies either price too low and lose potential profits, or price too high and lose critical sales volume. CFOs must:

  • Identify misalignments between cost and pricing.Many companies still rely on outdated cost-plus pricing methods that fail to reflect changes in dynamic market conditions, competitive positioning, or customer value perception. CFOs need to drive the establishment of pricing models that respond dynamically to costs and demand.
  • Control discounting behavior.Sales teams, under revenue pressure, often resort to heavy discounting to close deals. CFOs must establish clear discount approval criteria to ensure price concessions do not erode already thin margins.
  • Manage cost-to-serve.When stagflation hits, customers will demand discounts to maintain their own margins. CFOs must prioritize adjusting business rules and monitoring the cost of serving customers.
  • Drive decisions with data.In uncertain times, pricing by intuition is no longer acceptable. CFOs must leverage data and analytics to assess price elasticity, uncover customers' willingness to pay, and identify underperforming segments.

With financial discipline, CFOs can turn pricing into a tool that protects profits rather than a threat that undermines them. Without a pricing team, the CFO is the pricing team.

Building Pricing Resilience to Counter Stagflation Risks

The risk of stagflation—a toxic combination of rising prices and stagnant growth—adds further urgency. Stagflation traps companies between cost pressures and slowing demand, making margin protection even more difficult. CFOs must act proactively to prepare for this scenario.

The key focus is pricing resilience: the ability to adjust prices quickly, efficiently, and strategically in response to cost changes and market fluctuations. Companies lacking dedicated pricing expertise often lack the systems, processes, and tools needed to act with the required speed and precision. CFOs must prioritize:

  • Establishing clear pricing governance.Set up a centralized pricing decision-making process rather than delegating it to individual sales teams or product managers.
  • Understanding customer value.Not all customers react the same way to price changes. CFOs must help the organization differentiate pricing strategies by segment, ensuring prices reflect customers' perceived value.

Leading the Pricing Strategy

CFOs may hesitate to get involved, feeling they lack pricing expertise. However, the traits that make CFOs effective—financial acumen, analytical rigor, and a focus on long-term value creation—are exactly the capabilities companies need to tackle pricing challenges in uncertain times.

If the organization lacks a pricing team, the CFO can take the lead in forming a cross-functional group, including finance, sales, and operations, to align pricing priorities. This group can serve as the foundation for a more mature pricing capability, focusing on data-driven decisions and financial discipline. In the short term, CFO leadership in pricing can protect margins and stabilize profitability; in the long term, it helps build a culture where pricing is seen as a strategic asset rather than a reactive tool.

This is not a temporary challenge. Given ongoing global tensions and supply chain restructuring, experts predict market turbulence will persist for the next 10 to 20 years. Companies that fail to adapt their pricing capabilities to the new reality may fall behind more agile competitors.

The Strategic Imperative of Pricing in Uncertain Times

In 2025, stagflation and economic uncertainty are not abstract risks but urgent challenges requiring decisive leadership. For CFOs, taking control of pricing is no longer optional.

In organizations lacking pricing expertise, the CFO's role is critical in protecting margins, navigating cost pressures, and ensuring the company's financial health. Companies that survive and thrive amid economic volatility will treat pricing as a strategic capability driven by data, financial discipline, and speed. CFOs must lead the way.