The CFO Hour

Overview

As the role of the CFO continues to expand, finance leaders face mounting pressure to steer the business through a shifting regulatory landscape — from climate disclosures and digital reporting to deeper scrutiny from the ATO, ASIC and audit committees. Today’s CFO is expected to deliver not just compliance, but strategic clarity, speed and resilience across the entire finance function.

This roundtable brings together CFOs and senior finance leaders to explore how modern finance teams are redesigning their operating models. We’ll unpack how intelligent automation, integrated data platforms and continuous assurance are empowering CFOs to drive more accurate forecasting, faster reporting cycles and stronger executive confidence.

Key Themes:

Leading through regulatory complexity and ESG mandates

Unlocking real-time insight for smarter decision-making

Strengthening stakeholder trust through continuous assurance

Building a connected, agile and future-ready finance function

What to expect

• Panelists & Industry Analysts 3+
• Networking Peer-Driven
• Hours
• Senior Executives 10+
• Discussions Interactive

What we will cover

• Ready for Real Time How are Australian finance teams moving beyond the traditional month-end close, towards continuous, data-led reporting and assurance?
• Audit Confidence on Tap How can embedded controls and system-driven assurance help leaders stay audit-ready and reduce risk — even as regulatory complexity increases?
• Smarter Tax in a Shifting Landscape Where are finance teams applying automation to simplify BAS, GST, transfer pricing, and tax governance amid evolving ATO expectations?
• From Cost Centre to Strategic Partner How are CFOs elevating finance by aligning compliance and reporting with business strategy, board insights, and long-term value creation?

Agenda

• 11:45 am Delegate arrival Registration(Executive Luncheon)
• 0:00 pm Welcome Drinks & Refreshments(Executive Luncheon)
• 0:15 pm Rebuilding Confidence in Forecasting During a Volatile Economic Cycle(Executive Luncheon) With continued uncertainty across interest rates, inflation and trade policy, finance leaders are under pressure to produce forecasts that can actually guide decisions. This session tackles how to reduce blind spots, model risk more effectively and improve scenario agility. • Frameworks for incorporating external volatility into financial models • Leading practices in driver-based forecasting • Ways to align business units around proactive scenario planning
• 0:30 pm AI in Finance: Separating the Real Use Cases from the Hype(Executive Luncheon) Finance teams are being flooded with AI promises, but what’s actually driving ROI? This session unpacks where AI is credibly transforming financial operations and where it's just noise. • Practical AI use cases in AR automation, close acceleration and fraud detection • Cost-benefit considerations for AI-enabled tools • Guardrails for data, compliance and audit readiness
• 1:45 pm Modernising the Finance Stack Without Breaking the Business(Executive Luncheon) Whether it’s ERP, reporting or spend control, most CFOs are facing system sprawl or ageing tools. This session explores how to modernise core platforms without creating chaos. • Mapping modern finance architecture from ERP to point solutions • How to run transformation programs with minimal operational disruption • Choosing tools that align with future-state operating models
• 1:50 pm Making ESG Data Actionable for Strategic Decision Making(Executive Luncheon) Regulatory pressure is building, but the real unlock is using ESG data to steer capital allocation and risk. This session cuts through the compliance noise and looks at commercial advantage. • Turning ESG metrics into board-ready dashboards • Making sustainability reporting finance-owned and audit-proof • Partnering with the business to drive ESG-linked performance
• 2:00 pm CFOs as Stewards of Company-Wide Efficiency(Executive Luncheon) In a tighter margin environment, the CFO is expected to drive efficiency beyond just finance. This session looks at how finance can partner across the org to unlock savings and impact. • Cost-to-serve and workforce productivity metrics that matter • Best practices in cross-functional transformation governance • Empowering finance teams to lead operating model change
• 2:30 pm Networking Drinks and End of Session(Executive Luncheon)

Speakers

• Stephen Watson · Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Hoyts Corporation Stephen is the CFO of The HOYTS Group which owns HOYTS Cinemas and the Val Morgan Group, leading the finance, legal, IT and design teams. HOYTS Cinemas is a market leading cinema exhibition business operating a broad geographic footprint across Australia and New Zealand and has over 100 years of history. The Val Morgan Group is an industry leader business delivering a 100% digital, full-screen, advertising solution for brands looking to connect with engaged and active customers across Cinema, Outdoor and Digital media environments. Val Morgan operates in Australia, New Zealand and the UAE. Stephen trained at KPMG, Ireland before migrating to Australia post qualification and has worked in a wide range of industries including oil & gas exploration, subscription-television, e-commerce, marketing services, advertising agency and cinema exhibition in both listed and unlisted environments.
• Olivier Lefevre · CFO, Chubb Fire & Security
• Tochau Nguyen · CFO, HTG
• Ruth Richardson clark · CFO, Campion Education
• Jon Blackburn · CFO, Sydney Opera House Jon joined in the role of Chief Financial Officer in November 2017 and was appointed Executive Director Corporate Services in September 2018. He is responsible for the finance, technology, legal, and enterprise risk and program management teams delivering corporate services across the Opera House. Jon has over 30 years global experience in the financial, property and professional services sectors. After starting his career at Price Waterhouse he moved into financial services with senior roles a
• Shoaib Ilahi · CFO, Michelin Australia
• Bhavya Nantha · Deputy CFO, Uniting
• Michael Petrie · ANZ CFO, Asurion
• Brindha Pillay · CFO, DHL Supply Chain Australia and New Zealand Brindha Pillay is an accomplished Finance transformation executive with a proven track record of optimising business processes within global organisations. Brindha has in-depth knowledge and experience of all facets of Shared Services including strategy, design, transition, implementation, transformation and management. She collaborates effectively across functions and with all levels of the organisation and has a particular strength in building consensus to achieve desired outcomes.

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