During a CFO Dinner hosted at the Saxon Hotel in Johannesburg, some of South Africa’s top finance leaders shared how their companies are approaching AI in the post-Covid era.
A group of top CFOs gathered at the luxurious Saxon for an exclusive dinner and discussion, hosted by CFO South Africa in partnership with Workday. The topic under discussion was AI adoption, and the CFOs were keen to share their learnings and benchmark their progress against their peers.
First, heads of finance provided insight into how the Covid-19 pandemic introduced a new level of resilience in business operations. The pandemic has had rippling and lasting effects on people and businesses, from increased productivity and positive lifestyle changes.
It showed companies that they can operate and sometimes increase productivity even when employees are off-site unless the job requires otherwise, such as in the mining or manufacturing industries.
“There was a shift in how we measure productivity, from counting hours spent in the office to focusing on deliverables. We always thought that people who put in more hours were more dedicated, but Covid shifted the focus to deliverables,” said one of the guests.
Two years after the pandemic, digital disruption blows full steam ahead, but now companies are navigating the effects of advancing technologies such as generative AI, both good and bad.
GenAI's place in finance
South Africa’s finance gurus are optimistic about generative AI and its impact on the finance industry. CFOs noted that companies had learned to adapt to digital disruption during the Information era when aspects like automation and cloud technology were introduced in the workplace.
Now, in the age of AI, CFOs must navigate new challenges, such as verifying and ensuring the accuracy of big datasets that AI uses for analytics and machine learning, and dealing with the increased risk of cybersecurity attacks on company infrastructure.
“When you upload confidential data into Open AI platforms, we are concerned about unknowns, such as, where is this information going and who owns it?” pointed out another guest.
Contracts and policies are another area where CFOs have found AI to be particularly helpful. “AI can summarise a 90-page report into 20 pages. It saves time and allows us to redirect attention to other focus areas.”
Another CFO pointed out that introducing AI into workflows should be a balanced process. “Most of our warehouse functions have already been automated, so if the system is not broken, why change it?”
Cybersecurity risks
The CFOs also noted a growing demand for cybersecurity specialists as malicious threat actors exploit new technologies in various ways, including ransomware attacks on companies, which lead to sensitive company information being leaked onto the dark web.
One CFO stressed the importance of having a solid security framework and hiring specialists to perform advanced security checks and balances, such as penetration tests, which identify and manage potential risks and vulnerabilities in the company network.
It was clear that finance teams are dipping their toes into the waters of generative AI, and seeing enormous potential in what it can do for business, but at the same time, many CFOs are adopting a “wait and see” approach, waiting for the clear use cases to emerge.
The dinner was punctuated by many “aha” moments, as the CFOs discovered new tips and tricks for both professional and personal AI use. The power of networking and collaboration was apparent, and the finance executives all agreed that they had feasted on food for thought – as well as for their bellies.
Dinner attendees included:
- Ashona Kooblall, group CFO, EOH
- Charl Keyter, CFO, Sibanye Stillwater
- Cheryl-Jane Kujenga, CFO, BCX
- Daniel Botha, CFO, BDO South Africa
- Georgina Guedes, executive community director, CFO South Africa
- Hannes Boonzaaier, group CFO, AfroCentric
- Mark Odendaal, account executive – large enterprise – Workday
- Suren Naidoo, principal services executive, Workday
- Thobeka Ntshiza, financial director, Zeda
- Trevor Wentworth, group financial manager, Adcock Ingram
