Kickstarting the 2024 Finance Indaba at the Sandton Convention Centre on 10 October, Vodacom Group CFO Raisibe Morathi urged CFOs to adopt a positive attitude towards emerging technologies, as it will aid in making well-informed decisions.
Vodacom Group CFO Raisibe Morathi, keynote speaker at the 2024 Finance Indaba held on 10 October at the Sandton Convention Centre, urged finance professionals in attendance to either “adopt or die” when it comes to the prevalence of emerging technologies in the world of work.
Using results of an interactive Mentimeter survey, Raisibe expressed her joy at how 66 percent of the audience said they are personally prepared for the upcoming technology transformation in finance, while 23 percent said they are very prepared and feeling confident about embracing the change. A mere 10 percent said they are not prepared at all.
“When we think about emerging technologies, there’s a lot to consider: AI, machine learning, cloud computing, blockchain, RPA [robotic process automation], APIs, augmented reality, and digital payments, to name a few. It’s overwhelming, but it’s also exciting. These technologies allow us to work faster and more efficiently, opening up a wealth of business opportunities, particularly in terms of digital and financial inclusion. However, as finance professionals, we need to adopt and integrate these technologies to stay competitive. This shift won’t replace us, but if we don’t adapt, we could become obsolete.”
Raisibe explained further on how her departments work at Vodacom is ensuring that the group’s financial stability is not compromised, while driving technological growth.
“AI, in particular, is becoming a vital tool in predictive analytics. At Vodacom, we use AI to analyse vast amounts of data about our customers. We know so much about our customers’ spending habits – on voice, data, and more – that we can predict future behaviours and personalise our offerings. AI allows us to solve problems before they occur, including detecting fraud and automating processes that were once manual.”
Risk is also a key focus area in her role. “As Vodacom operates in a dynamic and competitive industry, it faces various financial risks, such as currency fluctuations, interest rate changes and regulatory challenges. By employing sound financial strategies, the group continues to effectively manage and, where needed, mitigate these risks and safeguard its profitability,” she explains.
While it is important to adapt to the growing technological advancements, Raisibe also cautioned on not entirely doing away with the traditional skills such as financial modelling and forecasting, cost management and optimisation as well as financial reporting, among others. “You need the blend of the skills. We need to close the skills gaps, we need to encourage personal learning paths and encourage cross-functional training. I do caution all of you that AI is a new technology, it's a developing technology, but like fire, it enables us to have light, but it can also burn and distract. So that is how we should think about AI, that if we don't use it responsibly, it can actually be damaging.”
Raisibe closed her insightful talk by making a call to action to the attendees and finance bosses in the room: “I urge you all to endeavour to lead the way in creating a balanced tech-enabled finance function. Remember, change is the only constant.”
