Tariffs can have implications on finance, accounting, supply chain and risk functions.
Rather than reacting to headlines, CFOs must be agile and scenario-based in planning for tariffs.
Tariffs cause uncertainty but also create opportunities to modernize finance and build resilience.
Over the past few years, global trade policy has become an increasingly volatile variable in the corporate finance equation. With new or renewed U.S. tariffs (as well as reciprocal tariffs applied to U.S. goods exported to other countries) affecting everything from autos to metals, CFOs across industries must reassess how their finance functions operate—not just reactively but structurally.
While recent U.S. executive orders have imposed broad tariffs on imports from various countries in North America and abroad, it’s important to note that tariff implementation has at times been delayed, modified or reversed in response to evolving trade negotiations. CFOs should remain agile and scenario-based in their planning rather than reactive to political headlines alone. While it’s clear that the second Trump administration favors the use of tariffs as an economic and geopolitical tool, the policy landscape remains fluid and often subject to rapid shifts.
Some of the most critical impacts and implications of the tariffs on an organization’s finance, accounting, supply chain and risk functions include:
Tariffs directly affect the cost of imported raw materials and finished goods, causing a ripple effect on the cost of goods sold (COGS), inventory valuation and, ultimately, gross margin. Many businesses have implemented mitigation strategies that include bonded warehouses and/or utilization of free trade zones. These business model changes could also affect the cost profile of shipped goods as well as working capital requirements. Finance teams must revisit standard cost models, refine pricing assumptions and often redefine what profitability looks like across SKUs or product lines.
The influence of tariffs often crosses the materiality threshold for financial disclosures. Public companies, in particular, are expected to quantify and explain these impacts in the management discussion and analysis section of filings, including outlining future risks and mitigation strategies. For firms with global supply chains, advising finance teams to invest in scenario-based earnings models that reflect various tariff levels, country-of-origin shifts and supplier cost pass-throughs is paramount.
Additionally, if tariff disputes are ongoing or being challenged, companies may need to assess the need for contingent liability disclosures or potential impairment reviews.
What was once the domain of operations or procurement is now a joint discussion between operations and finance and accounting. Strategic decisions like reshoring, supplier diversification or moving to tariff-exempt jurisdictions require deep financial modeling—including net present value, internal rate of return and scenario planning—to assess the long-term cost-benefit of alternative sourcing options.
“We generally see an approach deployed where organizations are first determining their exposure to changes or potential changes in tariffs and then prioritizing their efforts to validate Harmonized Tariff Schedule codes, determining where a first-sale rule may help mitigate costs and then determining where they might be able to utilize bonded warehouses to defer tariffs during this disruptive period—in hopes of tariffs getting resolved soon,” says Casey Chapman, RSM US principal, and operations and supply chain leader, and national consumer products consulting leader.
“We are also starting to see some level of effort around identifying alternative domestic suppliers that did not make sense previously but may make sense now.”
Finance and operations are being asked not just to react to tariffs—but also to colead the conversation on how to turn these challenges into competitive advantages.
We are also starting to see some level of effort around identifying alternative domestic suppliers that did not make sense previously but may make sense now.
Many multinationals are navigating complex intercompany transactions that span tariff-affected jurisdictions. Changes in import duties often require updates to transfer pricing policies, customs valuations and related-party agreements to ensure tax compliance and avoid double taxation.
For CFOs, this is a critical area where tax, legal and finance need to be aligned. Conducting proactive diagnostics of transfer pricing frameworks, especially in industries where margins are thin and transaction volumes are high, is paramount to ensuring strategies are sound and operational.
Tariffs rarely arrive in isolation—they’re part of a broader macroeconomic and political landscape. CFOs must ensure their organizations prepare for continued volatility by enhancing hedging strategies, embedding tariff assumptions into budgeting and developing contingency plans for sudden changes in trade policy.
Leading finance organizations are now embedding tariff risk directly into their enterprise risk management (ERM) frameworks and using real-time analytics to monitor exposure.
With increased scrutiny from customs and tax authorities, companies must bolster compliance and internal controls related to trade flows, product classification and valuation. Finance teams need to collaborate more closely with legal and logistics functions to ensure accurate customs reporting and explore options such as Foreign Trade Zones, bonded warehouses or duty drawback programs.
Tariff-driven process changes may also trigger updates to Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX)-compliant controls—especially for inventory, procurement and revenue recognition.
“Rising tariffs can affect an organization's risk profile in various ways,” says Anne Slattery, RSM US partner and national energy consulting leader. “Typically, companies prioritize addressing the processes most immediately impacted. Key areas for analysis and adjustment include contracting, sourcing strategy, pricing models and inventory management.
“As these processes are revamped, it is crucial to understand and accommodate the related internal controls,” she continues. “Considerations include proper approval of suppliers, analysis of how pricing changes will affect the forecast, implications related to changes in contract terms, especially around revenue recognition, and more. As organizations respond to policy changes, maintaining a focus on risk management is essential to navigate increased costs and operational challenges.”
For finance leaders navigating this landscape, one truth stands out: Tariffs are not just a cost issue—but a catalyst for transformation. And the ripple effects touch every part of the finance operating model.
Rising tariffs can affect an organization's risk profile in various ways.
Tariffs add layers of complexity to core processes like cost accounting, forecasting and budgeting. Margins shift quickly. COGS needs constant recalibration. Forecasting moves from quarterly to continuous. Scenario planning is no longer optional—it’s becoming a critical capability for forward-looking finance teams.
Finance teams are being asked to partner more closely with procurement, operations and the supply chain to build flexible models that absorb and respond to cost volatility.
“As tariffs and macroeconomic conditions evolve, CFOs, especially those in the manufacturing sector, must build capabilities that provide real-time visibility into working capital and financial performance in general,” says Chris Zheng, RSM US principal and national consulting manufacturing leader. “These insights are essential not only to forecast impacts on cash flow, profitability and capital needs but to enable agile decision making and support business strategy. In today’s environment, this perspective isn’t optional—it’s critical for survival."
As tariffs and macroeconomic conditions evolve, CFOs, especially those in the manufacturing sector, must build capabilities that provide real-time visibility into working capital and financial performance in general.
New tariffs often mean new trade classifications, updated supplier agreements and different landed cost assumptions. All of these have implications for internal controls, particularly those related to inventory, procurement and financial reporting.
Companies need to ensure their SOX/internal controls frameworks are updated accordingly. In some cases, companies are introducing entirely new controls to handle increased customs scrutiny and trade compliance complexity.
Tariffs expose the gaps in traditional enterprise resource planning setups and legacy financial planning and analysis tools. Most systems weren’t designed to track and report costs by country of origin, supplier-specific duty rates or real-time customs valuations.
Forward-thinking CFOs are now investing in data lakes, analytics tools and AI-driven modeling to monitor tariff exposure, run what-if scenarios and make faster, better-informed decisions.
“The implementation of tariffs is affecting organizations in multiple ways, including their ability to model the impact of tariffs within existing financial systems,” says David Brassor, RSM Canada managing director and technology advisory leader. “As organizations look to create a path forward, opportunities exist to better leverage data across financial and other systems to more effectively model the overall impact to organizations, utilizing capabilities such as AI to perform scenario modeling.”
Brassor also detailed another area where organizations can take advantage of the tariff environment. “Companies should also take this opportunity to develop an overall IT strategy with a focus on infrastructure and application rationalization, reducing operational costs and complexity of IT service delivery,” he says.
As organizations look to create a path forward, opportunities exist to better leverage data across financial and other systems to more effectively model the overall impact to organizations, utilizing capabilities such as AI to perform scenario modeling.
New KPIs are emerging to track how well companies are navigating the cost complexity introduced by tariffs—and how well they’re recovering margin through pricing or sourcing strategies.
This new level of operational complexity requires a new model of finance delivery. Tariffs demand cross-functional alignment, so more finance departments are implementing centralized centers of excellence, focusing on global trade compliance, tax strategy and sourcing analytics.
The office of the CFO is becoming a strategic orchestrator—bringing together teams from tax, legal, supply chain and finance operations to drive coordinated responses to trade disruption.
Yes, tariffs introduce uncertainty. But they also present an opportunity to modernize finance, build resilience and position the CFO as a driver of strategic agility.
The question isn’t just how to absorb the cost. The question is also: How do we use this disruption to reimagine the way finance delivers value?
If your organization is facing tariff-related pressure and you're looking to evolve your finance model, we’d love to connect and share our thoughts and perspectives.
For organizations seeking greater clarity on how tariffs affect their cost base, tax structure and compliance risk, solutions like RSM’s Trade Profiler and TradeCOR methodology can provide tailored insights to support planning and compliance.
