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From Accountant to Business Strategist, The Evolving Role of the Management Accountant 26 March | 6.30- 9.30pm
About the seminar
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Are you an aspiring CFO?
Do you have the skill sets of a business strategist?
From Accountant to Business Strategist, The Evolving Role of the Management Accountant
CFO’s have had to become business strategists. Why? Because the profile of the CFO has raised over the last several years. International consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton recently interviewed the CFOs of Pfizer, FedEx, Johnson & Johnson, BASF, Procter & Gamble, Deutsche Telekom, and 11 other U.S. and European companies and published these interviews in the book “CFO Thought Leaders: Advancing the Frontiers of Finance.” This study clearly shows that the CFO is now seen more as a business partner with the CEO, closely involved in designing and overseeing strategy, operations, and performance. I quote “He or she is an active, innovative, and independent transformation agent for company wide initiatives.”
In this interactive discussion, the speakers will share their best practices, leadership thoughts, experiences and their evolving roles as both a strategic business partner and a CFO.
• Tim Hird, Director of Robert Half International (Singapore)
US Fortune Magazine's No 1 Most Admired Company in Recruitment Services
• Andrew Olding, FCCA, CFO of Avid Technology - Asia
The World Leader in Digital Media Management
The Explicit Strategist
"When you take a look at a CFO's responsibility today, you also have operations planning and analysis, information technology, strategic planning, and M&A. As a member of the senior management team, you have to be able to take off your technical hat when you walk in the room." “Any senior leader in an organization has to have a certain degree of courage — to be willing to bring forward those things that are a little atypical, if not unpopular, on occasion. You need to be able to rock the boat without turning it over. And that really gets to a need for every organization, especially one the size of Pfizer, to be able to drive a high level of strategic resilience as part of the senior management team.” —David L. Shedlarz, Pfizer Inc.
“At Procter & Gamble, we have embraced the idea of the CFO as a generalist. I consciously think of myself as wearing two hats. I am responsible for traditional accounting issues: cash flow, capital, and cost structures. But my role is increasingly linked with strategy and operations.” —Clayton Daley, Procter & Gamble Company
CFOs are more closely engaged than ever in designing, adapting, and implementing their organizations' business models. "I am involved in all important operational and strategic group planning,"- Dr. Karl-Gerhard Eick, CFO and deputy CEO of Deutsche Telekom, the German telecommunications company.
Business Influence
“There are so many things that happen around a company, and the CFO and other finance people are in a terrific position to see everything. CFOs have to be good listeners and good observers to connect the dots. You can make linkages and connections that other people can’t, because they’re not seeing all those dots. This puts you in a unique position to guide, direct, and influence outcomes.”—Robert A. Hagemann, Quest Diagnostics
Continuous Improvement
“CFOs need to be leaders, with vision and accountability and a mind-set that focuses on continuous improvement and talent management. Not everybody is going to meet all of those criteria, so it’s important to see the CFO as part of a team. What is critical is that the leadership team can bring all these things together.”—Robert L. Lumpkins, Cargill
Efficient Communicator
The ability to communicate to various internal and external constituencies is now a critical competency for chief financial officers. The CFO "should be half accountant and half strategist and, to an increasing degree, an efficient communicator in both roles," - Dr. Siegfried Luther, finance chief at Bertelsmann AG, the German media firm.
Tim Hird, Director – Robert Half International (Singapore)
Mr Tim Hird has worked with Robert Half International for over 10 years. In his current role, Mr Hird is responsible for the Singapore operations of Robert Half International. During this time, Mr Hird has helped to build the permanent search, temporary and interim management divisions, making these divisions the fastest growing within the organisation across Europe and South-East Asia. He is also actively involved in client and candidate initiatives within the Permanent Search and Interim Management markets in South-East Asia.
Mr Hird is a familiar industry figure and a valuable spokesperson on current trends affecting the market. He holds a degree in Latin from the University of Birmingham, UK and is a member of the Interim Management Association.
Andrew Olding, FCCA, CFO of Avid Technology - Asia
Andrew has more than 25 years of financial management experience gained in Europe, North America and Asia. His experience includes manufacturing, consulting, financial services and hi-tech entities where he has managed the finance, IT, HR and operations functions. He also has experience in mergers & acquisitions, capital funding, business development, corporate policy-making and strategic planning.
If you are having trouble registering online then you may download and fill out this registration form and fax it to (65) 65090292.
