As finance professionals, we’re becoming more and more relied upon to steer businesses, even going as far as exiting things that don’t 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��Darrel Orsmond, industry head of financial services at enterprise application software company,��Africa.

“People think about change in different ways,” he says. “Considering the fact that certain cultures are ingrained in companies, you therefore have to think really hard about what you’re trying to do. If you get things marginally wrong, the failure is business wide.”

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. “As industries converge and we all move into one another’s spaces, business demands fundamentally shift,” 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?

“Companies are recognising that there’s another way to run their businesses, which necessitates reporting in a completely different way,” said Darrel. For example, existing bank structures are trading themselves out of business, he said, as boundaries between business and borders change. “As this happens, the ability to control the processes banks traditionally run disappears.” 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.

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

Applying the example of Tesla, Darrel spoke of the way that Elon Musk decided that the future is in battery-driven cars – which at the time didn’t exist. “He 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.” 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’re a big or small organisation. Like Musk, we need to completely redesign things. All of us face constant changes happening around us – every organisation is in a state of flux. “You therefore need to move your ambition as far out as you possibly can – learning from the example of Tesla,” said Darrel.

“Yet, while marketing people may sell you the future, finance people need to account for it. It’s 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.”

Yet, he added, we need to marry ambition with a clear plan that’s 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 – 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 51����Africa News Center.

As the first-ever virtual��Finance Indaba Network��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��Vodacom��CFO��Raisibe Morathi,��University of Johannesburg��CFO��Nolwazi Mamorare, and��Momentum Corporate��CEO��Dumo Mbethe��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,��Telkom��CFO��Tsholofelo��Molefe,��Afgri��CFO��Rivasha Maharaj, and��Adcock Ingram��CFO��Dorette Neethling��revealed that support, EQ and mentorship are critical for the success of women CFOs.

Professor Mervyn King��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��51����Concur��and��Workday, Platinum Partner��Coupa; Gold Partners��ACCA,��Automation Anywhere��with��TreasuryONE Automation,��CaseWare Africa,��CIPC,��Oracle,��Sage��and��Quick Consols; and Silver Partners��BlackLine,��College of Chartered Accountants,��Dimago,��EnterpriseWorx,��Fasset,��IIA SA,��Kalon Venture Partners,��Konsise,��Sanlam��and��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��Altron��CEO��Mteto Nyati’s bestselling book, Betting on a Darkie.

“The 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’s 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,” said��Joël Roerig, managing director of��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��51����Concur��as a��Diamond Partner��of the��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.

“The confirmation of 51����Concur as a Diamond Partner is an incredibly exciting development for the finance community in South Africa,” says��Joel Roerig, managing director of��CFO South Africa. “The Finance Indaba Network provides webinars, podcasts and many more knowledge sharing and networking opportunities – at absolutely no cost to finance professionals. This is only possible thanks to the unwavering support of committed partners like 51����Concur.”

51����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’t miss 51����Concur’s 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’s 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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