Finance Redefined Track (as part of AICPA ENGAGE 2019)

Attend this session to hear real life example of how access to data and the transparency it brings can radically change an established business strategy. And the challenges the organization faces to accept it.

Learning Objectives:

1. Learn and recognize the power of Data + Basic Cost Accounting
2. Learn the impact of Data on the profitability view of entities

In a fast-changing world, how do you build a culture where extraordinary innovation becomes ordinary? A culture that lasts and consistently delivers exponential leaders, growth and value creation. The key ingredients to innovation acceleration are not what you see portrayed most often in the media. Great, enduring organizations know what it really takes to create and, most importantly, scale innovation. We will explore how to blend disciplined innovation methods with elements of venture capitalism, crowdsourcing and collaborative leadership to deliver rapid and sustainable business improvements and innovations in any industry. This high energy session will engage the audience in powerful collaborative leadership principles applied to business improvement and innovation. In the “Need for Speed” challenge, participants will collaborate to innovate in real time and “make the impossible, possible.”

Learning Objectives:

1. How to build a sustainable culture of Excellence & Innovation anywhere in the world. 
   
2. How to identify or develop highly engaged innovators and entrepreneurs in your organization. 
   
3. How to select, prioritize and accelerate high impact, innovation projects.

How do you build and support teams of innovators in your organization? Panasonic Automotive's Chief Financial Officer, Dhiraj Cherian, will share insights and best practices on a live interview moderated by Global Excellence & Innovation Leader, Jose Pires. Dhiraj brings a global perspective and long-term vision from doing business in Asia, Americas, Europe, and Middle Eastern regions. He is results-driven and commercially focused, with a leadership presence to motivate and build trust across multi-functional and multi-cultural teams. He has an excellent track-record of delivering improved financial profitability and performance, increased productivity, and enhanced controllership.

Learning Objectives:

1. How to build and support teams of innovators in your organization. 
   
2. Insights and best practices on organizational innovation acceleration.

Today, financial and accounting professionals are responsible for far more than reporting and compliance: they have to provide greater strategic insight to build a future-ready enterprise. And, to enable the shift from cost to value, they have to evolve their skillsets and culture to deliver results and stay relevant in this digital world. Join Vivek Saxena, SVP and F&A Service Line Leader, Genpact, as he discusses the changing role for finance and how professionals can help build an agile function. Learn about the emerging opportunities from digital technologies and analytics as organizations build hybrid workforces and become strategic partners to the business.

Learning Objectives:

1. Understanding of How finance role & skill set required is evolving o Digital interventions and their impact
2. Real life use cases of digital technologies in Finance
3. Best practices to drive your finance organization to a digital futures

This session will offer proven tips for how to effectively collaborate across functions to achieve business success.

Learning Objectives:

1. Learn how to diagnose the Cross-Functional Dilemma. 
   
2. Learn how to develop a Working Partnership. 
   
3. Learn to create Institutional Long Term Success.

Forrester’s data shows that insights-driven firms are 39% more likely to report year-over-year revenue growth of 15% or more. It is projected that the collective revenues of the top 30 insights-driven companies will be $1.8 trillion in 2021, which means they will be taking this business away from their less data and insights savvy competitors.

Insights-Driven Businesses Set The Pace For Global Growth, Forrester, 2017

Do you need to hear more?

Companies looking to succeed must take their data practices to the next level by becoming insights driven; using data to inform all key business decisions, to ensure that they remain relevant and successful in the future.

Learning Objectives:

1. The Maturity model – identify where you are on the journey to becoming insight- driven
2. Data quality and the importance in having a single trusted source
3. Managing the cultural aspects of moving towards an insights-driven business

Finance functions are developing significantly in the digital age. A higher level of automation and outsourcing of non-core finance are reshaping models, in addition to new focus on analytics and corporate data models to drive efficiencies and greater business insights. How you set up the finance function; structure, SSC’s, COE’s, skills, processes and technology, is critical to how the function delivers value and enhances capabilities across the business.

The panel will discuss how to leverage opportunity by rethinking your strategy and operating models to build a team which is central to the success of the business and is agile and digital-enabled to reflect the changing times.

Learning Objectives:

1. Knowing how and what, will be driven by digital enablement
2. The journey to reshaping the function and key steps to make it happen
3. What is the impact of data on the design of operating models?

Today's environments require nimble, adaptable finance leaders who understand how to best leverage their position to drive growth. The session will discuss methods to transition from the traditional functions of control and reporting into one of business partner and co-pilot.

Learning Objectives:

1. What the co-pilot approach entails, and how to make it work in your organization
2. How to leverage existing finance skill sets in a world of real time reporting

Role of Analytics in bridging the Gap between Sales And Finance to improve overall Customer experience, how Credit, Collections & AR Data insights can help Sales Org.

Learning Objectives:

1. Learning simple ways to bring receivables metrics to Sales.
   
2. Learning to implement BI strategy in finance to help cross functional domains.

Attend this session to get real insights into optimizing IT expense management, "total cost of ownership", & Tech Business Management. All to drive value & increased EBITDA, linking strategy and operations to best practices, integrations, & automation for smart planning.

Learning Objectives:

1. Leveraging IT operations and information systems for informed decisions. 
   
2. Awareness of IT best practices and tools availability. 
   
3. Technology Business Management as a mature business practice.
   

Agile has become one of the fastest adopted business methods in recent years. No longer just for software organizations, Agile has been leverage in a wide range of service and development companies ranging from hard goods producers to professional services. If your organization is thinking about or current engaged in an Agile Transformation, your financial team will also need to transformation in regard to how development efforts are funded and managed. 

In this session we will discuss... 

• What is Agile, its background, and core values?
• Why is Agile being adopted?
• How funding in a Agile organization differs from traditional waterfall methods?

Learning Objectives:

1. What is Agile and why is it being adopted by some many organizations?
   
2. How does Agile impact program funding models and how it compares to more traditional funding methods?

How to have more meaningful conversation within the business, addresses how financial professionals can use AI in the finance function as well as understand how it can be used in other aspects of the business and how to evaluate the merits of this new technology. With AI being new, financial professionals will be faced with making investment decisions regarding AI. Today, AI uses cases, benefits, risks and investment is all in their infancy. To help make the right investment decisions, finance professionals need a greater insight to the AI Art of the Possible and how it can be used to drive top line growth or reduce the cost structure.

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand how AI is being applied today across the organization, as well as in finance, so that opportunities can be identified either to increase revenues or decrease costs or both.
   
2. Address the investment needed to enter AI, how to minimize risk and most importantly how to capture value.

Globally, technology is disrupting the way business is done. As business models and strategies evolve how the accounting and finance function adds value will be redefined. The speed of change, the complexity and volatility of businesses stretch the current competencies of our profession. Where we not focus primarily on the compliance aspects of our reporting, the need to provide insightful information to assist in management’s “agile” decision making. This session is designed to engage the speaker and participants in a dialog about the changing mandate of the accounting and finance in this “digital age” and leverages the presenter’s global experience to improve organization effectiveness through the key lenses of people processes and systems, TODAY.

Learning Objectives:

1. Highlight how technology is changing business landscape
2. Explore the evolving accounting and finance mandate
3. Discuss practical examples of the discussion themes into action

Over the past 100 years, Business Transformations have taken on many different shapes and forms. We will review the strengths and weaknesses of major types of business transformations: Organization Rightsizing; Product/Territory Strategy Growth; Business Intelligence; Action Balanced Scorecards; Hoshin Kanri; Operational Excellence and Scaled Agile Framework. The positive synergies of these approaches provide demonstrated culture adoption leading to sustained financial growth. In closing, best practices in financial benefits tracking will be shared.

Learning Objectives:

1. What are the pros and cons of different Business Transformation Deployment Models
2. How to create sustainable improvements by linking Culture, Business Transformation, and Finance/Accounting

Storytelling is the powerful analytical tool fueled by data. However data are just numbers until you use them in an influential way to communicate a story visually. 65% of the population are visual learners and human beings absorb information 60 times faster with visuals. Business leaders and their staff therefore need to turn their financial data into effective visualizations to produce operational action items which will positively impact an organization.

Learning objectives:

1. What does it mean to tell a story with data visualization?
2. How does that story drive business performance?