CPO & CSCO Hybrid Series - August Edition 2022

Overview

The collaboration of finance and procurement is significant, however the benefits can be realised when organisations align operational processes with business outcomes across sourcing, procurement, and payables with an intention to deliver measurable value.

The role of a CFO, CPO an CSCO in the current environment is one of the trickiest. Take from building a data driven finance culture to rapidly accelerating transformations and taking ownership for adopting intelligent automation.

And when we zoom in, choice of operating model and technologies, metrics and governance, data management, all make the integration between finance and procurement much easier.

During this edition of Sit-Down Series we get together to take a look at:

• Automation and digital transformation strategies

• Retraining the workforce: What gets in the way of enhancing capabilities

• Boosting efficiency and productivity across finance, supply chain and procurement

What we will cover

• Retraining the workforce Retraining the workforce: What gets in the way of enhancing capabilities
• Accelerating Transformation Driving innovation, streamlining automation processes
• Market Fluctuations Driving innovation, streamlining automation processes
• Boosting efficiency Effective ways to boost efficiency and create a flexible yet commercially viable supplier ecosystem?

Agenda

• 8:30 am Registration and 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 Evolve: Leadership and Communication Effectiveness for the Modern Business Leader(Plenary) Behavioural competencies are key to every business partnership role. A "seat at the table" must be earned. A stable and an effective business model requires the business leaders to wear multiple hats. What do you need to be a visible leader in the business, an excellent communicator, and an influencer. Without the essential leadership skills, certain key elements of a business transformation lacks value and credibility. Deep dive with Linda Scott as she outlines the need for effective communication to build rapport, relationships and contributions towards key business decisions. How do you build effective leadership behaviours to create high performance teams? What does a strategic leadership role look like post pandemic? How do you adopt a modernistic mindset and embrace change?
• 9:45 am The Cyber Resilient CFO – What are the top technology risks facing CFOs? Eftsure(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 Panel Discussion: The Macro Economic Update(Plenary) The risk of an economic downturn have increased within the next 12-18 months. This means that the next few months could see more downside in sharemarkets, until inflation moderates and the growth outlook stabilises. We remain more optimistic on Australian shares versus US or Europe because of the higher exposure to commodities in our sharemarket (which remain in an uptrend) and less tech shares (which tend to perform worse as interest rates/bond yields rise).
• 10:35 am Morning Tea & Networking Break(Plenary)
• 11:05 am Autonomous Finance: The Next Era of Finance Function(Plenary) The unprecedented last few months have forced financial leaders across the globe to rethink their strategies as the finance function's role in an organization is evolving to a data-driven strategic decision-making unit. It is now drifting from a “cost-saving” to a “value creation” model, and is evolving as a business unit responsible for creating a tangible impact on the organization. As per Workday’s latest CFO indicator survey, 57% of CFOs report they are now searching for AI and ML skills, and 40% of CFOs now prioritizing analytics and data storytelling skills to enrich finance's ability to act as a strategic business partner to the organization. With this changing tech landscape, digital transformation in the finance function is now being led by self-learning autonomous software powered by deep learning and artificial intelligence (AI). With functionalities like predictive analytics, process-specific actionable insights, and real-time visibility into KPIs, autonomous software is creating critical impacts in finance functions like order to cash. Along with crucial business gains, ranging from lower DSO to optimised working capital, autonomous technologies also help finance leaders make data-driven business decisions to future-proof their business and enable rapid top-line growth. Join us for an exclusive session, where Naveen Gupta, VP, Sales-APAC, takes you through the various ways in which HighRadius ensures your organization has a world-class autonomous finance function. During the session we discuss: The role of autonomous software in finance and its business impact on order to cash process functions. Digitally transforming A/R function to get real-time visibility of financial metrics on a single platform Using AI to improve key financial KPIs like cash collection, DSO, and FTE Productivity Expanding the scope of the finance function to improve customer experience and various other business ROIs Use cases for autonomous tech solving real-world finance problems in order to cash
• 11:25 am The Power of Inventory Optimisation(Plenary) It’s no longer business as usual for procurement. The scale and speed of transformation required to address market disruption is extraordinary. Many established businesses simply lack the talent on hand or the necessary organisational expertise, and this is forcing business to acknowledge that human capital requirements are also changing. With the human capital constraints sourcing and structuring the workforce has disrupted the previous models forcing organisations to reinvent the way they approach their workforce. What we are seeing now are new models for retraining and retaining, reimagining the knowledge and competencies required by procurement teams and fresh thinking that leads to building successful teams.
• 11:45 am Driving Change with the CEO- Unit4(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.
• 0:05 pm Accelerating Transformation: The Future of Digital Finance and What it Means for Your Organisation(Plenary) The Finance Department is at the core of every business. Finance professionals are increasingly becoming more involved in business decision making and with new developments in technology such as predictive analytics and automation, finance professionals are in a unique position to bring all departments of the business together, facilitate collaboration and support the business to become more agile and improve decision making. Join us in this session as Samantha Randall shares the future of digital finance and what it means for your organisation: The current business climates essential to driving finance transformation, integrating data and digital to operate on new levels The top challenges faced by the CFO and the finance team when setting out to redefine finance processes, and the steps towards streamlining them Business partnering – an essential for finance transformation and how to equip people with the necessary skills and technology to build relationships
• 0:25 pm Lunch Break & Networking Hour(Plenary)
• 1:25 pm Connecting the Dots: Accelerating Forecasting While Increasing Governance and Productivity(Plenary) EROAD, a fleet management solution and telematics company, were bogged down with manual monthly forecasting and budgeting process using excel. In this session key stakeholders from EROAD discuss the challenges they had on a day-to-day basis along with the increasing requirements for them to provide better visibility into the forecasting and planning process, improve efficiency and turnaround times, security and integrity of data, reduce the likelihood of errors commonly found in Excel and facilitate better analysis and reporting.
• 1:45 pm Will Cloud Accounting be a Game Changer for the Finance Function?(Plenary) The cloud has had a transformative impact and cloud accounting has picked up the pace and is impacting the business landscape with its obvious advantages. The critical elements in the finance technology is based on the decisions of what the business needs from their finance department, and CFOs must select the right tools to help them achieve their set objectives. The flexibility, agility and mobility that cloud offers can transform the way accounting services are being delivered. However, transformation is more than just digitising traditional processes, It also requires investments in the people managing the processes. Join Jon Blackburn as he shares his journey and challenges of transforming a finance function and what CFOs need to implement to maintain a balance.
• 2:05 pm The Green CFO of the Future(Plenary) As CFOs we need to understanding the long-term risks and opportunities of ESG and climate action, how we can be leaders and embrace the financial realities and act now to stay ahead of the competition. There is a lot of information out there so join us as we help explain the key priorities you need to support your business. Join us and hear from Thomson Reuters customers and industry experts to learn: • What does the ‘Green CFO’ of the future look like and how is this directly connected to essential demands of creating a more sustainable business. • The opportunities posed to the finance function of taking a leadership position in the development of ESG policies and frameworks. • How are investor and regulatory demands evolving and how can finance leaders keep with the pace? Key discussion points • Creating sustainable businesses • Development of ESG policies • Investor and regulatory demands
• 2:25 pm Afternoon Tea Break & Networking(Plenary)
• 2:55 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.
• 3:15 pm So You Think You’ve Done it All, What’s Next?(Plenary) Procurement is a critical business function tasked with saving costs, improving processes, enhancing procure to pay systems and mitigating supply chain risk. But what’s next for procurement when the lemon has been squeezed dry? Australian industry is littered with examples of restructuring and decentralising mature Procurement teams that have reached their sell-by date. But there’s a new pathway for enlightened procurement leaders that involves a reinvention of the team and a focus on higher value activity that can unlock a whole new raft of savings and process improvements called Supply Chain Consultancy. Uniting is a non-for-profit organisation with a surprisingly mature procurement function and a rather advanced one. With a long-term focus on improving business processes by introducing automation and techniques drawn from the consulting industry, Uniting is now focused on understanding each function’s upstream business processes to take cost out before it becomes a supply chain issue. During this session we get together with Chris Heptinstall of Uniting to look at the people, processes, systems and culture of his function and how he intends to transform Procurement before the cost saving lemon is squeezed dry. Join us as we discuss : • The importance of alignment of Procurement, and the business, • The future of procurement and what’s next for Uniting, • Speaking the board’s language to get buy in to an entirely new way of managing Procurement.
• 3:35 pm Evolve: Problem Solving & Lateral Thinking - Growing from Adversity(Plenary) What does a Global Pandemic and the loss of all four limbs have in common? In his light-hearted yet captivating take on adversity and pragmatism, Tom Nash elucidates the links between being forced to think differently to solve problems, and the lateral thinking methods involved in overcoming challenges. From overcoming the roadblocks of Path Dependency and Defensive Decision Making, to dividing and conquering problems creatively, identifying false assumptions and testing ideas that others don’t bother to. An uplifting discourse which takes solace from the knowledge that no matter what threats lurk on the horizon… we all have it within us to overcome them.
• 3:55 pm End of Day and Closing Remarks by Sit-Down(Plenary)
• 4:00 pm Cocktail Hour & Networking(Plenary)

Speakers

• Sam Randall · Chief Financial Officer, Accenture
• Chris Heptinstall · Head of Procurement, Uniting
• Linda Scott · Managing Director and Founder, Thinking Leaders I work with CEOs, business owners, executives and senior leadership teams to unlock their potential, achieve high performance, and fast track growth and results, for themselves and their businesses. I have worked in and for businesses as a finance executive for nearly 30 years. After a very successful career both locally and internationally, I founded Thinking Leaders to focus on leadership, career and business growth, decision making, time management, productivity, communication effectiveness, problem solving, increasing profits and results, and creating professional businesses to maximise monetisation value, through changing the way you think, behave and respond. A speaker and facilitator in the space of self-leadership and perspective, and how this impacts your environment and results, I teach strategies to help you understand that you have choice about your thinking, which in turn impacts how you respond and the results you create.
• 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.

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
• Tridant www.tridant.com.au
• 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.

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