For a long time, chief financial officers have been strategic partners at the highest levels of a company’s leadership, guiding the most important financial decisions. But today, more of them are also expected to guide their companies’ technology decisions.

Pushed in part by higher interest rates, macroeconomic uncertainty and the exciting yet risky possibilities of generative AI, companies must invest more carefully and strategically in technology than ever before. And CFOs are shouldering a lot more of these responsibilities.

CFOs are often expected to focus on priorities historically reserved for their boardroom and line-of-business counterparts – including increasing sales revenue, elevating customer experiences, retaining and upskilling talent, driving sustainability initiatives and strengthening cybersecurity.

One of the ways that many CFOs are addressing these new challenges is by embracing the cloud.

Contributing more value to an expanding role

Increasingly, CFOs realise that moving their ERP systems from on premise to the cloud is no longer optional – it’s business critical. Working in the cloud is essential to keep innovating with the speed and agility these uncertain times demand. It is also the only way to unlock the true power of responsible, reliable and relevant business AI.

The good news is that most CFOs are already there. In my conversations with them, I see how the cloud helps CFOs empower their teams with automated processes, centralising finance operations and data, and using AI and predictive insights to make decisions faster and more confidently.

Cloud technology is making a real difference

Take, for example, the Blue Diamond Growers cooperative. Best known for growing almonds in California, the cooperative consistently puts sustainability concerns front and centre in how it operates and moves its almonds to customers. Requiring a more intelligent ERP infrastructure to support business growth in a smoother software environment, it turned to  for new solutions to enhance its supply chain planning activities, procurement processes and analytics capabilities.

With cloud-based, modern ERP and analytics solutions, the cooperative’s finance experts are getting deeper insights to make better decisions and adopt a much smoother process for financial closings. In addition, the sales teams have a more integrated view of customer orders and behaviour, with just a few clicks.

As a result, Blue Diamond Growers is experiencing impressive outcomes, including:

• Two days for broker settlements, down from weeks
• Fifty-four percent lower downtime when converting to cloud ERP
• Forty percent faster financial closing time

Blue Diamond Growers’ use of technology also delivered one of the greatest advantages during the Covid-19 pandemic. When supply chains were severely disrupted, the cooperative quickly pivoted its supply chain to remain sustainable and help ensure its customers had the almonds they wanted on their tables in time for Christmas.

This experience is just one example of how CFOs worldwide are empowered by real-time financial insights, forward-looking guidance and a more comprehensive view of past performance – all captured, synthesised and accessed through a single cloud environment.

Navigating the way towards a competitive future

Choosing the cloud over legacy systems enables CFOs to effectively harness the power of enterprise-wide intelligence. This centralised approach empowers finance professionals to swiftly make the right adjustments that open the door to new markets, help create more customer-engaging commercial models and provide a more diversified product and service portfolio.

However, these advantages are just the beginning. CFOs are also impressed with the capabilities of the cloud, which surpass those of their legacy systems. As a result, their organisations have more time to seek out new opportunities to improve the financial and nonfinancial matters of the business, allowing them to chart a path toward ongoing growth and business success.

Another area of particular importance is environmental, social, and governance reporting requirements. Whether it’s for an audit or to report on their progress and results to meet regulatory requirements, CFOs tell me that they are more focused on having the real-time data they need.

By using a cloud solution for sustainable enterprises, many of them are making their ESG data more transparent and embedding sustainable practices into the core of their business strategy and operations.

As the cloud gives them wind at their backs, CFOs are not just meeting the new demands placed on their role. More important, they have the strategic tools and capabilities their companies need to navigate this uncertain environment and win.

For more insights into how CFOs are redefining finance excellence and transforming their businesses with cloud technology, listen to the podcast, .

• The author, Scott Russell, is a member of the executive board at SAP

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EYĚýąč˛š°ůłŮ˛Ôąđ°ůĚýSean Berrington shared how his recent move from CFO of Standard Bank’s group engineering division to a passion-led technology leader helped him evolve into a leader of the future.

Sean, who says he has always had a passion for technology developments, said he saw the value of being a technology leader with a finance background appealing. “ Over the years at Standard Bank I had developed a passion for tech, and I decided that I would follow my heart. My past experience as a CFO brings different values and conversations to my current role.”

Addressing the audience of finance executives, Sean said technology, and the ability to evaluate its customer value proposition, is now an integral part of any executive role. “As technology shifts, changes and scales, we need to assess what we need to adopt and scale in our businesses.”

Tech-savvy tips

He gave two tips to those in attendance about being agile and adaptive with regards to technology.

Firstly, he said leaders need to clearly identify the problem that needs to be solved through the implementation of technology. Once that is done then move the focus away from the technology itself and more towards the business value. “Ideally leaders should move away from focusing on just the technology itself but also look at the value it adds to an organisation and how it is going to contribute to and benefit your customers and employees.”

His second piece of advice was to never shy away from asking questions when faced with content of a technical nature. “There is no such thing as a stupid question. Yes it may be awkward but in the end it will really help you to truly understand tech. If you can’t understand the value of the tech to your organisation, maybe there isn’t any. “

Keep on learning

51ˇçÁ÷AfricaĚý°äšó°żĚýSandi de Souza, who’s journey panned out differently said she believes a balance between theoretical teachings and practical learning in the workplace is what hones leaders. “Embarking on my MBA after a few years in corporate opened my eyes on leadership styles. The theory and content learnt during the modules was great but the biggest takeaway [for me] was a change in personal development and thought process. The balance between the two allows one to approach issues differently.” Sandi encouraged attendees to not shy away from learning and to be adaptive.

By the end of the discussion, all those in attendance agreed that agility, curiosity and willingness to learn are key qualities that leaders need to thrive in their roles.

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51ˇçÁ÷Africa has announced the appointment of Sandi de Souza as its new Chief Financial Officer for the Africa region.

Cathy Smith, Managing Director at 51ˇçÁ÷Africa, says: “Sandi has been an integral part of our organisation’s financial operations for more than a decade, where she has led various transformation initiatives while playing a pivotal role in supporting our business as we drive digital transformation across the African continent. We wish her well in her new role and look forward to her expert guidance and support in the coming months.”

The appointment comes at a time when 51ˇçÁ÷is changing its business model to focus more heavily on cloud services in its efforts at better supporting the digital transformation efforts of African small, medium and large enterprises.

De Souza says she is excited to play a guiding role in the company’s transition. “As an organisation we are at a pivotal moment of our journey as we set a new course for the future. I am proud to be part of the team that is helping drive transformation across our finance functions to provide the needed support as 51ˇçÁ÷transitions to its exciting new cloud-first path.”

Since joining 51ˇçÁ÷in 2005, de Souza has held numerous senior positions in SAP’s finance, sales and operations departments, including as Head of Licence Management and Commercial Director for Africa. De Souza is a Chartered Accountant CA(SA) and holds a Master’s of Business Administration from Henley Business School.

She will focus on supporting SAP’s growth by improving customer centricity, process excellence and people development through the development of agile and scalable financial service delivery models across the continent.

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With a background in financial management and business valuations, I have always been intrigued by ‘strategy’, that thing that ultimately sets a company apart from the next and probably, together with strong leadership, the main driver behind sustained value creation. In a series of interviews, I will be exploring different business leaders’ (all chartered accountants) approach to strategy.

I had a virtual interview with Anton de Bruyn, CFO of the Shoprite Group of Companies, to gain insights on what shaped Shoprite’s strategy during the early stages of the COVID-19 crisis. Four interesting items stood out:

The importance of adherence to risk management principles

The phrase ‘that brings me back to risk management’ echoed throughout the interview. It underlines the importance that Anton places on having a solid risk management framework. Adherence to principles such as risk registers for all divisions, having disaster recovery plans, business continuity plans, as well as regular risk forum discussions, was already part of Shoprite’s culture. The benefit of going through the risk management process lies therein that you already have a good idea of how you should react and what your contingency plans look like should anything unforeseen happens.

To illustrate how it practically unfolded, he took me through an example relating to their distribution centres. During 2018, due to labour unrest and other contributing factors, their distribution centres in Gauteng came under severe pressure, this in a time when they also went live with a new ERP system, leading to a material impact on the business − more than a billion rand lost in sales. The continued operation of their distribution centres is one of their top identified risks and the implementation of crafted continuity plan speaks to this risk. When COVID-19 happened, even though the cause was different, the continuity plans were ready to be activated.

Anton added that you will never be able to foresee exactly how things will play out, that a pandemic will hit, or that government will impose various regulations within different levels of opening the economy. As the pandemic poses new risks, such as potentially having a large number of your 2 800 stores closed at the same time due to infections, the framework is in place to formulate new contingency plans.

Another aspect feeding into the risk management process relates to Shoprite’s management structure, which ensures that everyone within Exco is continuously part of the risk management process. ‘Currently, the Exco meetings revolve mostly around the contingency plans and how to manage the implementation thereof.’

Future-proof yourself

‘Some 12−18 months ago the business looked different to where we are today on the back of the profit warning issued in February 2019,’ Anton said. ‘In the past two to three years there were many management changes, including the group appointing a new CEO, Pieter Engelbrecht, who succeeded Whitey Basson and had to land a clear message on strategy for the group going forward.’

Anton refers to the process as ‘future-proofing yourself’ so that you ensure that you stay relevant and move in line with international trends. And 12−18 months ago, they had to put a lot of attention on working capital, liquidity and refocusing capital allocation to strengthen their cash flow as part of ‘future-proofing themselves’. It inevitably placed them in a stronger position ahead of the crisis.

‘That brings me back to risk management …’ Anton emphasised that you must do a ‘risk assessment’ on your strategy to see if your strategy is still relevant, looking at all the strategic drivers. In order to ‘future-proof yourself and stay relevant’ you need to continuously look at ways to innovate in line with international trends (for example unlocking alternative revenue streams and focusing on online offerings). ‘You need to get the combination right between short-term quick wins and longer-term bigger strategies. If you stop innovating, you will stop being relevant, which will have an impact on the growth of your customer base.’

Some things can be implemented quickly, like seeing what to focus on during the pandemic − Shoprite expanded their online offerings, introduced virtual vouchers, and focused more on cell phone-related sales, among other things. Then there are other innovations that take longer to develop and roll out, like their FreshX store formats and Checkers rewards programme, both hugely successful.

‘There is, however, one proviso to innovation: you need to have the systems in place, especially the IT platform, to be able to handle these changes.’ Shoprite invested in an 51ˇçÁ÷ERP system and 51ˇçÁ÷software integration that allowed them to do things that they would not have been able to do in the past.

Communication with all role players

Continuous and clear communication with all stakeholders of the group, which includes the board, staff, shareholders, suppliers, the investor community, financiers and analysts, is crucial, and not just in a time of crisis. ‘If you don’t have the same message to all role players, people will get confused.’

Firstly, your board should know what strategy management drives and they need to buy in and support that strategy.

During the lockdown period management continued to update the board.

Also, your overall business strategy is not a secret anymore. Historically it could have been a ‘secret competitive advantage’, but today the communication of strategy is much more in the public domain, especially for a listed company. Shoprite has nine key drivers they focus on and these get communicated widely to all stakeholders (www.shopriteholdings.co.za/shareholders-investors).

Shoprite’s CEO communicates directly to the staff via their own company application. He publishes videos in which he shares strategic goals (for example key messages regarding cost drivers) and gives clear guidance on what is expected. ‘Communication’ − Anton could not emphasise it enough − ‘the better you communicate, over and over giving the same message, the better the strategy will be followed.’

Shoprite need to communicate in 14 countries, each with its own set of rules.

‘Within an environment that changes every day, the structure in which you communicate becomes extremely important,’ said Anton.

Corporate culture: passion and positivity

‘What pulls one through in a time of crisis is passion and the way in which you approach it. Positivity unlocks creative thinking. It is all about positivity and accepting challenges. You need a management team and employees with a lot of passion. Our CEO drives positivity.’

Anton continued that one of the first things Shoprite did was to ensure that their staff were safe (protective gear, enough sanitiser, rolling out mobile clinics). They also, early on during the lockdown, paid all staff an appreciation bonus − ‘retail is a hard and fast environment, you need to show you care about your staff and keep them motivated.’

We ended our conversation with some general business strategy-related topics, including the age-old principle of focusing on the client/customer. Shoprite’s approach is driven by a saying in their business that ‘no customer will leave the store unhappy’, so people go out of their way to make customers feel happy. New projects are approached with the questions ‘Is it for the benefit of the customer?’ and ‘How does it benefit the customer?’, a clear example of putting the customer at the centre of strategic thinking.

On incorporating sustainability and corporate citizenship into strategy, Anton mentioned that the integrated report is the first point of departure. Their company is totally committed and they embrace their role in society − supplier development (from information technology service providers to fruit and vegetable suppliers), soup trucks (utilised during periods of crisis) and mobile trucks serving rural areas, to mention a few. ‘It is nice to see that we can make a difference. The company does a lot and tries to give back to the communities − at the end of the day it is all about the customer.’

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CFO South Africa MD Joël Roerig welcomed the finance executives in attendance, noting that the occasion was historic. “Never before have we come together in an online setting like this.”

He went on to thank the CFO South Africa’s partners who are committed to supporting the CFO community. This event was supported by principal partners Deloitte and Standard Bank, executive partners 51ˇçÁ÷Concur and Workday, and associate partners Clarkhouse Human Capital, Jaguar Land Rover, Coupa and Transparent.

JoÍl then introduced Deloitte chief digital and innovation officer Valter Adão, who kicked off conversations around how Covid-19 has accelerated global business into what has become the new normal.

Valter discussed three steps leaders will have to go through in this time of drastic change: respond, recover and thrive. “The response speaks to what we had to do in the days leading up to lockdown, as well as when we come out of lockdown. Then we have to move rapidly into a recover and a thrive mode in order sustain ourselves into the future.”

He also referred to Youtube, Dropbox, Whatsapp, Tinder and Skype – companies that are increasingly outperforming others, saying these businesses are already fit for the kind of environment we are currently operating in. “These businesses operate 24/7 and without geographic constraints. So it certainly challenges the traditional business paradigm.”

However, Valter says that it’s not necessarily technology that are making these businesses phenomenal, it’s what leaders are doing with their technology that is allowing them to unlock this value. As a result, a lot of the disruption or change that is allowing companies to thrive in these difficult environments are businesses that have:

• Dematerialised: They’ve reduced their reliance on infrastructure.
• Demonetised: They’ve changed their business model.
• Democratised: They use data to develop hypotheses for running their businesses as opposed to the other way around where businesses develop hypotheses and input data to make key decisions.

“The other side of the digital economy and technology is that we’re getting a rapid learning in this regard,” Valter adds.

“Digital is more than just technology, it’s changing our physical, biological and chemical world. It’s changed how we live, work and communicate with each other and having a tremendous impact on our businesses, industries and economies. It’s also created awareness around the social change that we have to drive in our environment and it’s empowered us as individuals in organisation to participate in that social change.”

He unpacked some of the principles and philosophies leaderships need to tap into in this time of change:

• Unprecedented metabolic rate of change: This is the challenge that, as a CFO, you need to lead your business into the unknown. It also describes the adoption of these new solutions by customers. “That’s when disruption starts happening.”
• Lawson effect: This is when companies are innovating vigorously in the wrong direction or becoming so comfortable with something that they break it. “You have to identify these Lawson moments in your organisation and stop them. Make sure your efforts around innovation are focused on something that will make your business stronger and is relevant to the market.”
• Resource allocation: You have to distinguish what the right things are to invest into and what the wrong things are. You have to look for evidence of where the capex of a new digital solution is lower than the opex of how things were done before. You also have to ensure that you can unlock exponential growth, improved productivity and improved experience from these solutions.
• New age of the ecosystem: “We’ve now been thrust into that. In the last seven days, all our companies that are working remotely are all becoming platforms.” In order to adjust to this new workforce ecosystem, leaders have to bring in experts and expertise into your business. “If we create the right ecosystems of expertise, we can progress.” Overnight, everyone is now in a symbiotic relationship, competitors, different industries and companies are working together to move into a new ecosystem.

Others revealed that the situation is pushing them to start thinking about the future of work – and whether they really need all that floorspace, while others said they were trying to identify new, pandemic-proof income streams.

The participants even took the opportunity to share their frustrations at having to manage their children’s distance learning, in addition to working from home themselves – adding that sharing these frustrations with others on their teams helped to reduce the stress.

When attendees were brought back into the main session, Valter said he felt incredibly proud to listen to a group of South African CFOs responding so aggressively and positively to a very challenging environment, and playing such a critical role in driving change.

He left CFOs inspired, saying this year is going to be the greatest leadership challenge ever. “We have to become very open-minded to new ways of doing things. People work best under pressure. We get far more creative in finding solutions to progress. And the last week is evidence of that. Use the crisis to make significant jumps forward.”

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