The CEO or Boardroom have demanded strategic thinking from what used to be a traditional financial stewardship role, this demand paired with the soaring ambition of CFOs have made for an incredible phenomenon across the corporate world. A finance transformation has occurred, an ascendancy if you will, of the CFO title and duty, and it is our chance as Finance Leaders to reshape and reform the function, features and Future of Finance. Forget the old image of a CFO shackled to spreadsheets—today's CFOs are power players in the boardroom, driving the company forward with innovative insights and strategic foresight.

·       Capitalising on the demand for strategic thinking from The Board and CEO and how to leverage the best out of new technologies

·       Assessing the skills needed to Lead in the Age of ‘New Finance’ and understanding how they can be developed earlier within the finance function

Using automation to our advantage: Paving the way for more complex and valuable work by automating traditional functions

Claude Sarfo

CFO
BBC, News and Current Affairs

See Bio

Most senior finance leaders are blind to a hard truth: their communications are failing. And as the new business partners on the block, we need to start strong and take communication seriously. But how do we improve? We need to get back to the basics by speaking to those on the ground and the frontlines of our organisations and engaging with them authentically. That means memos in local languages and becoming culturally aware of our colleagues abroad. Drawing from real-world examples and backed by recent studies, we'll expose the common pitfalls that render your messages ineffective and demonstrate how to turn the tide.

·       Demonstrating some shocking communication statistics: setting the context that you are not alone in the struggle for communication

·       Authentically communicating with a global team; exploring how local language can drive greater engagement

·       Making the Memo count – assessing how we as finance leaders go from spamming to making memos less frequent and far more impactful

Time to get up on our feet and meet the people in the room! Grab a Bingo Sheet and identify your own number. Then look out for the numbers in the room that will help you get 5 in a row and hit “Bingo!” Follow the instructions on your card for a chance to win a prize!

We all have good ideas that are executed poorly or even terrible ideas that are implemented excellently. Whatever the combination of foundational initiative and application we need to become comfortable with post-initiative analysis and see failures not as setbacks but as invaluable opportunities for growth and innovation. Embracing candid feedback and rigorous analysis, and using operational missteps as a catalyst for continuous improvement is a key skills that can make us more valuable business partners to our organisations.

·       Describing our debrief process, from scheduling the team meeting to the metrics we want to measure

·       Collaborating to make the best use of failure: How to find the silver linings, even out of catastrophe

Becoming a more resilient leader through post-initiative analysis and leveraging this skill to show the value of you as a leader

John Hall

Former Head of Finance at Bunzl and Co-Founder & COO of Triangular World
Future of Finance Chairperson

See Bio

Mike Finnegan

CFO, Canada & LATAM and Head of International Strategy Enablement
Vanguard

See Bio

Valentina Smirnova

Head of Finance Operations
AXA Partners

See Bio

During the financial crisis of 2008, many firms had an abundance of data but failed to predict the collapse due to overreliance on complex models and insufficient focus on key indicators. Despite the hype, Big Data is not the silver bullet for financial decision-making. In fact, the more data you have, the more likely you are to get lost in a sea of irrelevant information. It's time to rethink our approach: prioritise quality over quantity and harness the power of focused data insights. By implementing a data governance framework that ensures that the data collected is relevant, high-quality, and actionable, CFOs can get the data they need.

·       Understanding Data Quantity vs Data Quality: How quality makes sense for the finance leader of the future

·       Implementing a robust governance model to unlock data quality

·       Preventing Big Data Paralysis: Learning from the mistakes of taking on too much data 

Often tasked with crafting business cases that are comprehensive, persuasive, and foolproof, senior finance leaders are almost set up to fail with unrealistic expectations. The stark reality? Perfection is a mirage, and we must instead focus on what makes these business cases special in the first place. The data we use for business cases, no matter how well organised, will always have a degree of inaccuracy as inputs fail or as a human error goes undetected. But what you can control is the narrative, by focusing on continuous improvement rather than unattainable perfection, you can secure buy-in and drive your organization forward amidst uncertainty.

·       Outlining the impossible situation senior finance leaders are in, given too little time and expectations of perfection

·       Prioritising what makes the business case special in the first place – Grand Narrative, ROI, or Risk?

·       Exploring why communication with stakeholders over business case perfection is necessary

Huiming Chen

CFO, Europe Commercial
Illumina

See Bio

In just the last 5 years, organisations globally have had to deal with more extreme macroconditions that are impossible to predict. COVID-19, Suez blockages, the war in Ukraine, IT outages, power outages – the list goes on! And yet, as leaders who are shifting towards strategy over process, we hear very little insight or effort on how to deal with times of crises. And considering how we measure the effectiveness of leadership during crises in political, social, or military spheres, this surely means we need to translate this into the world of finance. By listening a collaborating with a diverse panel of leaders who have faced disaster we can help define the future of finance.

·       Discussing dilemmas: A brief introduction to the panellists and their leadership initiatives during a difficult time

·       Making the connections between disasters: Exploring the first steps a leader needs to take when being caught off guard

Planning for our future: Creating more resilient leaders and organisations

John Hall

Former Head of Finance at Bunzl and Co-Founder & COO of Triangular World
Future of Finance Chairperson

See Bio

Svitlana Dryhush

CFO
METRO Cash & Carry Ukraine

See Bio

Mohamed Meadawy

VP, Finance & Controlling - Emerging Markets
Groupe SEB

See Bio

Declan Stack

CFO, Europe
Kerry Group

See Bio

Always looking for that pot of gold for your organisation? Well, look no more! Follow the rainbow to our evening reception and grab your lucky four-leaf clover as we celebrate an early St. Patrick’s Day.