The Reformed CFO: Adapting To The New Era Of Finance

2 mins read

16 March 2023

  • The DigitalCFO Asia Indonesia Symposium was conducted on 16 March 2023, discussing insights on how CFOs & Finance Leaders can and should enhance financial efficiency through intelligent automation.
  • ICAEW, Kyriba, Wolters Kluwer, Prophix and Decision Critical were among the organisations that partnered with DigitalCFO Asia for this finance thought leadership event, which featured speakers from reputable organizations like Lion Parcel, XL Axiata, AJE Group and many more.

DigitalCFO Asia hosted the DigitalCFO Asia Indonesia Symposium 2023 which aimed to promote a better understanding on how Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) and Finance Leaders can enhance financial efficiency through intelligent automation. Intelligent Automation, which combines artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and robotic process automation (RPA), is becoming increasingly important in finance due to its ability to streamline processes, improve accuracy, and reduce costs. 

Unfortunately, Indonesian CFOs aren’t adapting as quickly as needed despite increased expenditures in technology. The present focus in finance is still on solving legacy problems rather than the predictive model required to stay ahead of market and company structure. Whether at work, at home, or across the globe, CFOs and financial leaders must put an emphasis on intelligent automation if they want to become more efficient, accurate, and agile in an increasingly competitive market.

The symposium kickstarted with opening remarks from the Symposium Chairperson, Riza NurFadhli, Head of Finance, Lion Parcel. Following that, Keynote Speaker, Adam Rachmanto, Head of Finance Digitalization, PT XL Axiata Tbk, took over to give his presentation which touched on putting strategy first and developing the strategic vision organizations need to achieve the outcomes that will generate the most revenue. An engaging yet insightful presentation, his session provided insights to the importance of streamlining business operations that drive growth, improve cash, efficiency and bottom-line profit.

Aria Nagasastra, Lecturer, Binus Business School, spoke on the crucial need for businesses to evaluate the role of ESG in their corporate strategy and regard it as the seed that can assist crystallize change. He highlighted that companies must adopt ESG concepts rather than simply greenwashing their present business strategy with symbolic gestures as this could affect their valuation. 

Ashish Agarwal, Chief Finanical Officer, Jiva, brought attention to new accounting requirements that have had a substantial impact on finance tasks, necessitating more intricate computations, valuations, and disclosures. Because of this, there is a need for customized solutions to improve reporting’s efficiency and accuracy, such as bespoke systems or RPA technologies. 

Anibal Torres Alvarez, Chief Finanical Officer, AJE Group, presented on the necessity for businesses to switch from annual planning to continuous planning so that the finance team can swiftly reforecast. Quicker forecasting abilities are now crucial as businesses continue to face an economic environment that is full of uncertainty.

The Indonesia Symposium 2023 Witnessed 2 Panel Discussions

The first panel discussion had speakers; Rajat Dutt, Country Representative & Finance Director, Louis Dreyfus Company; Sandy Permadi, Chief Financial Officer, JD.ID; Dias Widya Ramadhan, Country Finance Manager, IDP Education Ltd and moderator Ervina Waty, Chief Financial Officer, Ateria Group. The panel brought on discussions about the CFOs role in supporting the finance team’s talent so that they can produce competitive business value and participate in the talent revolution.

The second panel discussion had speakers; Auro Sen, Head Of Finance, Aquarev; Jayaprawirya Diah, Head of Corporate Strategy and Planning, Bank Central Asia (BCA); Rahadian Ratmawijaya, Finance Director, PT. a Lenzing Group and moderator Krishna Worotikan, Chief Financial Officer and Diversity/Inclusion Lead, Microsoft Indonesia. The panel brought on discussions about managing enterprise risk, then importance of data accessibility throughout the enterprise, the use of analytics and why it is imperative that C-suites executives have a more collaborative relationship in today’s business environment.

The Indonesia Symposium 2023 also held a fireside chat with speakers, Aria Nagasastra, Lecturer, Binus Business School and Joseph Hutagaol, Corporate Finance & Sustainability, PT Teladan Resources. The fireside chat touched on the true priorities of sustainability in finance today. 

Other speakers included; Chee Kien Loh, Regional Sales Manager, CCH Tagetik Wolters Kluwer, Ferdy Nandes, Indonesia Country Manager, Aspire, Handoko (Han) Soeryadjaya, Head Of Finance, Ecolab, May Ng, Chief Financial Officer, Yummy Corp and Novy Wulansari, Finance Director, PT Anugrah Argon Medic. 

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