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AGENDA
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09:00 |
Welcoming Speech, Opening Remarks & Thank You Sponsor Speech By Summit Producer
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Bringing Data-Driven Innovation & Advanced Analytics To Finance
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09:15 |
Becoming A Data-Driven CFO: How Big Data Are Helping CFOs Acquire New Insights, Trends, And Generate Business Growth
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- How could analytics help us to identify drivers of data variance or draw insights we might have missed
- Embedding analytics into processes and leveraging machine learning
- Leveraging analytics to extend FP&A
- Enabling analytics to not only manage and improve finance processes, but to accelerate business decisions on a wider scale
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Jennifer Scott
Non-Executive Board Member Transformation Program
Australian Bureau of Statistics |
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09:45 |
The Future Of Financial Reporting With Analytics: How Advanced Analytics Are Helping Finance Leaders Improve Their Financial Reporting, Profitability Analysis And Operational Decision Making
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Alan Lim FCPA
Chief Financial Officer
Great Western Agriculture and Greater Central Group
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10:15 |
Morning Refreshment & Networking
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10:30 |
Fraser Property Australia: How Advanced Analytics Helps The Real Estate Giant Improve Financial Planning, Forecasting And Analysis
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To set its business direction, Frasers Property requires insight into forecast costs, revenues and potential returns. It sought a fast, scalable solution to meet emerging business needs. The company has deployed an advanced analytics platform, which can provide a detailed view of long-term revenue, cost and capital allocation across the business. It can also handle Fraser’s complex feasibility modeling for commercial and industrial developments from spreadsheets. Frasers Property has gained significantly faster access to forecast data, along with deeper insights into project revenue and costs to keep development projects on track across Australia. |
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11:00 |
How Data Science And Predictive Analytics Helps To Improve Optus’ Cashflow Forecasting And Planning
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Chris Horsfield, CFA
Transformation Director
Optus |
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Future Of Finance And Accounting With Blockchain |
11:30 |
How Blockchain Is Re-Writing The Rules For Accounting
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Blockchain has the potential to enhance the accounting profession by reducing the costs of maintaining and reconciling ledgers, and providing absolute certainty over the ownership and history of assets. Blockchain could help accountants gain clarity over the available resources and obligations of their organizations, and also free up resources to concentrate on planning and valuation, rather than record-keeping.
Alongside other automation trends such as machine learning, blockchain will lead to more and more transactional-level accounting being done – but not by accountants. Instead, successful accountants will be those that work on assessing the real economic interpretation of blockchain records, marrying the record to economic reality and valuation. |
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Dr. Daniel Gozman
Director of Engaged Research
The University of Sydney Business School |
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12:00 |
How Blockchain And Smart Contracts Underpins Financial Transformation |
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Alan Tsen
CEO/ Founder
Fintech Victoria |
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12:30 |
Lunch & Networking
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Future Of Finance And Accounting With Cloud |
13:30 |
Re-Imagining The Future Of Finance With Cloud: How Hungry Jack’s Uses Cloud To Automate Its Entire Budgeting And Planning
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With over 430 restaurants across Australia, Hungry Jack’s is one of the world’s largest Burger King master franchisees, serving every Australian four to five times annually. At Hungry Jack’s, a digital-first, cloud-first mindset has transformed finance’s role in delivering on customer expectations. “We are really conscious of what’s going on in the consumer market, how people’s behaviors are changing, and we’re making sure that we’re getting ahead of the curve with AI and machine learning to understand what finance can look like,” explains CFO Nigel Everard. Everard and his team replaced a legacy finance system that wasn’t integrated to other key data sources, such as point-of-sale systems, with a cloud ERP system that delivers full visibility into customer behavior and operations. “This has changed the way that the business thinks of finance, from the score keeper to the real business partner who can talk to the business around a future strategy. |
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14:00 |
How Australia Post Reduced Financial Closing From 15 Days To 2 Days While With Cloud?
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Australia Post began its cloud financial solution journey to automate and standardize its reconciliations, with an iterative rollout across four subsidiaries. Today, Australia Post can automate roughly 750 account reconciliations a month—dramatically reducing manual work and contributing to a remarkably fast two-day month-end close. Australia Post can also automatically generate daily reports that highlight accounts in need of closer investigation. The cloud financial solution can provide real-time updates and meaningful balance sheet reporting to management. |
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14:30 |
Financial Data Management On Cloud: Why A Single-Source-Of-Truth Can Improve The Decision Readiness Of Performance Data
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Government is often slow to transform operational models, and this includes the finance function. The operating environment of Governments creates substantial barriers to transformation, despite the benefits significantly outweighing the costs and risks, and the opportunities to suppliers being significant. Government needs providers to develop solutions that address government technical needs, which, whilst sometimes high in volume, are less complex and consistent with private sector needs, as well addressing government barriers to change. |
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Francoise Merit
Global Chief Financial Officer
Aurecon |
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15:00 |
Afternoon Refreshments & Networking Session |
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15:30 |
Challenges In Deploying RPA In Finance And Accounting
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Gartner Says Robotic Process Automation Can Save Finance Departments 25,000 Hours of Avoidable Work Annually in financial reporting. Gartner research has found that the average amount of avoidable rework in accounting departments can take up to 30% of a full-time employee’s overall time. This equates to savings of 25,000 hours per year at a cost of $878,000 for an organization with 40 full-time accounting staff. Despite this immense benefits, only 29% of RPA Adopters have implemented this technology for financial reporting. |
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Niluka Perera
CFO
Kildare Ministries |
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16:00 |
CFO Panel: Closing The Digital Skills Gap In Finance To Avoid Setbacks On Your Digital Transformation Efforts
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Digitization is reshaping the finance talent profile. To get the most out of modernized systems and new tools, finance needs to provide appropriate training, so staff can develop strong data and technology acumen. But how can you help team’s transition to the new digital operating model, and how do you make sure they have the skills and competencies to be successful in the future? In this session, you will discuss:
- Why are so many finance leaders struggling to find top digital talent?
- Develop a vision for the digital finance organization and build an explicit talent strategy to enable it.
- Augmenting your strategic workforce-planning capabilities by working closely with HR
- What are the most popular and most successful upskilling strategies?
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David Donovan
Chief Financial Officer
Digital Transformation Agency |
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Pranay Lodhiya
CFO
Bureau of Meteorology |
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16:30 |
Case Study: Coordinating A Global Move Away From Legacy Systems In Finance
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- Setting a clear strategy and taking control to ensure a seamless migration
- Some of your business processes may need to be amended to match the capabilities of your new platform – where to start?
- Overcoming resistance and driving the cultural change agenda
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17:00 |
Closing Remarks By Summit Chairman |
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