
Sit-Down | CFO | CPO | CSCO | August 2023 | Sydney
Tackling the Economic and Geopolitical Uncertainties Impacting Business
The Crown Towers, Sydney
Hosted by Factor
- 100 attendees
- 29700 hours
Overview
Digital transformation, economic uncertainty, and political tensions have led to considerable disruption and change. This year, the top challenges for CFOs include managing the risk of a recession, navigating inflation, and delivering successful digital transformation projects.
There are also issues with acquiring and retaining top talent and remaining agile, proactive, and forward-thinking.
What we will cover
- Navigating your business through economic uncertainty A deep dive into the key priorities for finance. At the same time, managing business risk, and cyber-security.
- Managing cashflow during soaring prices and interest rate hikes Managing and navigating the cash flow during volatility, and future-proofing your business against interest rate hikes.
- Taking the next step to finance transformation Ensuring the function is modernised and capable of taking on the organisational challenges that lie ahead.
- Cracking the code on intelligent financial planning Creating an agile finance function as markets evolve and change. How finance delivers against unprecedented pressures.
Agenda
- REGISTRATION & DELEGATE ARRIVAL(CFO Sit-Down)
- REGISTRATION & DELEGATE ARRIVAL(CPO-CSCO Sit-Down)
- Welcome Address(CFO Sit-Down)
- Welcome address(CPO-CSCO Sit-Down)
- AI: Process Transformation(CFO Sit-Down) AI plays a significant role in operation centres, particularly in finance functions, as more businesses adopt various AI-powered tools to enhance efficiencies and improve cost savings. Discover insights into how AI will manage practical uses for operational centres.
- AI: Process Transformation(CPO-CSCO Sit-Down) AI plays a significant role in operation centres, particularly in finance functions, as more businesses adopt various AI-powered tools to enhance efficiencies and improve cost savings. Discover insights into how AI will manage practical uses for operational centres.
- Pushing the boundaries of commercial innovation(CFO Sit-Down) • Delivering best-in-class products and services • Expanding the boundaries for R&D and commercial partnerships • Redefining the playing field for innovation Healthcare company Sanofi employs around 100,000 people in 100 countries, with a global network of close to 70 manufacturing and 20 research and development (R&D) sites. Its Australian arm has 650 staff who work on a diverse array of therapeutic projects from vaccines to rare diseases.
- Keynote: Pushing the boundaries of commercial innovation(CPO-CSCO Sit-Down) • Delivering best-in-class products and services • Expanding the boundaries for R&D and commercial partnerships • Redefining the playing field for innovation Healthcare company Sanofi employs around 100,000 people in 100 countries, with a global network of close to 70 manufacturing and 20 research and development (R&D) sites. Its Australian arm has 650 staff who work on a diverse array of therapeutic projects from vaccines to rare diseases.
- Future-Proofing Finance through Connected Reporting(CFO Sit-Down) Organisations today are stretched from a time and human capital perspective. As the architect of business transformation, how can CFOs use technology to automate the mundane and allow their teams to use their skills and experience to drive strategic value for their businesses? Here, we invite CFOs to hear how your teams can deliver timely and accurate, board-trusted data across financial, management and sustainability reporting.
- Future-Proofing Finance through Connected Reporting(CPO-CSCO Sit-Down) Organisations today are stretched from a time and human capital perspective. As the architect of business transformation, how can CFOs use technology to automate the mundane and allow their teams to use their skills and experience to drive strategic value for their businesses? Here, we invite CFOs to hear how your teams can deliver timely and accurate, board-trusted data across financial, management and sustainability reporting.
- NETWORKING MORNING TEA BREAK(CFO Sit-Down)
- NETWORKING MORNING TEA BREAK(CPO-CSCO Sit-Down)
- Maintaining financial Control in a zero-trust world.(CFO Sit-Down) Cybercrime and payments fraud has exploded over the past few years. Now, the rapid emergence of AI, deep-fakery and the increasing virtualisation and velocity of business makes it even harder to determine what can be trusted. Gavin Levinsohn, Chief Growth Officer of Eftsure will share observations, insights and advice on how to maintain your financial controls in an era where nothing can be trusted. Key highlights: How AI is enabling a new frontier of cyber-crime and frauds, and business email compromise (BEC) attacks How deepfake technology is changing our understanding of evidence and truth How each sector including government, the banks and the private sector are fighting back The strengths and limitations of various approaches and technologies How to maintain financial and payment control in this new era
- Panel :"Transforming Supply Chain Planning for Resilience and Recovery: Insights from the Australian Market"(CPO-CSCO Sit-Down) This panel discussion aims to explore the transformation of supply chain planning strategies in the Australian market, focusing on building resilience and fostering recovery. Experts will share valuable insights on innovative approaches and best practices that can lead to optimised supply chain planning. The discussion will centre around digitalisation, collaboration, and sustainability as key drivers for revitalising supply chains and driving economic recovery in the Australian context. Key Points: Evolving supply chain planning strategies for resilience in the Australian market. Leveraging digitalisation and advanced technologies to optimise supply chain planning. Collaboration and partnerships as catalysts for supply chain recovery. Integrating sustainability and ethical practices in supply chain planning for long-term resilience and economic recovery.
- Fireside Chat : Making the CFO role integral to business success(CFO Sit-Down) • Embracing a forward-looking and commercial view of the business • Remaining close enough to the business and its operations • Developing and building on the soft skills necessary to fulfill the role
- Accelerating digital government strategies and industry growth(CPO-CSCO Sit-Down) • Mapping the future of digital sourcing • Accelerating the digital strategies and industry outreach • Leveraging digital platforms to simplify and streamline procurement
- Prioritising visibility and data driven planning to pave the way for growth.(CFO Sit-Down) Amidst the economic impacts, the political tensions and supply chain challenges over the past year, when we close in on the Australian landscape, specifically in the finance function, our research at Sit-Down shows an interestingly even split yet overwhelming emphasis on organisations tackling: Talent, Retention, Hybrid/Remote Workforce Management Planning & Performance Management Growth and Maintaining Healthy Cashflows.
- Panel: Strengthening the relationship between procurement and supply chain(CPO-CSCO Sit-Down) · Improving your relationship with suppliers · Making your data more accessible across the supply chain · Reducing unnecessary costs around data errors · Improve your buying consistency
- Financial automation and regulation is trending upwards: How to leverage this to your advantage and future proof your organisation(CFO Sit-Down) Financial automation and regulation is on the rise in the APAC region and globally. In this presentation, Dion will examine the key drivers behind this increase and current trends around order-to-cash and purchase-to-pay automation, with a particular focus on electronic e-invoicing (e-invoicing) and the local and global regulations currently in play. Dion will outline what you need to do to prepare and how you can leverage these developments to optimise your financial operations and future proof your business.
- Peer Connect(CPO-CSCO Sit-Down)
- Peer Connect(CFO Sit-Down)
- Lunch(CFO Sit-Down) Enable Executive Lunch : 12.55 to 2.10pm Oracle Executive Lunch : 12.55 to 2.10pm
- NETWORKING LUNCH(CPO-CSCO Sit-Down) Enable Executive Lunch : 12.55 to 2.10pm Oracle Executive Lunch : 12.55 to 2.10pm
- Leveraging Process Automation to Transform Financial Operations(CFO Sit-Down) Thriving in this modern yet disruptive environment requires leaders to strategise their innovation processes. Therein lies the opportunity for finance leaders to leverage intelligent automation and focus on the broader impact AI, ML and RPA can bring to any organisation. While the rate of adoption is still relatively slow, it is widely accepted that a proactive automation approach can inevitably assist forward thinking finance heads to help: • streamline processes • improve efficiency & accuracy • maximise compliance • reduce costs • improve productivity.
- Peer-led Roundtable Discussions(CPO-CSCO Sit-Down)
- Business resilience in a challenging world(CFO Sit-Down) • Tackling the uncertainty and disruption • Looking beyond the comfort zone at new challenges • Preparing for business uncertainty and opportunities
- Delivering organisation-wide benefits through procurement(CPO-CSCO Sit-Down) • Measuring your procurement journey and the success rate • Tackling the roadblocks to successful procurement • Setting and meeting the performance benchmarks
- How a Financial Close Solution can help achieve your F&A priorities(CFO Sit-Down) This session will focus on the direct and indirect benefits of implementing a Financial Close Solution and how it is relevant no matter your finance and accounting priorities. We will explore what a Financial Close Solution is, the value that is realised by teams and organisations that adopt it and explore leading practice on deployment and optimisation.
- Streamlining the marketplace engagement for procurement(CPO-CSCO Sit-Down) • Refining strategies to deliver value for money • Ensuring participation with small-to-medium enterprises • Making procurement sustainable and cost-effective
- Customer centricity- the new paradigm(CFO Sit-Down) Join us as we explore the emerging paradigm of customer centricity and its impact on the role of the CFO. As the energy industry undergoes a profound transformation driven by changing customer expectations, it is imperative for the CFO to embrace a customer-centric approach to financial strategies. This presentation will delve into the essence of customer centricity and its transformative potential. Understand the Customer Journey: Integrate customer insights into financial planning to align decisions with customer needs. Invest in Customer Experience: Allocate resources to enhance customer interactions and satisfaction for lasting loyalty and financial growth. Leverage Data for Personalisation: Utilise data analytics to tailor offerings and pricing models for individual customers. Foster Agility and Innovation: Embrace flexibility and experimentation to swiftly respond to customer demands and capitalise on opportunities.
- Closing remarks(CPO-CSCO Sit-Down)
- NETWORKING RECEPTION(CPO-CSCO Sit-Down)
- Closing remarks(CFO Sit-Down)
- NETWORKING RECEPTION(CFO Sit-Down)
Speakers
Olivier Lefevre · CFO, Chubb Fire and Security
Marilyn Wong · CFO, amaysim
Stephen Watson · CFO, Hoyts group
Laura Stonehouse · Head of Finance, Unilever ANZ
Mark Lenzner · Executive Director ICT / Digital Sourcing | ICT/Digital Sourcing, NSW Department of Customer Service Mark Lenzner is the Executive Director, ICT / Digital Sourcing within the Digital NSW Division of the Department of Customer. In this role Mark is responsible for the design, implementation and management of the NSW Government ICT and Digital Sourcing policies and frameworks, establishment and governance of Whole of Government arrangements, panels and marketplaces managing strategic partnerships and the transformation of our digital procurement systems.
Aisha Ahmad · Senior Category Manager, icare NSW Aisha is experienced in financial management, relationship management, project management, contract management, financial audits and procurement in both Private and Government sector. Her key strengths include, applying an analytical lens to all projects I undertake which results in streamlining processes, improves and creates efficiency for my team and the business.
Marea Getsios · Lead for Procurement and Contracts, Inner West Council Experienced Procurement Practitioner with a demonstrated history of working in the government industry. Skilled in Negotiation, Project Management, Business Planning, Training, and Stakeholder engagement.
Alice Chen · Senior Category Manager – Pacific, Global Supply Chain, Schneider Electric Alice’s professional career includes over ten years of procurement and stakeholder relationship management experience working with the Woolworths group, Wesfarmers and GFG Alliance. She is CPA qualified, and commercially focused, having delivered an annual saving of $2M for six years. Her expertise incorporates End-to-end sourcing, Category strategy, Big data BI analysis, Procure-to-pay operations analysis, Business planning and reporting, and Process improvement.
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.
Williem Boshoff · Executive Director, Corporate Performance Management, Tridant Willem Boshoff is an Executive Director of Tridant and leads the Performance Management practice, focussed on improving FP&A and S&OP. Willem has combined his passion for technology and interest in finance, recognising the need for organisations to respond faster, particularly in recent times, to help them do more with less, ensuring that the solution set for senior finance stakeholders addresses optimisation in their monthly finance cycle.
Chris Ben · Senior Solution Engineer, Nintex With the backing of 25 years in the technology industry, Chris Ben is committed to sharing digital business solutions with teams and empowering them to work efficiently. Passionate about relationship management and a business-led analytical approach to problem solving across multiple industries, he is a strong advocate for automation that provides an exceptional user experience.
Bob Boyne · Business Solutions Lead - Financial Close Solutions, Tridant Bob Boyne is the Business Solution Lead for Tridant’s Financial Close Solutions practice. Bob is a Chartered Accountant with Masters in Professional Accounting. His professional career consists of experience in the big 4 working both in external audit and finance transformation consulting for Deloitte both in Canada/Australia. For the last six years of his career, he has focused on helping organisations evaluate, implement, and optimise solutions for the office of finance with a specialisation in Financial Close Solutions.
Nathan Park · VP of Global Sales, Acquire BPO Adept at achieving business outcomes, Nathan has a strong customer focus with a broad business experience gained in the finance, retail, and distribution industries.
Matthew Carracher · Chief Operating Officer, Acquire BPO With more than 20 years' experience transforming and building high-performance businesses, Matt provides strategic direction to achieve operational excellence in key areas of the organisation—from streamlining operations and maximising performance through leveraging technology and process.
Dion Sereni · Senior Account Executive, Pagero ion Sereni is an experienced sales executive known for his exceptional commercial partnerships approach with more than 20-year experience in helping businesses build and deliver their goals using technology. With his expertise and industry knowledge Dion supports companies to achieve maximum benefits from their buying and selling automation investments, whilst delivering compliance with eInvoicing regulations and ensuring businesses maximise return on investment from their P2P and O2C projects.
Ron Patel · SENIOR INVESTMENT & BUSINESS ANALYST, Pacific Current Group As Senior Investment & Business Analyst, Ron prepares and analyses valuation models for Pacific Current Group’s management team and board of directors. He also manages the firm’s budgets, forecasts, and treasury function, and assists with investor relations for our shareholders, always looking for gains in efficiency and providing unique insights. Ron joined Treasury Group, the predecessor to Pacific Current Group, as an accountant in 2008. Ron graduated from the University of New England with a Master of Professional Accounting. He is a CPA and a CFA® charterholder. His professional passion for investment management and financial analysis is matched with a love for golf, tennis, and photography.
Michael Barnes · Advisory Board Member, Factor
Jeremie Celdran · Head of Finance Vaccines JPAC Region, Sanofi
Bertrand Gauch · Managing Director - ANZ, Pagero
Partners
- Acquire BPO
- Enable
- Pagero
- Nintex Nintex is the global standard for process intelligence and automation. Today more than 10,000 public and private sector organisations across 90 countries turn to the Nintex Platform to accelerate progress on their digital transformation journeys by quickly and easily managing, automating and optimising business processes. Learn more by visiting www.nintex.com and experience how Nintex and its global partner network are shaping the future of Intelligent Process Automation (IPA).
- Thinxtra
- Tridant www.tridant.com.au
- Argon & Co
- Oracle Make every customer interaction matter by connecting all your business data across advertising, marketing, sales, commerce, and service. Oracle Advertising and Customer Experience (CX) offers a connected suite of applications that goes beyond traditional CRM to help you create, manage, serve, and nurture lasting customer relationships. Build a complete view of your customer and their every interaction—no matter how, when, where, or with whom they engage. Empower your entire business to deliver exceptional customer experiences—from acquisition to retention—and everything in between.
- Workiva
- eftsure Eftsure is a leader in fraud detection and payment protection. Our pioneering fraudtech solution brings financial controls into the digital age and helps organisations of all sizes mitigate the risk of incorrectly processing (EFT) payments, whether as a result of cybercrime, fraud or human error. Eftsure’s unique approach allows its customers to cross-reference payment information in real-time, immediately prior to processing them, against an ever-expanding network of over 2.5 million Australian organisations. In a world in which scammers are actively adopting new fraud tactics, such as social engineering, phishing and Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks, Eftsure helps supports organisations to remain secure. With Eftsure, organisations acquire peace of mind knowing that EFT payments are being directed to the intended recipient and that they’re avoiding the growing risk of human error and digital fraud.
- Workday Workday is a leading provider of enterprise cloud applications for finance, HR, and planning. Founded in 2005, Workday delivers financial management, human capital management, and analytics applications designed for the world’s largest companies, educational institutions, and government agencies. Organizations ranging from medium-sized businesses to Fortune 50 enterprises have selected Workday.
- BlackLine
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