For years, the relationship between marketing and finance teams has been framed as a clash of values: creativity vs. rigor, long-term brand building vs. short-term returns. But a new survey of almost 1,400 senior marketing and finance executives globally by Bain & Company and Google suggests the divide has been misunderstood.

In reality, finance groups are not uniquely anti-marketing. Rather, finance leaders scrutinize spending and goals broadly across the entire company because they are trained to challenge assumptions, validate evidence, and pressure test investment cases. Our research found that the two teams are much more aligned than commonly perceived on metrics of success (such as revenue) and investment horizons.

The real friction lies in data quality and how results are communicated and validated. The companies that solve these issues are building materially stronger cross-functional partnerships and, importantly, outperforming their peers on growth, confidence in making larger marketing investments, and even adoption of AI tools. A strong CMO–CFO relationship, our survey found, correlates with almost two times higher revenue growth than a weak one.

Marketing and finance already agree on the scoreboard

More than half of both marketing and finance executives surveyed agreed that demonstrating direct revenue impact is the single most important factor in strengthening marketing’s standing with finance (see Figure 1).

Figure 1

Moreover, the two groups are closely aligned on which metrics matter most: return on marketing investment and revenue impact as the top indicators of success (see Figure 2).

Figure 2

Also overstated is the parallel longstanding narrative that finance only values short-term performance while marketing advocates for long-term brand building. Our survey showed remarkable alignment in expected payback periods, with about 70% of each group expecting performance investments to pay back within months or quarters, and about 40% expecting brand investments to require a year or more to fully generate returns (see Figure 3).

Figure 3

Beyond this alignment, though, companies with strong CMO–CFO relationships are almost 1.5 times more likely to be leaders in their sectors. (We define leaders as having market share growth of at least 7% during the previous year, or market share growth at least 4% and revenue growth at least 11%. Laggards had declining market share or share growth below 3% and no revenue growth.)

What do these firms do differently? Our research identified three recurring factors that consistently distinguish high-functioning partnerships from weaker ones.

Radical transparency in data. Being explicit about what is and is not easily measurable, and sharing the approach, logic, underlying data, and outcomes on a regular basis, gives marketers more credibility with their finance counterparts. Companies with strong marketing–finance relationships are 2.5 times more likely to have more credible data, and they build trust by showing the numbers plainly, avoiding selective or exaggerated narratives and data points, and sharing failures alongside successes (see Figure 4).

Figure 4

With the spread of AI, firms have a new opportunity to bridge the gap and bring greater credibility to data. AI tools can improve access to real-time data and lead to better forecasting. Marketers are beginning to explore this opportunity. Some 19% of marketers surveyed have mature AI capabilities for analytics and insights, enabling them to improve data quality and demonstrate clear gains to finance.

Metrics locked before campaigns launch. Leaders establish a measurement framework shared by marketing and finance before budgets are allocated, reducing the frequency of downstream disputes over how to interpret performance. They lock metrics before campaigns begin and maintain consistency throughout evaluation. The opportunity to improve here is significant, as only 41% of marketers feel appropriately equipped with the right data, tools, and measurement capabilities to tie their performance to business outcomes.

Shared, realistic payback expectations. Leaders work to establish shared, realistic expectations for how quickly each campaign or channel is expected to generate returns. Especially for brand awareness campaigns, which are inherently long-term investments, they resist demanding quarterly proof (see Figure 5). Consistent expectations build trust over time and enable flexibility to define appropriate time horizons.

Figure 5

A new growth alliance

Leading organizations deliberately elevate the finance and marketing relationship from a transactional exchange to a genuine strategic partnership that’s anchored in joint accountability for shared outcomes. This stands in contrast to laggard organizations, where the relationship tends to remain tactical and siloed.

The big opportunity here is to forge a growth alliance, and the leaders demonstrate a clear path in that regard: align on metrics before campaigns launch, agree on realistic payback horizons, and use AI to maintain real-time transparency. When marketers consistently hit the targets they set with finance, they earn the freedom to pursue longer-horizon bets without revisiting the timeline each quarter. Short-term delivery becomes valuable currency. The best marketing organizations are spending it wisely with the backing of their finance partners.