At the recent CIO Day held at the Marriott Hotel in Melrose Arch, Aneshree Naidoo, chief financial officer at Webber Wentzel, delivered a powerful message to South Africa’s finance and technology leaders: successful digital transformation begins not with technology, but with people.
Speaking as part of a panel discussion, Aneshree challenged traditional CFO thinking and urged finance executives to shift their approach to funding and implementing transformation projects.
“We were taught to start with ‘no’ when someone asks for money,” Aneshree said. “But those are signs of past times. If digital transformation isn’t the number one strategic objective on your board agenda, then I think there’s a big risk.”
According to Aneshree, the allocation of funds for transformation must align directly with an organisation’s overarching strategy. Without that alignment, she warned, companies risk fragmented efforts that fail to deliver meaningful results.
“There’s still a myth that IT should drive digital transformation. That’s outdated. CFOs must step into the leadership role and ensure transformation is embedded in strategy – from digital roadmaps to risk management to infrastructure modernisation,” she said.
Beyond the shiny toys
Aneshree cautioned against investing in technology merely for its novelty. Instead, she urged CFOs to focus on long-term value, stressing the importance of medium- to long-term ROI over short-term efficiency metrics.
“It’s not about tech for the sake of tech. It’s about profitability, efficiencies and driving bottom-line KPIs. You’ve got to track ROI closely and not just financially, but in terms of the business case and the benefits promised,” she said.
However, Aneshree made it clear that job losses should not be part of that equation, saying she personally would not be part of any digital transformation that results in job cuts.
“That goes against the grain of what we should be doing in South Africa – which is creating sustainable jobs,” she said.
Instead, Aneshree emphasised repurposing, not replacing, employees. As automation takes over repetitive, low-value tasks, she advocated for upskilling and retraining workers to perform higher-level functions or reduce hours for improved work-life balance.
“With wellness a major focus, more employees are saying, ‘I want to work six hours a day, not eight’. Digital transformation can enable that.”
Aneshree also highlighted the human aspect of transformation, the fear and uncertainty it can generate among staff.
“Before any deployment, I have coffee chats with teams. And you’d be surprised how many think I’m calling them in to fire them. That fear is real. We have to shift the narrative from job losses to job evolution,” she said.
A new mandate
For transformation to succeed, Aneshree argued, it cannot be seen as a finance, IT, or HR initiative – it must be seen as an organisation-wide change effort.
She also stressed the importance of organisational culture and readiness to adopt change, citing a previous project where all the technical and financial boxes were ticked, but cultural alignment was lacking.
“We had the vendors, the funding, the roadmap. But without people’s buy-in, the project would have failed. That’s why we now ask department heads to explain the project to their own teams. If they can’t do that, we go back and equip them.”
As the conversation around transformation matures, Aneshree sees the CFO’s role evolving from gatekeeper of the purse strings to enabling long-term value creation – grounded in humanity.
“The mantra I live by is: when your people are okay, the numbers work themselves out. People, tech and finance are all key. But in South Africa, and the world, people must come first,” she said.
