‘CFOs focus on new ideas’

The role of CFO’s have undergone a profound shift from technical and fiduciary finance expertise to a business partner.

The role of CFOs is changing rapidly and gone are the days where it was restricted only with the finance function as primary task of digital transformation is to design and visualise the future finance function, said CA Sundar Nurani, Chairman, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (Dubai Chapter) NPIO, on sidelines of CFO Conclave organised recently in Dubai, attended by over 200 CFOs.

“Forward looking CFOs who have already implemented the digitalisation and automation embedding sophisticated analytics are enjoying the benefits of automation already currently exploring new technologies such as block chain and machine learning. It is a must for finance leaders of the future to develop new capabilities not only in themselves but in their subordinates as well,” said Nurani.

Special guest at the event was Ahmed Elmetwally, CEO and general manager of Private Office of Sheikh Mohamed bin Ahmed bin Hamdan Al Nahyan.

Secretary Harikishan Rankawat kicked off the event and he mentioned that many businesses drastically reshape their systems and processes by pursuing large-scale efforts to capture the benefits of these new technologies.

Anurag Chaturvedi, vice-chairman, shared his view that CFO need to adopt REED (I.e., Relevance, Evolve, Expand and Diversify) strategy to overcome any catastrophe. Today’s leaders should understand the need of focused approach to address issues and they seek right guidance of peers and professionals to implement strategy while keeping regulatory changes in mind. Today’s technology eased adoption of strategies in new time with access to global resources from anywhere.

The event was graced by high profile speakers such as Neeraj Agrawal, Group CFO and Board Member of Crescent Group Holdings Limited, who spoke about the transformation of regional family owned business to global multinational corporations by successfully adopting international best practice for transparency, governance, sustainability practices and reporting. Agrawal also described the energy transition trends and various sources of capital raising from international financial institutions including during the pandemic.

Jignesh Sanghvi, chief financial officer, DMCC said: “I am delighted to have been part of the insightful conversation at the CFO Conclave event organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India – Dubai Chapter, taking the distinguished attendees on a journey of how to prepare for the future and adapt to the changing economic environment, through insights from the DMCC Future of Trade 2021 report.”

The topic on Digitisation and Compliance with various laws was taken up by Pramod Kumar Chand, group CFO, RAK Ceramics and chairman - ICAI Ras Al Khaimah Chapter. He highlighted the importance of digital transformation in the business processes emphasising how the role of CFO’s have undergone a profound shift from technical and fiduciary finance expertise to a business partner with strategic and operational focus.

— business@khaleejtimes.com