CPO & CSCO ANZ Hybrid Series - September Edition 2022

Overview

Whether you’re a leader, your people need your support to foster a culture of curiosity, sharing, iteration and continuous improvement. To boost innovation and optimisation in the workplace, we not only have to look at the culture of innovation but we also have to put equal importance on the culture of optimisation.

And given the current climate and the past 2 years it's more important than ever to look at our strategies as CFOs, CPOs and CSCOs to ensure optimum business outcomes and organisational objectives.

Join us as we take a look at:

The synergies between Finance, Procurement, Supply Chain and IT teams and how we can enable and optimise IT Costs and implementations

The Backoffice leaders' crucial rule in carrying out digital transformation

Defining what trusted teams in procurement and supply chain look like with agility and flexibility in mind

How to become adversity quotient (IQ+EQ+AQ)

Strategies to help leaders survive and thrive despite of change resistance

Creating a path of purpose, empathy and growth to increase innovative contribution

What to expect

• Speakers 20+
• Live Interactions 1:1
• End User:Vendor 20:1
• Sessions 20+
• Attendees 200+

What we will cover

• Building Agility Across Procurement and Supply Chain Teams Defining what trusted teams look like with agility and flexibility in mind
• The Power Of EQ How to become adversity quotient (IQ+EQ+AQ)
• The BackOffice Leaders' Crucial Rule in Carrying out Digital Transformation Strategies for leaders to fast rack digital transformation with cost optimisation in mind
• Developing Empathy Skills Creating a path of purpose, empathy and growth to increase innovative contribution

Agenda

• 8:30 am Registration & Welcome Coffee(Plenary)
• 9:00 am Welcome Address & Introduction by Sit-Down(Plenary)
• 9:05 am Leveraging Process Automation to Transform Financial Operations(Plenary) Attend this session to explore insights around governance, risk and compliance, including: What technology & architecture can help drive your business processes A risk temperature check and support for finance leaders to determine better ways to consider and manage risk Cost vs efficiency insights to help your organisation
• 9:25 am How Modern CPOs & CFOs are Driving Efficiencies and Maximising Impact(Plenary) The expectations of a CPO & CFO is more of an architect in leading enterprises and they are widely responsible for driving efficiencies in transforming the finance function. The key focus is prioritising automation largely driven by AI, Blockchain and advanced accounting software. Along with the adoption of smart technology the finance and supply chain leaders must maximise their efforts into aligning their digital growth with relevant people transformation efforts, while also managing macro-economic pressures such as rising inflation, supply chain problems and a tightening labour market among other things. Navigating these challenges requires finance and procurement leaders to offer real-time, predictive and accurate insights that can help their organisations make the right decisions without compromising on profitability. In this Session, Lana Hudson will share her insights on: How leaders today run finance and procurement teams that are equipped with the right tools and technologies that can help create value and deliver on their organisation’s technology roadmap. Winning strategies for mitigating risks and enhancing profitability under current market conditions Accelerating impact by cultivating a growth mindset within the finance function.
• 9:45 am The Cyber Resilient CFO – 10 Misconceptions about Cyber-Crime(Plenary) CFOs have long been trusted custodians of an organisation’s funds. However, in an age of rapid digital transformation, cybercrime is now one of the biggest threats facing CFOs with the potential to cripple, not only financially, but also reputationally. What was once considered an “IT issue” now falls firmly under the remit of the Finance Chief and CFOs need to be very aware of the risks and prepared for these attacks. This eye-opening session will explore the Australian Cybercrime landscape – What are the latest threats, why are CFOs and finance teams being targeted and what should CFOs be doing now to protect themselves and their organisations.
• 10:05 am Evolve: Get in The Go Zone(Plenary) How do you mix sustainable peak performance with resilience, recovery and having fun to optimise your day and outperform your competition? By getting into the Go Zone! Go Zones are periods of total focus without excuses or distractions working on todays key tasks. Slow Zones are longer periods of still productive but less stressful endeavour and No Zones are guilt free recovery periods outside of work hours. Having the ability to ’switch gears’ or Zones is crucial to be at your best when you need to without wearing yourself and others out in the process. Learn how to identify which Zone you are in, which zone you should be in and how to make the change. Increase productivity, reduce stress, build resilience, protect mental health.
• 10:25 am Morning Tea & Networking Break(Plenary)
• 10:55 am Driving Change with the CEO(Plenary) .The role of the CFO has evolved as technology continues to drive efficiency and insight across every part of the organisation. This has lifted the demands on finance teams to from a reporting and compliance focus to strategic decision making and scenario planning. In this session we will have a look through what are some of the key elements a finance team should be addressing to drive a far productive partnerships across the organisation.
• 11:15 am The Digital Transformation Pit Crew(Plenary) Digital transformation and innovation is the “Formula 1” frontier that many are seeking, but behind the tech, there is always the people! They are the key determinant to the processes, systems and speed of change. In this session, Fi will give a behind the scenes view on how the William Buck team has: Approached their transformation Learned from their attempts, wins and challenges Built up the “Pit Crew” skills and fitness Drove their success goals
• 11:35 am Finance and Supply Chain Operational Integration(Plenary) Without doubt, we are now in a period of significant uncertainty and change that impacts how we plan, source, produce, move, and deliver across our finance and supply chain functions. As leader become increasingly responsible for successfully empowering a connected, cross-functional organisation, they do so by enabling the right data-driven decisions to occur in real-time, proactively, and systematically to grow revenue, improve margins, optimise resources, and manage risk. Developing resilience and agility is a critical enabler for adapting to the unexpected, the unprecedented, and as yet unseen impacts to finance and supply chain planning. Join Dr Crispin Dobson as he leverages over 30 years in supply chain management to illustrate how organisations can shift from ‘what we’ve always done’ to driving insights across into designing a fit-for-purpose supply chain.
• 11:55 am Lunch Hour & Networking Break(Plenary)
• 0:55 pm Digital can be More Adoptable and Adaptable(Plenary) Post the roller coaster ride from the the past two turbulent years, the top concerns for a CFO are Digital Transformation and Automation, supply chain disruptions and employee retention to name a few. While CFOs are prioritising their investment into building a robust digital infrastructure, they play an equally vital role in leading a business from a commercial standpoint. A host of emerging technologies such as ML, AI, Data application have reemerged in a dramatic way and how businesses adapt to these trends will determine the lasting effects of a company’s overall performance. In this session Peter Vaughan takes us on a journey where he shares: How to leverage the finance leaders responsibilities to include technology transformations. Deep understanding of the CFO leadership role for value creation Evaluating a data and technology driven culture
• 1:15 pm The Role of Technology in Cost Control and Sustainability Planning - SAP Concur(Plenary) Spend management and ESG compliance have become increasingly important priorities for CFOs in 2022. In addition to managing cash flow and liquidity, many finance leaders are right now peering into the future to identify the foundational investments that will need to be made to equip the finance organisation with the talent, technology and operational capabilities needed to support growth and sustainability plans Boards and C-suites have witnessed digital leaders weather the pandemic with significantly greater resilience, speed and efficacy. In this session we talk about: how technology can help build sustainability, compliance and efficiencies into your business how Finance leaders can use automated processes to detect and manage indirect spend and support cash flow why organisations need to be listening to their employees (we will share some very interesting results from a recent SAP Concur sustainability survey) and why finance needs to take the lead to drive sustainability action, fast.
• 1:35 pm Making Digital Transformation Work for Procurement(Plenary) As digital trends disrupt the supply chain, business leaders are being forced to rethink their traditional operating models. Armed with automation, advanced analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI), procurement will be empowered to manage more complex categories to unlock new areas of value, while keeping downstream transactional activities seamless and efficient. Surviving in the digital reality will require procurement to move beyond bottom-line efficiency by embracing digital and transforming the supply chain to become a valuable strategic business partner. Armed with automation, advanced analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI), procurement will be empowered to manage more complex categories to unlock new areas of value, while keeping downstream transactional activities seamless and efficient. Join Brad West in this session as he unlocks the digital transformation journeys.
• 1:55 pm Driving Digital Transformation: How Financial Software Optimises Your Close(Plenary) The heightened need for software solutions to connect employees and departments over the last year has resulted in a new level of acceptance and expectation for digitization across every aspect of an organization. For finance teams specifically, digital transformation is no longer an aspirational goal but instead is a requirement to building resilience and effectively supporting the wider business. What is needed is financial software that is flexible enough to accommodate ever changing requirements— a solution that allows CFOs and Controllers to track what their team is working on, what the status of those tasks are, and enables real-time visibility and access to documentation and commentary during the entire close cycle.
• 2:15 pm Afternoon Break & Networking(Plenary)
• 2:45 pm A Growth Mindset is needed for Finance to adopt new Trends and resolve Challenges(Plenary) In the new world, post covid, the Finance organisation is facing an environment of even more changes and challenges than they did pre covid. This means the Finance organisation culture, in most cases, must change to a Growth mindset. By changing the culture, Finance will be able to adopt new trends quickly and can resolve challenges promptly. In this presentation we will discuss what a Growth mindset is and how this can be incorporated into the Finance culture before discussing the trends and challenges that finance need to incorporate/ resolve to ensure Finance becomes the Trusted Business Advisor.
• 3:05 pm Leveraging Technology to Minimise Risk and Make Compliance Easier(Plenary) Managing risk is one of the most important concern for procurement and supply chain management. The Intelligent use of data in combination with external market information, can considerably advance your business’ ability to plan for and mitigate market risks, pricing volatility and operating in a fragmented marketplace, especially in the current unstable global economic climate. The good news is that technologies have advanced where they can play a critical role in helping supply chain, procurement, sustainability, marketing, risk management, and finance teams improve how they prevent, identify, score, and monitor risks in their supply chains. Join Vince in this session as he shares his insights on the emerging technologies that can assist the department to reduce risk and enhance compliance.
• 3:25 pm Defining What Trusted Teams in Procurement And Supply Chain Look Like With Agility and Flexibility in Mind(Plenary) Flexible work comes with many benefits, but it can pose a challenge when it comes to team collaboration and building trust within key stakeholders. This particularly becomes more challenging when we look at working with procurement teams around the globe dealing with multiple stakeholders. In this session, we will cover a new way of thinking of procurement in ways that involve a focus on creating resilient multi-relational networks rather than linear supply chains.
• 3:45 pm Truly Defining Success Across the Business and Building Winning Teams to Get There(Plenary) It’s no secret that the success of any organisation is defined by the culture, teams and the individuals of that organisation. It’s also no secret building winning teams and having the skillsets in the right places is easier said than done. After all, how do you actually begin a journey of revamping your teams? And furthermore, how do you do that not just in one function but across the entire organisation? In this session we take a look at defining success with customer experience and growth in mind and reverse engineering a journey to build the right capabilities that can set you up for success. Join us as we get together with Chris Kennedy, the CFO of ITW, as we dive deep into an ongoing transformational journey one year in. Redefining success with CX and future readiness in mind Building winning teams based on hard and soft skills required Building capabilities by Developing the right external and internal partnerships
• 4:05 pm End of Day and Closing Remarks by Sit-Down(Plenary)
• 4:10 pm Cocktail Hour & Networking(Plenary)

Speakers

• Peter Vaughan · CFO, Nature One Dairy I'm passionate about supporting high-growth, rapidly expanding technology companies, their management teams and founders. I'm often the trusted advisor and partner of the CEO's I've worked with to support them to excell and succeed in their role.
• Vince Lombardi · CFO, Nillumbik Shire Council Senior lead with broad experience in commercial and public environments in Australia and internationally. I actively provide strategic insights at the Executive level with a view of driving commercially viable solutions while considering long term sustainability. I have successfully managed the full corporate services function including Finance, IT, HR, Organisational Performance, Procurement, Strategic risk, Customer Service and Insurance portfolios reporting directly to the audit committee and board. My approach is underpinned by transparency and anticipating organisational and industry change. My experience extends to influencing organisational culture, leading strategic change and transformation projects. I thrive in leading teams and identifying methods of building capacity to achieve organisational goals.
• Gavin Levinsohn · Chief Growth Officer, eftsure After post-graduate studies in finance, Gavin spent 21 years in marketing communications leading businesses for global communication groups WPP and Publicis. In 2018, he reconnected with his long-held passion for all things digital and joined Eftsure where he is Chief Growth Officer.
• James O'Reilly · Head of Sales - APAC, Unit4 James Oreilly is the Head of of Sales for Unit4 APAC. In a career spanning over 30 years in IT, Telco, and F&B, he has driven enterprise-wide change with leading IT platforms including Unit4, Dynamics, SAP, Oracle, and Salesforce. His passion for IT stems from his ability to transform business operations allowing businesses and employees to thrive without bureaucratic burden. Prior to returning to Australia in 2022 James was based in Singapore for 14 years working at Lenovo, Hewlett Packard Enterprise & Unit4 covering a variety of sales, strategy and operational roles, including coverage of key supply chain issues. He graduated with an MBA from London Business School and Bachelor of Business from UTS.
• Ralph Stein · Finance Transformation Consultant, Wolters Kluwer I am currently a Financial Transformation Consultant and AP ESG SME at CCH Tagetik, specializing in the Planning and Consolidation, Supply Chain Planning and ESG reporting areas.
• Crispin Dobson · Principal Consultant Supply Chain, Cornerstone PM
• Barry Cairns · Solutions Engineer, Nintex Barry Cairns is a process automation consultant and solution engineer at Nintex, the global standard for process management and automation. He has over 15 years’ experience implementing initiatives related to digital transformation projects. Including, continuous improvement, change management and system integration across industries. Barry is passionate on helping customers bring to life their automation strategies through revamping outdated, often paper-based processes with workflow and robotic process automation.

Partners

• Anaplan Anaplan, Inc. (NYSE: PLAN) is a cloud-native enterprise SaaS company that enables enterprises to orchestrate business performance. Based in San Francisco, Anaplan has over 20 offices globally, 175 partners and 1,600+ customers worldwide. Business leaders rely on our platform to connect supply chain, finance, workforce planning, sales & marketing teams, systems, and insights from across their organisations to continuously adapt to change, and transform how they operate, create, and accelerate business success. At Anaplan we challenge legacy thinking and software that isn’t flexible for the modern organisation. We put our customers first to create heroes, unlock potential, build trust and confidence. We have architected the only platform offering that will take the time from planning to decision to zero. Together with an ever-growing number of users, a rich partner ecosystem and an active community, we all work together to deliver business value with the power of Connected Planning at every level within in every organisation. To learn more, visit anaplan.com
• Cornerstone PM Cornerstone Performance Management was founded in 2007 with the primary mission to help our customers become data-driven and make the best use of their data assets. We have achieved this by gathering together world-class leading experts in their field with the drive and determination to use innovative solutions to execute digital transformations. This mission has seen our organisation grow to deliver ongoing value to our customers and become one of the leading Data Analytics consulting businesses in Australia. In 2016, Cornerstone Performance Management and PMsquare merged their Australian and Asian businesses. The Australian business operates under the Cornerstone brand, whilst the Asian region continues to operate under PMsquare. The combined entities of the Cornerstone Group are the largest Data Analytics focused consultancy in the Asia-Pacific market, with a talented and experienced team delivering Data Analytics solutions.

More events from this host

• Canva Melbourne Roundtable August 2026, Melbourne
• AI Systems Scale August 2026
• Agentic Brand Control August 2026, The Rocks
• Modern Govt Day September 2026, Canberra
• CTO Day | Melbourne September 2026, Southbank
• Beyond The Data Centre: Building Government At The Edge September 2026, Canberra
• Executive Confidence in Identity and Security September 2026, Chicago
• Secure Scalable Ecosystems September 2026, Sydney