Sage regional vice president for medium business in Africa and the Middle East, Gerhard Hartman, led a lively session at the 2025 Finance Indaba where he urged finance leaders to view technology not as a threat, but as a tool for reinvention.
Addressing a packed audience of finance professionals, Gerhard explored how automation, artificial intelligence and digital tools are redefining the finance function and why embracing these shifts is critical for career and organisational growth.
“The question is not whether technology will take your job. It’s whether you’ll embrace it before someone else replaces you,” he highlighted.
Gerhard began by acknowledging the anxiety that often surrounds automation. He said many finance teams still associate digital transformation with job cuts rather than capability. Yet, in his view, technology has made the finance role broader, more analytical and more strategic than ever before.
“Five years ago, finance was about managing the books, but today, it’s about managing transformation,” he said.
He explained that Sage’s research across multiple markets shows a clear trend of how the finance department has become central to digital decision-making. Gerhard noted that in some organisations, chief financial officers now oversee data strategy, enterprise systems and even cross-functional projects once considered outside their scope.
“This shift reflects a deeper recognition that finance professionals understand not only the numbers but also the operations those numbers represent. Successful finance leaders now spend more than four hours a day on tasks outside traditional finance. They are no longer just the numbers, they are strategic partners shaping business direction,” Gerhard noted.
Time the biggest benefit
Gerhard described a typical finance department of the past as one tied to monthly reporting cycles and manual reconciliations. Automation, he said, has disrupted that rhythm, replacing it with continuous processes and real-time insight.
“The biggest benefit of automation is not cost reduction, it’s time. Every hour you save through automation is an hour you can spend analysing, planning and advising,” he observed.
Gerhard shared the example of Wild-Eye, a safari travel company that adopted Sage Intacct to manage complex multi-currency operations across African markets. He indicated that automation reduced manual workload, improved reporting accuracy and freed the team to focus on expansion.
“When they automated, the finance function stopped being reactive. They became proactive, identifying opportunities and risks before they surfaced,” he added.
Throughout the session, Gerhard emphasised that technology leadership no longer belongs exclusively to IT departments. Finance professionals, he said, are often best placed to lead because they already work across every business function.
“Finance touches everything. From HR to operations to marketing, every department depends on the information you provide. You already have the visibility. Technology just gives you the tools to use it faster and smarter,” Gerhard stressed.
Technology cannot replace human judgement
Gerhard observed that this expanding role requires a new kind of literacy, one that combines financial acumen with digital fluency. For him, understanding data architecture, analytics tools, and automation workflows will soon be as fundamental as understanding balance sheets.
“The finance professionals who will thrive are those who keep learning. Technology will continue to evolve. What matters is how quickly we adapt,” he emphasised.
Despite his strong advocacy for automation, Gerhard reminded the finance professionals that technology cannot replace human judgement. He argued that data is only as useful as the questions people ask of it.
“Technology gives us speed and accuracy, but decisions still require interpretation,” he said. “That’s where human experience, ethics and intuition come in.”
He acknowledged that many teams feel pressure to digitise everything quickly. However, he cautioned that transformation should begin with a clear purpose. The aim, he said, should be to enable better decision-making rather than to simply modernise processes for their own sake.
To make the process less daunting, Gerhard encouraged attendees to begin with what he called the 90-day automation challenge. He asked them to identify a single manual task such as expense approvals or invoice processing and automate it within three months.
Collaboration across generations key
“Don’t think too big. Start small, prove the value and let that confidence build momentum. Every small success teaches your team how to manage change,” he shared.
Gerhard described this step-by-step approach as essential for building trust in technology within organisations. By focusing on immediate and visible improvements, finance teams can demonstrate value quickly and win support for larger projects.
He also spoke about generational change in the workplace. He noted that younger employees often approach technology with more ease but less institutional knowledge, while older finance professionals bring experience that can guide effective adoption.
“The way our Gen Z teams interact with technology is different from us. But that’s an opportunity, not a threat. Collaboration across generations is what makes digital transformation sustainable,” he explained.
He said building mixed teams that combine technical skill with financial insight will be a defining strength for organisations in the coming years.
“Finance is no longer isolated in its own corner. The strongest teams are those that can speak both the language of data and the language of business,” Gerhard asserted.
In conclusion, Gerhard reflected on how technology has changed what it means to work in finance. He said the profession’s future lies not in managing risk but in driving growth. For him, thriving through transformation is less about technical mastery and more about mindset, curiosity, adaptability and a willingness to experiment. He urged CFOs to remain open to failure, seeing each attempt as part of progress.
“We learn by doing, every experiment, successful or not, teaches us how to be better. The finance leader of tomorrow will not wait to be invited to the strategy table, they will already be sitting there, using data to guide the conversation,” he observed.
