How to Secure CFO Buy-In for CTEM Projects: 9 Tips

If you remember my last blog here, we covered the 9 reasons that Continuous Threat Exposure Management CTEM needs to be on your 2025 budget. 

Now that you know the WHY part of the equation, let’s focus on the HOW. In this blog, we’ll cover how to get your CFO on board with your CTEM plans. With the 2025 budgeting process in high gear, getting the attention of the CFO can be challenging and CTEM projects can be a tough sell for CFOs. Like any cybersecurity investment, CTEM projects are harder to quantify and don’t clearly drive revenues or cut costs. Moreover, CTEM investments inevitably end up competing with other business priorities that offer quicker or more tangible results. Therefore, you need to arm yourself with all the tips and best practices you can get before broaching the topic.

In this blog I’ll walk you through 9 tips you can leverage to help your CFO understand the deep and wide value of implementing a CTEM program. 

Understanding CFO Concerns: The Financial Perspective on CTEM Projects

To understand CFO concerns around CTEM projects, you have to recognize their priorities. 

CFOs are tasked with ensuring financial stability, meaning, anything that could disrupt the revenue stream is a risk that must be managed. Among all the risks a CFO manages, cyber risks are the most likely to be realized — so they naturally prioritize investments that show a clear return. CTEM (and cybersecurity in general) is focused on preventing threats — meaning its value lies in what does not happen, specifically disruptions to your revenue stream. 

To effectively make the case about CTEM helping to avoid business disruption, you need to be able to frame CTEM in business terms — highlighting the financial risks of not investing and emphasizing the long-term cost savings from preventing breaches and disruptions.

Why Investing in CTEM Now Pays Off for the Entire Business

Here’s the logical argument for prioritizing investment in CTEM:

Everyone recognizes that a reactive approach to cybersecurity is no longer sufficient. CTEM offers a proactive way to identify vulnerabilities and strengthen our defenses, which translates into significant cost avoidance over time.

Why is this? First, by investing in CTEM, we reduce the risk of financial losses due to data breaches, regulatory penalties, and legal liabilities. Second, a successful preventative strategy eliminates the steep costs associated with post-attack recovery—forensic investigations, public relations crisis management, system restoration, you name it. Each of these costs alone can easily exceed the upfront costs of implementing a CTEM program.

What’s more, a more robust CTEM-based cybersecurity posture ensures that critical systems remain operational and secure. This minimizes disruptions that could affect productivity, degrade revenue streams or even endanger business continuity. So, CTEM not only benefits the security team but the entire organization—and indeed the brand itself—by maintaining stability and trust with customers, partners, and stakeholders.

Finally, beyond immediate risk management, CTEM is future-proof. It continuously evolves alongside emerging threats. This means that our organization will always be prepared for new challenges and exposures. In a very real way, investing in CTEM today lays the groundwork for sustainable business growth.

That’s the argument. But how do you sell it to your CFO? Read on for some concrete and actionable tips.

9 Tips to Secure CFO Buy-In for CTEM Projects

1. Frame It Around Risk, Not Just Threats  

Position CTEM tools as a way to manage overall business risk, not just as a response to specific cyber threats. Show how it aligns with protecting key business goals rather than just isolated assets.

2. Leverage Industry Trends  

Show your CFO what competitors and industry leaders are doing. Highlight how others in your sector are adopting similar measures to stay ahead of threats, making the case that your business needs to keep pace.

3. Use Industry Incidents as Proof  

Point to recent incidents affecting similar organizations to demonstrate the potential consequences of neglecting CTEM. Real-world examples can underline the urgency and relevance of the project.

4. Prove Your Current Tools Are Working  

Before asking for more resources, ensure your current cybersecurity tools are properly configured and delivering results. Show how the new initiative builds on or complements your existing capabilities.

5. Account for Human Resources  

A CTEM program requires skilled personnel. Whether you’re proposing in-house training or outsourcing to a Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP), ensure you have a plan for staffing and skill development.

6. Use Internal Data  

Support your case with in-house data on past threats and their impact. This makes your proposal more credible and relevant, tying it directly to your organization’s specific needs.

7. Present Clear Implementation Plans  

Provide a detailed timeline for implementation and results. Define clear success metrics and explain how long it will take to see a return on the investment.

8. Highlight Cost-Saving Opportunities  

Show how CTEM can save the organization money by lowering the risk of penalties, reducing IT workload, or potentially lowering cyber insurance premiums.

9. Compare Solutions  

Research multiple solutions and compare features and pricing. Whether the option you choose is more expensive or cheaper, be ready to justify why it’s the best fit for your company’s needs.

These tips will help you build a strong, data-driven case for CTEM that resonates with your CFO’s financial concerns and priorities.

It’s Already Time to Think About 2025 Budgets

With 2025 just around the corner, now is the perfect time to get to work on securing CFO buy-in for CTEM. The cyber threat landscape is evolving. Businesses that delay investment in proactive security measures risk falling behind. Waiting until next year to act could expose your organization to avoidable risks. By starting now, you’ll be well-positioned to protect your company in 2025 and beyond, avoiding the financial and reputational damage that comes with breaches.

Moreover, building a solid case for CTEM now, highlighting risk reduction, industry trends, and potential cost savings, allows you to capitalize on the momentum of awareness and sensitivity to cyber threats. CFOs appreciate data-backed, proactive plans that align with business goals. By staying ahead of the curve, you can secure the budget needed to future-proof your cybersecurity strategy.

The Bottom Line

Securing CFO buy-in for CTEM projects requires translating technical security priorities into clear business value. CFOs focus on risk management and financial stability, so the key to winning approval is presenting CTEM as a strategic investment in risk mitigation and improved business resilience. Successful CTEM advocacy lies in showing that it’s not just about preventing loss, but about creating resilience and trust.

By aligning CTEM with the organization’s broader goals—reducing the risk of costly breaches, ensuring business continuity, and maintaining competitive advantage—you shift the conversation from “why spend on cybersecurity” to “how does this investment protect and grow the business.” Successful CTEM advocacy lies in showing the CFO that it’s not just about preventing loss, but about creating resilience and trust—essential ingredients for sustainable growth.