Top finance leaders got together in Cape Town to explore how emotional intelligence, effective communication and visionary leadership are redefining the role of the CFO.
Not even Cape Town’s blustery rain and thunderous clouds could dampen the spirits at this year’s Cape Town leg of the CFO South Africa Beyond Finance summit on 8 April.
Top finance leaders gathered at 180 Lounger in the Mother City to gain insights from fellow executive peers on how to navigate the complexities of modern business, foster collaboration and lead with agility in a rapidly changing world.
Keynote speaker Claudelle von Eck, founder of Brave Inflexions, kicked off the evening with an interactive session titled: The skills you need beyond financial acumen.
“I am going to make some of you feel uncomfortable, is it ok if I make you feel a little bit uncomfortable?” she asked the attendees, setting the tone for an interactive and reflective session on CFOs individually and within their teams, how they interact with one another, and the various lenses that are worn from both sides.
“The lens that I am going to look through is a little different to what you would normally look through,” she said.
Attendees were given a reflective exercise and asked to make notes on their team – and also themselves. Reflections included self-awareness, understanding each other, awareness of natural default positions, proactive counteraction of collective blind spots, how the team sees stakeholders, is there an agreement of a collective purpose and does the team understand this?
“Self-awareness is when you can see yourself in the moment, when you can see what it is that you are projecting, when you can see how others are responding to you,” Claudelle explained.
Time to reflect
This was followed by a debrief on the insights gleaned from the interactive session.
“A lot of the time we think we are doing something with the best of intentions, but that is not always the case. And we don’t realise the harm we are doing,” one attendee commented.
“One of the things that I acknowledge is the conversation about self-knowledge and the triggers in the boardroom,” another CFO added. “How do we help people in organisations to discover this? How do we help them to become more self-aware?”
For another, the ‘aha’ moment was the different lenses that stakeholders are often seen through.
Next up, was a panel discussion with Zanli Botes, a financial accountant at JobJack, and Shaista Hendricks, executive: group finance at Oceana. Titled Skills you need for the next generation, the pair took a deep dive into the critical skills that will define the finance executives of tomorrow, and also what the younger generation tends to look out for when considering potential employers. Can CFOs future-proof their leadership?
For Zanli one of the best things the next generation can do is challenge the status quo. “It is not about redesigning the wheel,” Zanli said, adding that, for her, it is more about improving what is already there and adding value.
For Shaista it is about leadership style. ”A key skill is having the ability to understand the diverse needs,” she said, adding that this applied across generations.
“It is not about the task itself, it is about the sense of impact, the sense of purpose people feel,” she said.
Shaista also felt strongly about creating safe spaces for people, where they feel valued.
Self-awareness and lasting impacts
Time is key in the world of finance, and there is, therefore, a need to be able to move faster, and improve how things can be done, Zanli believes.
Flexibility is also a big factor for the younger generation when considering employers. “You’ll be surprised how often the question comes up,” Shaista said.
“It is not so much about the remote working, it is about the flexibility.”
When asked what would be the one thing she wishes she had learnt earlier, Shaista said, “Self-awareness is something I would have started much earlier, some of the things that helped me was regular feedback, and even coaching.”
After a brief networking break, to both connect and sample delicious canapes, attendees then entered the final stretch in the form of an open dialogue, titled CFOs look beyond finance, with Vincent Motholo, CFO: University of Cape Town, Casper Troskie, CFO: Old Mutual, Gordon Traill, CFO: Clicks Group, and Emmah Makomva, outgoing Southern Africa CFO: Godrej Consumer Products, Teri Solomon, claims advocate leader: Marsh Africa and Lorraine Venter, sales director MEA: OneStream Software.
For Gordon, it comes down to making decisions that have a lasting impact. “We had a lot of success from decisions made before us, that were not short-term decisions,” he said. “Finance is the conscience of the business, and that is how you have to act, as a steward. I realise I am going to have to make decisions that will benefit those that come after me,. Make sure you have the right colleagues and boss, keep them informed and deliver on what you promise.”
For Casper, the role of the CFO has changed to become a much broader one, which comes with its own set of challenges.
“It's a lot more about value and impact than it is about profit. We think about our impact across 6 dimensions,” he said. These dimensions include people as well as the environment, and has a knock-on effect across all aspects of the business, he added.
The customer of finance
Teri added that non-financial metrics have become increasingly important for companies to look at, especially when looking at mitigating risk. And key to looking at this is data. “We live in an age where everything has to be data-driven,” she said. “You cannot make any decisions without data.”
She also touched on the critical importance of the cyber hygiene of businesses, as well as the ever-increasing and integral role of CFOs in ESG.
For Emmah, it is key that finance has to work across teams. “When you look at the roles of the CFO, it is not just about finance, finance is not just a back office,”she stressed.
She added that when problems arise, finance teams will be better placed to help impact what will happen, if they understood how various teams/departments work. “It is not just important, it is critical that finance is working with the rest of the business to deliver what needs to be delivered.”
Vincent touched on how EQ fits into the bigger CFO picture. “What is very key is it is not a soft skill, but a key skill,” he said.
“For me the CFO role has evolved beyond the numbers, the CFO is now a strategic leader in your organisation,” said Lorraine. “Our greatest asset is our people. CFOs need to focus on providing an environment for their people where they can constantly learn.”
The evening provided lots of food for thought, as the finance gurus gathered for drinks and more canapes at the end of the evening.
“The customer of finance is changing, they won’t always be the end customer. And understanding who your customer is, is equally important. Who is the customer of finance?” was a closing thought from one CFO.
The CFO summit was held in partnership with Marsh, OneStream Software, Anchor Capital, BDO South Africa, Coupa Software, STANLIB, Workday and Oracle.
