Melrose Arch came alive as finance leaders and industry experts gathered for CFO South Africa’s 2025 Pitch Parade, for an evening of innovation, quickfire pitches and light-hearted networking, all under the sparkling Jozi sky.
With the orange and purple hues of the setting sun, allowing for the beautiful Melrose Arch to twinkle brightly, Johannesburg’s smartest finance minds steadily made their way towards The Venue for the 2025 edition of CFO South Africa’s Pitch Parade on 22 July.
The excitement was palpable as finance leaders and industry experts got together to share innovative ideas.
CFO South Africa’s trusted principal partner, Marsh; executive partners Anchor Capital, BDO SA, Coupa, Stanlib and Workday, and associate partners AICPA & CIMA, Allan Gray, Caseware Africa, Linked ERP, Oracle and Yellowcard were each given just four minutes to pitch their new and creative ideas – or risk being buzzed off stage.
With the hum of gentle conversation over drinks and snacks, and soothing music in the background, the partners prepared for a night of fun, creativity and excitement. And as the lights dimmed, everyone took their seats with a box of popcorn in hand.
Renowned comedian Alan Committie stepped up to ease nerves and fill the room with laughter, while expertly steering the MC duties for the evening.
Round one
Meagan Booth, sales manager of corporate South Africa at Caseware Africa was the first to speak and said when enhancing auditor efficiency, unlocking time, control and clarity, cloud solutions are important. She explained that she and her team have developed an app that makes auditing processes more seamless and that it will soon be made public.
“Financial statements should and can be drafted at an individual and organisational level,” she said, emphasising the importance of needing new tech that works more effectively.
Pavini Solanki, specialist, group savings & investments at Allan Gray, told the audience that South Africans do not have enough money saved up for retirement and explained how important it is that everyone start paying more attention to it.
“And what matters more is that you do not actually start chipping away at your retirement now, as most South Africans have been tempted to do. That’s why you need a proper retirement fund, and the right company to work with,” she said.
Travis Briscoe, sales leader at Marsh South Africa, was up next. He spoke about navigating risk without guidance and said that it was like building a 2,000-piece lego without structure.
“You have to have a good understanding of managing risk, it really is the secret source of your company’s financial health and strategic growth,” he said.
Closing off the first round was Akesh Lalla, senior sales director for FSI Africa at Oracle. He highlighted how Oracle has seamlessly integrated AI into its financial systems, positioning the company as a leader in applied AI within the sector. “It's the dawn of a new era everyone, one of touchless finance solutions. Innovation that matters now is innovation that drives the business forward and we are committed to driving the business forward,” he said.
Round two
First to kick off round two was O'lerato Litlhakanyane, the senior specialist and the client fund manager at Stanlib. She spoke about how it is important for CFOs to manage the loss of their funds in a smart and seamless way.
“Our corporate money market fund offers alternatives to call accounts, same day liquidity and higher yield and diversification across banks. Losing funds is not essential for a CFO, so we help protect funds from risk,” she said.
Carel Bouwer, the managing director at Linked ERP followed, and explained the importance of AI for CFOs who want to improve their ERPs.
“AI is making its way into your ERP to make your world easier through intelligent automation, data forecasting, real time and non real potential as a non-risk manager, personalised insights where ERP brings specific KPIs to the forefront and helps you make faster decisions,” he said.
Romona Rampersad, head of strategic corporate engagement at AICPA & CIMA, followed. She spoke about the development of management accountants from the foundation point of learning through the CGMA qualification.
“In the environment of our organisations, financial professionals need to do more than just reporting on finance, people who understand the numbers, but also the business. CIMA through CGMA develops financial professionals with strong business acumen and digital influence. When you hire a CGMA qualified professional, you are hiring someone who is equipped to drive performance,” she said.
And the last to speak in round two was Peter Armitage, the CEO at Anchor Capital. He spoke about the importance of investing in the right companies and people in order to maximise on growth and moving forwards. He smartly put in a short phrase: “You can have a 100 percent steak if you are able to invest in it!”
The room was filled with cheers and applause for all the participants just before they took another break.
Round three
First to take the stage in the final round was Khaya Mbanga, the chief information & digital officer at BDO SA. He spoke about how he developed new digital solutions to solve a risk and fund loss for a client company.
“I saw an opportunity and produced the frameworks for ERP that the client was looking for. We broke up the project into three phrases and identified all the risks in the project and obsessed over managing those risks and saving the project at risk. What was born was infusing risk management principles through digital technology,” he said.
Kirenga Rwigema, customer strategy and value lead at Workday, was next. He explained that the average marriage in SA lasts only 11 years and companies in SA remain in ERP systems for 17 years.
“Any technology partner you engage with has business cases. The key value is the value realisation process and we measure the maturity of current capabilities. We also bench mark you to other companies and in any instances and you should not be there, we empower you with a CSM and we never leave any of our customers behind. We do this because we want to have a long term business relationship with you,” he said.
Jason Marshall, chief operating officer at Yellow Card said USD stablecoins are cryptocurrencies pegged 1:1 to the US dollar, maintaining a stable value equivalent to $1 with audited reserves in US treasures and cash.
“Our technology uses global infrastructures with global tools. Moving money from different countries needs different global correspondents and we think there is a better way by using stablepoints and we can move money from one country to the other in 10 minutes,” he said.
And last but not least, Yash Singh, the senior principal solutions consultant at Coupa spoke about the use of smarter AI technology to drive total spend management.
“You have an ERP but is it designed to measure your spend and how does that translate to bringing value for a CFO. Our customers have their results speaking for themselves because they divide and multiply,” he said.
The evening drew to a close with final snacks, drinks and light conversation as attendees reflected on the eventful night. The general sentiment was that the 2026 edition of Pitch Parade is not to be missed!
