Financial Excellence With Game Changers, Presented By Sap

The buzz: “Unfortunately, financial information is a decaying asset. The longer it takes to prepare the statements the less valuable the information becomes” (Steve Rosvold). Financial reports are required to meet statutory and management mandates. Traditional “hard close” reports could only be produced after the end of the period. Good news: Technology now lets your Finance department run a financial consolidation on real-time transactional data. Or maybe it’s not good news. Our panel will debate the value of mid-month reporting. The experts speak. Jeff Hattendorf, Macrospect: “Truly successful decision-making relies on a balance between deliberate and instinctive thinking” (“Blink”, Malcolm Gladwell). Sam Parikh, Deloitte: “To innovate does not necessarily mean to expand; very often it means to simplify” (M. Russell Ballard). Stephanie Hudson Miller, SAP: “If winning isn't everything, why do they keep score?” (Vince Lombardi). Join us for Real-time Close: Oxymoron or True Value?

The buzz: “Predicting better than pure guesswork, even if not accurately, delivers real value” (Eric Siegel). The lines are blurring between the traditionally silo’ed Financial Planning and Analysis department and the Finance team that performs Financial Consolidation. Why? Technology is enabling a more accurate middle-of-the-month predictive close to replace month-over-month planning and forecasting. How can your company leverage innovations for more granualte forecasting and guidance for the business? The experts speak. David Dixon, TruQua Enterprises: “A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be” (Wayne Gretzky). Tony Guetersloh, TruQua Enterprises: “I’ve got to admit it’s getting better, a little better all the time” (The Beatles). Elizabeth Milne, SAP: “Sometimes the light’s all shining on me, other times I can barely see” (The Grateful Dead). Join us for Predictive Close and Predictive Accounting: Getting Granular.

The buzz: “In the few years since I began using analytics, the view that it might be ‘just a fad’ has shifted to a growing understanding of its potential” (Frank Friedman, Deloitte CEO / former CFO). Digital Transformation is flooding the Office of the CFO with information and data sources, and instant actuals replace periodic. How can your CFO harness the data deluge, adopt Dynamic Planning, and guide the business beyond numbers? The answer: Analytics, BI and Visualization. The experts speak. Rob Jenkins, SAP: “All models are wrong, but some are useful” (George E. P. Box). Patrick Hickey, Jump Analytics: “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better” (Beckett on Wawrinka). David Den Boer, Column5 Consulting: “It sounds logical to ask customers what they want and then give it to them. But they rarely wind up getting what they really want that way” (Steve Jobs). Join us for Visualization, BI and Advanced Analytics: Improving Enterprise Financial Performance.

The buzz: “CFOs need to be able to evaluate and prepare for the impact political, economic and societal events may have on their organization…take on a more strategic role in planning” (Thack Brown, SAP). Yes. It’s time for the Office of Finance function to morph from scheduled guidance based on past results to a trusted business guide into the future. How? Digital transformation now gives CFOs instant access to a real-time snapshot of fiscal health and enables them to help business leaders understand how to use immediate access to financial data. Is your CFO there yet? The experts speak. Jeff Hattendorf, Macrospect: “Plans are worthless, but planning is everything” (Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower). Brian Kalish, Kalish Consulting: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is equivalent to magic” (Arthur C. Clarke). Thiagu Bala, Deloitte: “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right (Henry Ford). Join us for Dynamic and Agile Planning: The Impact of Real Time Actuals.

The buzz: Three’s a charm. The Three Lines of Defense (TLoD) is becoming a globally recognized framework, where Corporate Risk, Compliance and other groups set standards and practices for managing risk and Internal Audit provides assurance. In research commissioned by SAP from Forrester, ~45% of 200+ respondents had implemented or were implementing TLoD, but some executives had significant ongoing concerns. Is implementation only at the fringes of the business? Is deep, rigorous implementation missing? The experts speak. Mark Salamasick, University of Texas System: “Sometimes if you want to see a change for the better, you have to take things into your own hands” (Clint Eastwood). Elvia Novak Deloitte: “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success” (Henry Ford). Bruce McCuaig, SAP: “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity” (Amelia Earhart). Join us for Three Lines of Defense: Fact or Fiction?

The buzz: No more green eyeshade! Finance departments typically had to wait until period-end – month, quarter, year – for data-compilation-intensive financial reports .Strategic business decisions had to rely on a rear-view mirror. Now technology allows companies from start-ups to huge enterprises to integrate closing tasks, processes and systems with core ERP and accounting environments for a business snapshot at any time. Is your company ready to see the light? The experts speak. Robert D. Kugel, Ventana Research: “There is surely nothing quite so useless as doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all. Yet our tools—especially our accounting concepts and data—all focus on efficiency” (Peter Drucker). Suzanne Roelofs, EY: “I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven’t done” (Lucille Ball). Jeff Hattendorf, Macrospect: “Do… or do not. There is no try” (Yoda, Star Wars V).Join us for Continuous Accounting: An End to Rear-View Reporting.

The buzz: Risky business. As your business goes digital, you face a dual challenge: keep everything humming while protecting your company from compliance breaches, anomalies in transactions, and other risk exposure from your customers, suppliers and partners. Will tech tools like machine learning and predictive analytics help accomplish this in real time? The experts speak. Carlos Russell, Ternium: “Learn from the mistakes of others. You can never live long enough to make them all yourself” (Groucho Marx). Stefan Schaffer, EY: “The future is already here. It's just not evenly distributed” (William Gibson). Chris McClean, Forrester: “Globalization…has been in the cards not just since the invention of the telegraph or the steamship, or even the written word or the wheel, but since the invention of life” (Robert Wright). Jérôme Pugnet, SAP: “Rogues are always found out…Whoever is a wolf will act as a wolf…” (Jean de La Fontaine). Join us for Fraud, 3rd Party Risk, and Live Business.

The buzz: Everybody’s talking. I can’t hear a word they’re saying…. It’s no secret that Finance typically lags in new technology adoption. Or that this leaves most Finance professionals – likely yours, too – ill-equipped to drive real-time and in-depth analysis and insightful reporting on key business metrics and priorities. Reality check: Global markets are harsher. Wall Street is less kind. Finance needs to be able to help your company forecast, plan and predict successful outcomes. But how? Arm your Finance team with the right technology tools to be at the core of driving your organization’s digital transformation. The experts speak. Sam Parikh, Deloitte: “The task of the leader is to get his (her) people from where they are to where they have not been” (Henry Kissinger). Jon Essig, SimpleFi: “Change before you have to” (Jack Welch). Karuna Mukherjea, SAP: “The best way to predict the future is to invent it” (Alan Kay). Join us for The Future of Finance: Powered by Technology.

The buzz: Net-net. Brace yourself for news! By 2015, Millennials were the largest generational cohort in the US workforce. And their characteristic work style – caring deeply about workplace satisfaction, social networking, BYOD and mobile – has changed many areas of business, including the historically new-trend-and-technology-averse finance department. As a result, all financial professionals worldwide are now seeing their role and job within the corporate enterprise differently. The experts speak. John Arellano, Deloitte: “Plan your work for today and every day, then work your plan” (Margaret Thatcher). Celina Rogers, CFO Publishing: “Some people only ask others to do something. I believe that, why should I wait for someone else? Why don’t I take a step and move forward?” (Malala Yousafzai). Henner Schliebs, SAP: “All generalizations are dangerous, even this one” (Alexandre Dumas, fils). Join us for Millennials and Your Finance Organization: Work Style And Business.

The buzz: I can see clearly now. In its long-time role as steward of the enterprise, Finance could only make recommendations to the business after month-end, based on past results. But with technology now providing real-time insights into finance and operations, the office of the CFO can look ahead and guide its constituents to navigate a true course through any economic climate. How? Finance can focus on interpretation and predictive analysis to help the company focus on strategic goals. The experts speak. Nilly Essaides, Association for Financial Professionals: “Great things are done by a series of small things brought together” (Vincent Van Gogh). Shin Sawhney, Capgemini UK: “Efficiency is doing things right. Effectiveness is doing the right things” (Peter Drucker). David Ormerod, SAP: “The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining” (John F. Kennedy). Join us for Real-Time Insights: Driving Finance Transformation.

The buzz: The heat is on. Your company is under pressure to improve transparency, intimacy and trust with internal and external stakeholders. Your business has to be digitally “on” all the time. Your CFO needs to command a more strategic role in the business. How? Streamline finance operations and partner interactions by centralizing Finance Shared Services across your enterprise. Prizes include enhanced productivity, new service level support, reduced collaboration time, higher quality automated processing. What role does technology play in all of this? The experts speak. Andrzej Hutniczak, Capgemini: “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get (Warren Buffett). Christopher Juneau, Concur: “You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards (Steve Jobs). Martin Naraschewski, SAP: “We are all now connected by the Internet, like neurons in a giant brain” (Stephen Hawking). Join us for Streamlining Your Finance Operations: The Experts Speak.

The buzz: Faster! s digitalization, advanced analytical capabilities and other technologies disrupt the business world, the finance profession must change. Senior finance execs are seeking sophisticated information tools to support new demands on their role. How can they capitalize on innovations to deliver the highest value to the business? The experts speak. Srikanth Tamma, Deloitte: “Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have…It’s about the people you have, how you’re led, and how much you get it” (Steve Jobs). Nick Castellina, Aberdeen: “An organization's ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage” (Jack Welch). Neil Krefsky, SAP: “What turns me on about the digital age...you have closed the gap between dreaming and doing ..to make a record of a song, you needed a studio and a producer. Now, you need a laptop” (Bono). Join us for Behold the Digital Finance Professional: Adapting at Lightning Speed.

The buzz: Perfect vision? The Finance function in most organizations has traditionally focused on the past, through expense control, spreadsheet-driven accounting and management reporting. Fast forward to the imminent, full adoption of digital technologies. With changes to your finance operating model, technology and people, your Finance 2020 organization can become a predictive analytics powerhouse and go-to decision support source for the business. Some analysts say digital may kill finance. Is that a good or a bad thing? The expert speak. David Axson, Accenture: “The end result of great forecasting is not an accurate picture of tomorrow, but better decisions about the future” (Peter Schwartz). Bo Lykkegaard, IDC: “If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading” (Lao Tzu). Birgit Starmanns, SAP: “The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones” (John Maynard Keynes). Join us for Finance in 2020: How Much Transformation?

The buzz: IA. Technology innovations are giving your Internal Audit (IA) team a real opportunity to shift from its traditional role as a deliverer of assurance and protector of existing value to a new role of trusted advisor. With its corporate level positioning and cross-functional role, IA may also be in the running to play a lead role in identifying and helping to manage risk – perhaps as your company’s command center for risk. Is there more ahead for IA? And how should you measure its expanded value? The experts speak. Paul Sobel, Georgia-Pacific: “You see things; and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not?’” (George Bernard Shaw). Carey Oven, Deloitte: “It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed” (Theodore Roosevelt). Bruce McCuaig, SAP: “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses” (Henry Ford). Join us for Internal Audit at a Turning Point: Command Center for Risk?

The buzz: Sizzle vs Steak. Many CFOs’ wish lists include improved collaboration, embedded analytics, easier deployment and streamlined maintenance. As a result, Cloud-based EPM solutions will appeal to current and new users of performance management solutions. But what will EPM in the Cloud really offer to organizations? How does it differ from traditional on-premise approaches? And as we observe the rise of the Analytical CFO”, does EPM fit? The experts speak. Joe Mastro, Deloitte: “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not…Education will not…Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent” (Calvin Coolidge). Jeff Hattendorf, Macrospect: “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies and statistics” (Benjamin Disraeli). David Williams, SAP: “First mover isn't what's important — it's the last mover” (Peter Thiel). Join us for Re-Imagining EPM Part 2: Working in the Cloud.

The buzz: Onward! Take a good look around your finance and accounting offices. Does it feel like your finance team is on the cutting edge of innovation and leading the charge to add strategic value to the business? Or do you see endless piles of paperwork, and hear grumblings about deadlines, information requests and other typical back office headaches? If the latter, it’s time to learn how to leverage data, benchmarking and metrics to modernize your finance function. But where and how do you start? The experts speak. Eric Merrill, Deloitte: “All great changes are preceded by chaos” (Deepak Chopra). Mark Richards, RBA Consulting: “Financials are like the punchline to a joke and the set-up is in the operations.” Dan Fagan, SAP: Vince Lombardi said, “If you’re not keeping score you’re just practicing.” Cate Costa gave us the modern-day version, “There are no participation trophies in business.” Join us for Modernizing Your Finance Organization: Metrics and Benchmarking.

The buzz: Salud! The integration between Finance and Operations has evolved from time-lagging batch processes to now real-time information. Since operational information ultimately impacts both your revenue and cost planning, changes across your entire value chain must be reflected in finance. Savvy CFOs now see their functional scope widening from core accounting to include catalyst and strategist roles. And digitally mature organizations are enjoying up to a 26% increase in profitability. It’s all good. The experts speak. Alex Bannell, Capgemini: “So what?” Eric Bramley, Deloitte: “Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do, and they will surprise you with their ingenuity” (General George S. Patton, Jr.). Rich Sernyak, PwC: “Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious and adding the meaningful” (John Maeda). Martin Mrugal, SAP: “Zero Latency is the future currency for competitive advantage.” Join us for Finance and Operations Integration: To Your Business Health!

The buzz: At risk. Recent research and surveys suggest that enterprise boards of directors and CEOs want, need, and are demanding more and better information on enterprise risk management from the CFO and Office of Finance. It’s becoming so urgent that some boards are starting to exercise an oversight role. Reality check: A serious gap persists between what the CFO is delivering and what the business requires. Could this put CFOs at risk, too? The experts speak. Elvia Novak, Deloitte: “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go” (T.S. Eliot). Bruce McCuaig, SAP: “Getting the right thing wrong is better than putting the wrong thing right … Most of our current problems are the result of policy makers and managers busting a gut to do the wrong thing right...” (Russell Ackoff). Join us for Board to CFO: Need Better Risk Management Data NOW!

The buzz: Change With budgeting and forecasting silos popping up across business, your CFO and Office of Finance have a more important role than ever before: moving from basic support cost center to a proactive revenue driver and business partner. Their goal should now be to lead the organization forward with real-time interpretation of data to help navigate today’s and tomorrow’s competitive business climate. Change happens over time. The best results are achieved when it’s intentional. The experts speak. Greg Wright, VantagePoint Business Solutions: “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere” (Albert Einstein). Ingmar Christiaens, EY: “Knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand...Imagination embraces…all there ever will be to know and understand” (Albert Einstein). Floyd Conrad, SAP: “It is far better to foresee even without certainty than not to foresee at all” (Henri Poincare). Join us for CFO-Led Revolution: Integrated Business Planning.

The buzz: Your CFO With the pace of business accelerating, you need your CFO to be a proactive high-performer, not a perpetually-catching-up laggard. The high performer leverages innovative technologies and processes to strategically guide the organization’s sales and investment decisions toward profitable growth. They analyze, monitor and share performance results in real-time. The passive CFO, not so much or at all. If yours is the latter, how can you empower them? The experts speak. William Fuessler, IBM: “In the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside” (John F. Kennedy). Nick Castellina, Aberdeen: “An organization's ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage” (Jack Welch). Neil Krefsky, SAP: “A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be” (Wayne Gretzky). Join us to learn How High-Performing CFOs Add Business Value.