CFO South Africa Newsletter | Thursday 11 February Dear CFO South Africa Member, Read Exclusive CFO South Africa Articles Balancing the stakeholders - the success of Alexander Forbes CFO De... Being a business partner is extremely important, but a CFO should never forget to bring his or her financial acumen to the table, says CFO of the Year 2015 Deon Viljoen. As money boss at Alexander Forbes he has guided the company through a rebirth that included a delisting and a relisting on the JSE. These days ‘higher purpose’ and ‘balancing stakeholders’ are key success factors at South Africa’s largest retirement fund administrator, he reveals. CFOs should know PE firms want asset growth in Africa, says KPMG's ... What are the latest investment priorities within private equity firms? What should CFOs know about tax? Why does Michael Rudnicki want to be famous? Those are three of the questions that can only be answered by the new head of KPMG’s Southern African Private Equity (PE) practice. SA to see poor economic growth in 2016, says FocusEconomics According to FocusEconomics, provider of economic analysis and forecasts for some 127 countries, South Africa will be among the worst economic performers in Sub-Saharan Africa this year, with overall growth in the region expected to accelerate only marginally. Read more exclusive articles on CFO.co.za - FinTech Africa Blockchain event – the tech of the future is here! - Tsundzukani Mhlanga new FD of Ascension Properties - Clean audit for Pikitup CFO Suren Maharaj - S&P gives African Bank negative outlook - RMB's Africa Outlook 2016 – hawkish monetary policy predicted - Deon Viljoen acting CEO of Alexander Forbes - Grooming future leaders: the CFO Case Study Challenge RSVP CFO Event "Get Smart in 2016" Tuesday 23 February 16.00 - 20.00 - Summer Place - Sandton We invite you to join us for the CFO South Africa event Get Smart in 2016 - Move like a butterfly - sting like a bee. How can we improve the agility and resilience of your organisation in volatile and uncertain times? How do you create flexibility and ensure your scarce resources are allocated to the most critical tasks? Join us as we consider the options available to CFOs in creating agile, flexible and responsive finance functions and organisations. Finance functions that are 2016 and 2017 ready and are able to deliver superior value to the business. Program 16.00 Opening & Reception 16.30 Master Class - Move like a butterfly, sting like a bee Do you sometimes wish you could be as fast and flexible as a startup? Without losing the strength and stability of a well established corporate? Let’s investigate and discuss if and how we can make this possible! The answer should be somewhere in the way we align our People, Process and Technology. Some questions to consider: Is BPO the answer to flexibility? It might offer us the solutions to time, accuracy, transparency and business partnering challenges. What about the possibilities of new technologies like cloud solutions? Or is the answer in the way we manage people? Speakers: - Krishnan Raghunathan, Group Chief Capability Officer WNS - Bikash Prasad, CFO Africa Olam International - Sean Doherty, CFO Investment Bank, Standard Bank - Dee Houchen, Oracle, Senior Principal Product Marketing Director - ERP - Alida Taylor, Partner KPMG - Terrence Taylor, General Manager Talent, Leadership and Learning, Discovery 16.30 Public Sector round table smart government Being able to provide an outstanding service and experience to citizens is an important task for governments around the world. Not only does it make for happy citizens but it also saves costs, time and improves the morale of civil servants. Restoring citizens' confidence in public institutions means demonstrating competence in providing better value for their hard-earned tax money. What can finance teams in government do to improve agility and customer focus? How can you allocate scarce resources to ensure critical tasks are assured but your organisation remains forward looking and customer centric. Facilitated by KPMG - with Quentin Green, CFO City Power, Irene Singo, CFO Department of Mineral Resources and Edson Magondo, Director KPMG. 18.00 CFO Café Interact, learn, connect and discuss the challenges that you are facing with your peers over a drink at the CFO Café. Build your network and meet other top CFOs and financials. We offer you a great afternoon of peer to peer discussions and knowledge sharing. Register here now. Sponsors CFO South Africa Event: Continuous Professional Development Points Did you know all events of CFO South Africa are eligible for SAICA CPD points? By attending CFO South Africa's events and training courses you will stay compliant. Sign up for the next Fintech Event in Cape Town - 25 Feb Fuelled by stellar investments the biggest ever disruption in finance - blockchain - finally breaks through. Scaring the crap out of leading IT suppliers and financial institutions. The blockchain has limitless potential to disrupt and to bring prosperity. How will the blockchain technology change finance and accounting in Africa? Why are so many financial institutions investing in the blockchain technology? Who is afraid? These are the questions that will be discussed and answered during the Fintech Africa Blockchain Event hosted by Barclays Africa at the Barclays Accelerator in Woodstock. ?100 insiders, experts, startups and investors will discuss the developments and challenges for the blockchain in Africa. Several FinTech companies present themselves. Get inspired, extend your network and develop business. Program: 15.30 Welcome and introduction By Graham Fehrsen, Managing Director FinTech Africa and CFO South Africa 16.00 - 17.00 Blockchain: scaring the crap out of leading IT suppliers and financial institutions Keynote by Martijn Aslander, international speaker. We we are in a new age of innovation. Everything will be better, cheaper and faster. Banking too. Blockchain scares leading IT-providers and banks the crap. Banks fear for their future. 17.00 - 18.00 Blockchain = Ubuntu Panel discussion with experts about the blockchain. With Brett Loubser, Head of WeChat Africa. WeChat has recently entered into the digital wallet and has partnered with a financial institution that has invested into their blockchain technology. With Lorien Gamaroff, CEO and founder of Bankymoon, a South African FinTech startup which is focused on providing blockchain-based solutions. With Martijn Aslander, guru. Expert speaker from Barclays to be announced. 18.00 - 20.00 Closing thoughts, drinks & networking Wrap up and closing comments by Graham Fehrsen, MD of CFO South Africa and FinTech South Africa. If you're interested to profile your business at this event please contact: Graham Fehrsen, Managing Director FinTech Africa, [email protected] or at +27 (0)79 898 0227. Join the next Fintech event at the Barclays Accelerator in Cape Town and register now for Tuesday 25 February - 15.30 - 20.00. A Fintech Africa Event in cooperation with: Visit Finance Indaba Africa Visit the Finance Indaba 13 & 14 October at the Sandton Convention Centre and boost your profits by 100%. Finance Indaba Africa is the biggest annual expo and conference for finance professionals. It brings together peers technology suppliers, platforms, banks, tools, specialists, CFOs and thought leaders. Over 5,000 visitors tap into a wealth of resources, knowhow and inspiration. Gain unparalleled insights. Cut costs dramatically, send sales & productivity through the roof and boost your company's profits by 100 percent. RSVP NOW HERE. We are calling for speakers Are you enabling businesses to cut costs, boost sales, productivity and company profits? Don't miss out the chance to connect with new prospects, to brand your company and to become more successful. Share your ideas at the Finance Indaba and help the country grow. Please contact Graham Fehrsen at [email protected] or at +27 11 083 7515. Also read more about the call for speakers. Diamond Partners CFO Awards 2016 - Reserve your table now Buy a table for the CFO Awards and meet 300 of South Africa's leading CFOs. Demonstrate thought leadership, extend your network and develop business. You are seated with CFOs and finance directors from the top companies of South Africa. You are also more than welcome to join the CFO Conference preceding the CFO Awards dinner with your colleagues. Join us Thursday 12 May 2016 at the beautiful Summer Place. Don't wait too long, first come, first served. Become a partner or attend with your finance team and buy a table here. For more information check out CFOAwards.co.za. Join the ultimate peer to peer advisory network Various CFOs and finance directors from Eskom, Nedbank, Transnet, Alexander Forbes Standard Charered Bank, Hollard, Absa, Servest, Business Connexion and Super Group are members of CFO South Africa. Your peers understand best the issues you face and the challenges that impact your business. Together you will share your experiences at CFO South Africa’s events and help you advance in your career, company and knowledge. Get introduced to experienced colleagues that are happy to share their knowledge with you. Peer-to-peer consulting is by far the best and most cost effective way to help you solve problems. Are you interested? Please see our membership page for more information here. Upcoming CFO South Africa Events Join the CFO Events with inspiring hosts and experts who will share their insights and experiences with you. Register now for these events and boost your company, network, career and knowledge. CFO South Africa Events in 2016 Feb 23 Johannesburg | Get Smart in 2016 Mar 16 Johannesburg | Moving into Africa in 2016 Apr 6 Johannesburg | Capital & Finance May 12 Johannesburg | CFO Awards 2016 Register now for one of the upcoming CFO South Africa Events. Please note that all our CFO South Africa events are for senior financial executives. CFO South Africa offers Platinum memberships to CFOs and finance directors. For more information please have a look here and contact Jurrien Morsch at [email protected]. Stay connected with CFO South Africa Follow CFO South Africa on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook Stay up to date on what is happening in the world of finance by following us on Twitter @CFOSouthAfrica, LinkedIn and Facebook. Next to that you can keep track of newly published interviews with CFOs and CEOs. Feel free to contact us Any suggestions or comments are welcome. Kind Regards, Graham Fehrsen Managing Director CFO South Africa | [email protected] To control which emails you receive from CFO South Africa, please change your email preferences at cfo.co.za by selecting under settings "I do not want to receive emails from CFO South Africa | Finance Professionals South Africa"
