As finance professionals, we鈥檙e becoming more and more relied upon to steer businesses, even going as far as exiting things that don鈥檛 work and supporting innovations that new technology enables. By applying the example of Tesla to the finance world, one can learn about ambition and how to do things that are dramatically different from the status quo, said听Darrel Orsmond, industry head of financial services at enterprise application software company,听Africa.

鈥淧eople think about change in different ways,鈥� he says. 鈥淐onsidering the fact that certain cultures are ingrained in companies, you therefore have to think really hard about what you鈥檙e trying to do. If you get things marginally wrong, the failure is business wide.鈥�

The convergence of industries that has been accelerated by COVID-19 has facilitated a more integrated network economy and reinforced the fact that change is inevitable. 鈥淎s industries converge and we all move into one another鈥檚 spaces, business demands fundamentally shift,鈥� said Darrel. So how do we equip ourselves to be prepared, especially considering predictions that by 2024, tiny bits of legacy infrastructure will be left in functions like finance?

鈥淐ompanies are recognising that there鈥檚 another way to run their businesses, which necessitates reporting in a completely different way,鈥� said Darrel. For example, existing bank structures are trading themselves out of business, he said, as boundaries between business and borders change. 鈥淎s this happens, the ability to control the processes banks traditionally run disappears.鈥� No one cares where debit processing comes from: they care about the transaction itself, no matter who facilitates it. This completely changes the way banks think about what they do. Consumers are ultimately driving such changes through their behaviour.

鈥淭he notion of defined boundaries in business is completely flawed,鈥� Darrel continued. 鈥淭he value-driven question for finance is: why are the most valuable customers in our business transacting less on channels we built for them?鈥� It鈥檚 difficult to answer such questions and others that go beyond finance. 鈥淵et the nature of finance function is now having to answer value function,鈥� he added, 鈥渂ecause the finance function has the role of steering the organisation, because they are ultimately the custodians of the truth.鈥�

Applying the example of Tesla, Darrel spoke of the way that Elon Musk decided that the future is in battery-driven cars 鈥� which at the time didn鈥檛 exist. 鈥淗e therefore needed to build every single thing that was required from car charging points, to special lithium batteries, to a completely new vehicle production line.鈥� The rate of the change that Tesla brought was so fast that there was no need to even patent this new technology.

This rate of innovation is key when we decide how we compete in the business space, whether we鈥檙e a big or small organisation. Like Musk, we need to completely redesign things. All of us face constant changes happening around us 鈥� every organisation is in a state of flux. 鈥淵ou therefore need to move your ambition as far out as you possibly can 鈥� learning from the example of Tesla,鈥� said Darrel.

鈥淵et, while marketing people may sell you the future, finance people need to account for it. It鈥檚 important that in thinking about where we are and we need to be, we all support all the people we work with to be as ambitious as possible.鈥�

Yet, he added, we need to marry ambition with a clear plan that鈥檚 facilitated by carefully architected platforms based on the data that we as finance professionals collect. We therefore need to start building our capabilities with an end goal in mind 鈥� while accounting for real-time information that allows for immediate course corrections.

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The post Lessons in Change for Finance Indaba Attendees from Tesla appeared first on 麻豆原创 Africa News Center.

As the first-ever virtual听Finance Indaba Network听comes to an end, thousands of finance professionals are logging out of the gamified conference and expo with insights from exceptional partners and speakers.

Kicking off the launch, new听Vodacom听CFO听Raisibe Morathi,听University of Johannesburg听CFO听Nolwazi Mamorare, and听Momentum Corporate听CEO听Dumo Mbethe听shared their learnings from working through Covid-19. They agreed that one thing was clear: while the post-Covid-19 workplace will not look the same in every industry or company, the workplace will not return to where it was before the crisis.

In another session,听Telkom听CFO听Tsholofelo听Molefe,听Afgri听CFO听Rivasha Maharaj, and听Adcock Ingram听CFO听Dorette Neethling听revealed that support, EQ and mentorship are critical for the success of women CFOs.

Professor Mervyn King听also advocated for a title change for CFOs to chief virtual officers, arguing that, in addition to managing and understanding the financial position of a company, it is the CFO who is responsible for creating value in the business.

In between sessions, attendees got a chance to virtually walk through exhibitors, including Diamond Partners听麻豆原创 Concur听and听Workday, Platinum Partner听Coupa; Gold Partners听ACCA,听Automation Anywhere听with听TreasuryONE Automation,听CaseWare Africa,听CIPC,听Oracle,听Sage听and听Quick Consols; and Silver Partners听BlackLine,听College of Chartered Accountants,听Dimago,听EnterpriseWorx,听Fasset,听IIA SA,听Kalon Venture Partners,听Konsise,听Sanlam听and听SoluGrowth.

Attendees embarked on an exciting scavenger hunt where they stand a chance to win one of three R5,000 cash prizes. They were also awarded points for their networking, standing a chance to win up to R10,000 and a signed copy of听Altron听CEO听Mteto Nyati鈥檚 bestselling book, Betting on a Darkie.

鈥淭he event showcased the best of what the finance profession has to offer, both in terms of thought leadership and presence of service providers. It was an event that showed why CFO South Africa鈥檚 flagship event, the Finance Indaba, will continue to be a permanent fixture in the calendars of finance practitioners, regardless of whether it is hosted virtually or in person,鈥� said听Jo毛l Roerig, managing director of听CFO South Africa.

As the Indaba drew to a close, thousands of attendees logged off from an outstanding virtual event, with their knowledge broadened, their networks expanded and their careers enhanced by the inspirational content and powerful interactions with their peers.

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The finance community in South Africa has received an enormous boost with the confirmation of听麻豆原创 Concur听as a听Diamond Partner听of the听Finance Indaba Network. The expense, invoice and travel management provider will not only be headlining the all-virtual expo and conference on 15 October, but will also be supporting the Finance Indaba Network for an entire year with insightful webinars, content and engagement.

鈥淭he confirmation of 麻豆原创 Concur as a Diamond Partner is an incredibly exciting development for the finance community in South Africa,鈥� says听Joel Roerig, managing director of听CFO South Africa. 鈥淭he Finance Indaba Network provides webinars, podcasts and many more knowledge sharing and networking opportunities 鈥� at absolutely no cost to finance professionals. This is only possible thanks to the unwavering support of committed partners like 麻豆原创 Concur.鈥�

麻豆原创 Concur is reinventing travel, expense, and invoice management with tools that simplify everyday processes and create better experiences. Its cloud-based service delivers a complete suite of tools to businesses and employees, helping to save money and improve productivity in the office and on the road.

Don鈥檛 miss 麻豆原创 Concur鈥檚 exciting, interactive stand in the virtual exhibition hall, where you can engage with their expense management experts about the solution to your expense management challenges, especially in the disrupted working environments of Covid-19.

The Finance Indaba is Africa鈥檚 biggest and best finance event. In 2020, it has spread its wings as the Finance Indaba Network, a community platform for finance professionals that facilitates interaction and engagement the whole year round. Launching on 15 October, the innovative virtual conference and expo will bring together more than 5,000 finance professionals who want to accelerate their knowledge, network and career.

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