wff
7 SEPTEMBER 2023

CFO INNOVATION SUMMIT

BUY TICKETS STAY UPDATED
PREVIOUS AGENDA

"Spend less time with spreadsheets and more time with customers. It will be more uncomfortable but more insightful. Successful CFOs know as much about how their customers make money as they do their own business."


Please note sessions are subject to change

PRESENTATION

9:00 am - 9:30 am

Enabling Strategic & Operative Business Steering

Doris Grieshaber, Managing Director, Allianz Global Investors

The journey of AllianzGI’s Finance function to setup a robust data framework: data must become information and seen as an asset enabling strategic and operative business steering.

Speakers
PRESENTATION

9:00 am - 9:30 am

Hybrid Working

Rohan Hewavisenti, CFO, Amnesty International

Hybrid working is at the top of colleagues’ agenda in many organisations. This session will cover an ongoing case study into implementing hybrid working in an international organisation operating across 20 locations in five continents.  How can your organisation cover all the bases? Considerations will include the financial perspectives of cost base, capital expenditure taxation, payroll; people aspects such as career development, wellbeing, diversity, training and change management; workplace environment, and technology.

Speakers
PRESENTATION

9:30 am - 10:00 am

How To Get Finance Fit For The Future

Presenting the journey of finance transformation within the business; what can we understand & learn from both the challenges and opportunities offered through large transformation programs, and how can we make the finance function fit for the future.

PRESENTATION

9:30 am - 10:00 am

Transformation Through Technology

We’ll discuss how the finance function can be scaled alongside the growth of the enterprise, and the importance of building teams with the correct skill sets. We will also discuss data-driven forecasting and how finance can take advantage of advanced business intelligence tools.

PRESENTATION

10:00 am - 10:30 am

Business Partnering Best Practices

Ignacio Ballester, CFO, British American Tobacco

Join this session to hear how the finance department can partner with marketing, operations, logistics & supply chain teams to create world-class business relationships between departments.

Speakers
PRESENTATION

10:00 am - 10:30 am

Women in a Man’s world

Michelle Ryan, Finance Director, Ontic

In our ever-changing world of work we are asked to celebrate diversity, acknowledge uniqueness and make the best of the skills and talents individuals can offer.  With this is mind let’s look at why women can make a difference, redress the balance in male -dominated business/industries; and focus on getting the best players to join our teams.

Speakers

10:30 am - 11:00 am

Morning Coffee Break

PRESENTATION

11:00 am - 11:30 am

Building an FP&A team to match the changing environment

Dan Hobden, Global Head of FP&A and Investor Relations, Gett

When I joined Gett I was tasked with enhancing the FP&A function. There were some crucial aspects to look at, including recruitment to broaden the skillset, process and systems improvement, enhancing process documentation, connecting the global business unit with the local teams and improving the real-time tracking of our financial performance.
My talk will focus on how I went about addressing these opportunities and dealing with challenges along the way.

Speakers
PRESENTATION

11:00 am - 11:30 am

The Power of good Mental Health at Work

Tim Schöler, CFO, Mercedes-Benz

This presentation will dig into a topic that has and is stigmatised in the work environment for years but needs more focus than ever to ensure the duty of care for your staff as well as the productivity of your team. It’s going to be an opportunity for everyone in the room to reflect on how they deal with the mental wellbeing needs of their staff as well as how much they make good mental health a priority for themselves for a more fulfilling life and higher productivity. To be a truly great leader you need empathy and an understanding of mental health.

Speakers
PRESENTATION

11:30 am - 12:00 pm

How CFOs Are Leading The Change To Digital Transformation

Mark Jackson, VP Medium Segment, Sage

Finance leaders in the UK have been attuned to the benefits of digitalisation for years. Advances in automation, artificial intelligence and analytics have transformed the way the finance function operates. Finance teams are moving beyond being the ‘keepers of historical records’ to supporting more value-driven activities—including continuous close and automated, seamless production of key performance metrics and data analytics—to aid better company-wide understanding of the business.

Speakers
PRESENTATION

11:30 am - 12:00 pm

Preparing for the unknown, change is the only constant.

Filip Forceville, Sr Global Process Expert, Heineken
Thomas Popp-Madsen, Centre of Excellence, ERP Financials, SAP

A fireside chat with Filip Forceville, Senior Global Process Expert at Heineken & Thomas Pop-Madsen, Centre of Excellence for ERP Financials at SAP. Join Thomas and hear why change is the only constant and explore the Heineken finance transformation journey with Filip, discover how the leading beer business went from a disjointed way of working, to a model that consists of Continuous Accounting, process mining, data analytics, and continuous process improvements.

Speakers
PRESENTATION

12:00 pm - 12:30 pm

ESG Evaluations: A Case Study

Beth Burks, Director of Sustainable Finance, S&P Ratings

S&P Ratings will present on its ESG Evaluation, its fundamental opinion on corporate and financial institution’s performance on ESG issues. Launched three years ago, S&P Ratings has now completed over 120 ESG Evaluations across all sectors. Beth Burks, Director of Sustainable Finance at S&P Ratings, will walk through the analysis of two companies from within the consumer goods sector to showcase the analysis. Her talk will reveal how S&P is factoring in some of the largest trends in ESG including climate change, circular economy, and challenges with global health.

Speakers
PRESENTATION

12:00 pm - 12:30 pm

Finance away from the spreadsheet

Rocco del Campo, CFO, UK & Nordics, Marcolin

Steering old business models towards fully utilising the CFO function and all it has to offer.

Enhancing visibility and control into changing business is one of the key factors for any successful organisation, but can be costly.
Focusing on strategic thinking and crisis management is a CFO new natural progression.

More Information

Speakers
PRESENTATION

12:30 pm - 1:00 pm

How to Align Your Company Missions

Making sure your company’s mission is delivered & met is imperative. During this presentation we’ll focus on how decision-making within the finance function impacts the wider organisation & how you can influence and impact your company’s mission through strategic financial control.

PRESENTATION

12:30 pm - 1:00 pm

Finance: Key Skills for the Future

Finance functions are facing new and ever-changing challenges and their approach to these needs to be different from the past. We see more change, and more swirl than ever before, yet at the same time the fundamentals of a good finance function remain the same. This includes both what finance functions are doing, their use of technology and the skills required by finance professionals of the future. Now, more than ever, Finance needs to be ‘In the Business’! A changing landscape also highlights the need for a more inclusive and diverse finance function with the breadth of skills and viewpoints critical to succeeding in the future world.

1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Lunch Break

WORKSHOP

1:30 pm - 2:00 pm

How to create capacity for accounting to focus on what matters the most

Thomas Popp-Madsen, Centre of Excellence, ERP Financials, SAP
Thomas Edwards, Senior Solutions Consultant, BlackLine

Learn how to build a rock-solid plan to make your finance transformation plan a reality in 2022. Find out where to unlock valuable accounting capacity, so you can spend more time on what matters.

Attend to understand:

  • Why traditional close processes continue to challenge accounting teams
  • Leading practices for optimizing and automating despite disruption
  • How technology improves accuracy, saves time and benefits everyone
Speakers
WORKSHOP

1:30 pm - 2:00 pm

How Can You Scale Your FP&A so It Is Ready For Rapid Change?

In todays fast paced environment, it is crucial to prepare your business for whatever may be around the corner. How can you be ready? Finance is at the forefront of business decisions, so a flexible, scalable solution is key. Hear how we’ve transformed our FP&A into a process that ensures they are prepared for rapid change.

WORKSHOP

2:00 pm - 2:30 pm

The Future of Finance Reporting

Learn about key differentiators of Integration, Workflow Reporting and Marketplace. Understand how these features facilitates all aspects of the modern finance reporting requirements including Financial Consolidation, FP&A, Risk and Analytics.

WORKSHOP

2:00 pm - 2:30 pm

Getting Your Executives on Board with Accounting Transformation.

For accounting and finance teams, securing budget for technology can be a tall task. A compelling and robust business case is a critical requirement to starting a transformation, and it shouldn’t be overlooked. In this session, we’ll review how financial close solutions deliver value for customers and how you can best demonstrate that value to gain executive approval and support.

WORKSHOP

2:30 pm - 3:00 pm

The CFO Guide to Tax Compliance

How to capitalize on the global eCommerce opportunities whilst adhering to government tax rules. How to response to the ever-changing landscape of regulation. This session will discuss how finance leaders can successfully navigate complex tax compliance from multi-jurisdictional transactions, omnichannel sales, and regulatory changes.

WORKSHOP

2:30 pm - 3:00 pm

Make The F In FP&A Stand For Flexibility

FP&A processes need to be flexible. They need to deliver strategic plans over extended time horizons, detailed annual budgets leveraging multiple budgeting approaches as well as accurate and timely forecasting cycles, driving all the necessary reporting and insight. These processes are generally complex due to multiple, dissimilar divisions operating in different industries and different geographies, whilst contending with localised complexity. So how do finance harmonise FP&A for diverse groups ensuring governance, control and visibility across all FP&A cycles? Whilst also providing disparate business units the flexibility to meet their diverse FP&A requirements with all the modern FP&A utilities, reporting & analysis? Find out in this workshop session.

3:00 pm - 3:30 pm

Afternoon Coffee Break

PRESENTATION

3:30 pm - 4:00 pm

No Evolution without Adaptation - How Booksy met “the black swan event”

Małgorzata Szturmowicz, CFO, Booksy

What is the CFO’s role when faced with a ‘black swan’ event? In this talk Malgorzata will take us through the rollercoaster journey faced at Booksy during the pandemic – the challenges, the lessons learnt, and how to prepare for the unforseen.

Speakers
PANEL SESSION

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Mastering Effective Business Partnering

Our speakers reflect on the importance of Business Partnering to the finance function. How to get a seat at the table in the decision making process and how to build effective communication across the wider organisation.

Speakers
PRESENTATION

4:00 pm - 4:30 pm

How To Get Finance Fit For The Future

Presenting the journey of finance transformation within the business; what can we understand & learn from both the challenges and opportunities offered through large transformation programs, and how can we make the finance function fit for the future.

PANEL SESSION

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm

Mastering Effective Business Partnering (continued)

Our speakers reflect on the importance of Business Partnering to the finance function. How to get a seat at the table in the decision making process and how to build effective communication across the wider organisation.

Speakers
PRESENTATION

4:30 pm - 5:00 pm

The Augmented CFO as Strategic Business Partner: An Evolutionary Path

Emanuele Tamiazzo, Finance Director – Southern Europe, CHEP

Join this session to discuss how finance executives can become effective strategic business partner. Making finance an adventure and shape our destiny:- on the elevator
– Plan A, B, C (and D)
– strategic finance business partnering for value
– Finance 4.0: Now, Next, New.

Speakers
PRESENTATION

4:30 pm - 5:00 pm

Changing Your Auditor: A Blind Date

Tatiana Doncaster, Finance Director, British Rowing

Ever felt that an audit tender is akin to a blind date, with both sides trying to assess each other from behind the screen? Yep, me too.

Changing your auditor can sometimes feel like a business engagement between two parties, who have not previously met and are basing their opinion on the introduction from a mutual acquaintance.

As change is sometimes an inevitable side-product of finance transformation it is important to lay the foundations for a strong relationship based on trust and mutual respect.

More Information

Speakers

5:00 pm - 6:30 pm

Happy Hour - Networking Drinks 🍷

 

 

Jump to Day Two Agenda
Add to my calendar

Great leaders of organizations run after problems, make their footprint bigger than their foot, and always strive to find the truth — because you have to get to the truth to be excellent.

CFO, Twitter

The primary mandate of the CFO is to be the guardian of shareholder value for the company. Traditionally, this was about managing risk, but today CFOs are expected to balance risk and opportunity. It's become quite a quite multi-dimensional role.

CFO, D&B

Operating a global business in a fast-changing world, you have to be grounded real-time in the external environment, have complete transparency, be fact-based and working with a great, collaborative team.

CFO, Ford

With an increasingly integrated world economy, be prepared to respond to higher levels of both risk and opportunity. A strong balance sheet is a tremendous asset when managing though periods of volatility.

CFO, Chevron

From an M&A standpoint, the returns on a spreadsheet are interesting, but it is far more important to be comfortable with the people running the business.

CFO, Krogers

Look at what your organization needs and don't be afraid to take chances, but balance risk with success, only increasing the former when the latter goals are being met.

CFO, Booking.com
© 2025 World Finance Forum, a product of Global Growth Business Limited | All rights reserved.