FutureCFO Conference

Delivering Outcomes

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EVENT OVERVIEW

The future of finance is all about managing across functions, building the right combination of capabilities, and establishing a strong data foundation. On-going FutureCFO dialogues with finance leaders across the function reveal a continued commitment to driving growth through digital transformation.

However, the maelstrom of non-aligned priorities, talent shortages, legacy processes and too many options when it comes to technologies make the road to growth in 2025 a formidable challenge for even the most seasoned finance professionals.

A Gartner’s research affirms that organisations face a medium-term environment characterised by tepid demand growth, stubbornly high costs and constrained access to capital – referring to the combination as a deadweight economic condition. “Absent fortuitous events such as a surprise end to geopolitical conflict, a swift halt to inflation or the quick realisation of dramatic productivity gains from AI, CFOs should expect many of the underlying economic trends contributing to the deadweight economy to persist across their strategic planning horizon.”

This year’s FutureCFO Singapore Conference will bring together seasoned finance professionals to uncover:

How to sustain enterprise’s growth engine amidst challenging time
Transformation roadmap for success in the future
Best practices in riding the transformation challenges
Tactics for evaluating digital competencies across the function
How to build realistic and trustworthy forecasts
Strategies to shorten the digital financial close
Top challenges in data, data technology and governance management
AI and smart automation priorities and use cases
People management for stronger, digitally competent teams

The challenges ahead present real and economic tailwinds that can derail ongoing efforts to transform organisations into engines of innovation and growth. For the finance team, there remains clear opportunities to lead by example out of the potential maelstrom that lies ahead to bring about sustained growth in the years ahead.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

CFOs, VPs, Directors, Heads, MDs, GMs, Sr Mgrs involved in:

Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A)
Strategic Planning & Forecasting
Costing & Budgeting
Accounting and Reporting
Fiscal Policy Planning

WHY YOU SHOULD ATTEND

The FutureCFO Conference aims to give CFOs, who also act as their company’s strategic business partner and catalyst, insights on ensuring corporate growth and successfully mitigating risks and challenges amidst the current economic and political uncertainties in their countries. The conference will also address strategies and best practices on how CFOs can reimagine finance functions and their organizations to survive and thrive in today’s fast-paced and digitally driven landscape.

This by-invitation only one-day event will gather over 120 senior finance leaders from multiple industries and offers the best opportunity to hear from the industry’s leading professionals, contribute questions from the floor, engage in incisive panel discussions that discuss real-life business cases, updates and strategies to meet the most pertinent challenges facing the finance function in 2020.

High-Level Industry Speakers

We gather 20+ industry speakers and experts from leading organizations for keynote presentations and incisive discussions so you can tap on their invaluable insights and best practices important to your finance function management and transformation.

Interactive Discussions

Be part of our interactive panel discussions that address the current hot topics, share ideas and experiences and get the answers to your pressing questions from prominent finance leaders on stage.

Networking Opportunities

Meet new business partners, engage and forge new connections with fellow finance and treasury leaders in the region, solution providers and many more at our event through luncheons, coffee breaks, one-to-one meetings and informal introductions.

Targeted In-Depth Sessions

8 hours of learning and networking opportunities packed into 10 in depth sessions. Listen to corporate-driven best practices and case studies sharing that are targeted to your profession through the personalized country-specific conferences we crafted for you - FutureCFO Conferences.

2024 AGENDA

09.15

PANEL DISCUSSION I: Achieving Sustainable Growth and Cost Efficiency

Dealing with overall macroeconomic conditions, increased interest rate, rising capital costs and geopolitical challenges will worry many senior finance executives in 2024. Finance leaders are under great pressure to bring costs down to anticipate volatile business landscapes in the coming years and yet, also tasked to preserve profitability for the business.

What’s top of CFO’s mind in 2024
Monitoring business/investment risks under global uncertainty in 2024
Capturing market opportunities to ensure unit economics stay above the hurdle rate
Strategic cost reduction: Balancing revenue-sustaining and cost-cutting efforts
Building robust balance sheet in turbulent times
Striking the optimum balance between cost cutting and investing for growth

MODERATOR:

Jeremy Gray

Editorial Consultant

CXOCIETY

PANELISTS:

Haider Manasawala

Regional Finance Head – Europe, Middle East, Africa and South Asia

CHEVRON

Kris Giswold

Senior Vice President Finance, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa

MONDELĒZ INTERNATIONAL

Shivam Kumar

CFO – South East Asia and Taiwan

HALEON

Xiang Jie Chung

Vice President Finance

CARRO

09.50

EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW: Revamping the Future of Finance with Connected Finance

Organisations today are stretched from a time and human capital perspective. As the architect of business transformation, how can CFOs use technology to connect and automate the mundane, allowing their teams to use their skills and experience to drive strategic value for their businesses?

In this session, we will hear from Takeda, a multinational pharmaceutical company, on how they have delivered timely and accurate, board-trusted data across their annual reports involving more than 200 entities around the world to drive value, streamline operations, and enhance decision-making capabilities within their organisation.

INTERVIEWER:

Man Kin Tran

Head of Sales, Asia

WORKIVA

INTERVIEWEE:

Olga Oreshkina

Finance Controller, ISEA and TAS

TAKEDA

10.15

PANEL DISCUSSION II: CFO’s Transformative Leadership

What it takes to be an effective transformative CFO
Designing a future finance operating model that supports growth and innovation
CFO’s leadership in delivering transformation projects
What really matters to a CFO in 2024 and beyond?
Lessons learned managing stakeholders and orchestrating company-wide transformation

MODERATOR:

Allan Tan

Group Editor-in-Chief

CXOCIETY

PANELISTS:

Amit Verma

Regional Head of CFO Advisory

SAP ASIA PACIFIC & JAPAN

Christine Tan

Chief Financial Officer, APAC

CYTIVA

Hongrui Mo

CFO

MET ASIA ENERGY

Sebastian Tan

Board of Director and Regional Head of Finance

AKZONOBEL (ASEAN, SOUTH ASIA)

11.15

KEYNOTE I: ESG in the Era of Escalating Costs

With ESG efforts maturing and continuous business challenges face CFOs every now and then, CFOs and management teams undeniably have a lot on their plates. Some may even be rethinking their ESG priorities and timelines as they choose to battle inflation, maintain market shares, improve supply chain resiliency or bring cost capital down. How ESG can support cost reduction?

CFO at the intersection of sustainability and finance
ESG’s shift from being just an investment category to mainstream strategy
Can CFOs reduce costs while achieving ESG goals?
Aligning ESG reporting with financial disclosures
Metrics in CFO-led ESG

Senior representative, LUCANET

11.40

PANEL DISCUSSION III: Embracing Generative AI: Opportunities and Risks for CFOs

According to EY, CFOs saw a new priority on C-Suite agenda as they steer their organisations through an uncertain growth outlook in 2024: Generative AI (GenAI).

As much as this transformative technology is a powerful ally in shaping enterprise’s sustainable and prosperous future in the age of innovation, there are considerations that CFOs need to ponder before they confidently embark on adopting GenAI for their business.

How is GenAI shaping the future of business and finance teams?
Prioritising AI projects that deliver ROI
Tackling technical debt presented by AI investments
Responsible applications of Gen AI
Challenges in ensuring AI and data governance

MODERATOR:

Daniel Leung

Country Manager

ACCA SINGAPORE

PANELISTS:

Peter Oey

CFO

GRAB

Tahsin Alam

Regional Vice President and General Manager, Southeast Asia

UIPATH

12:15

KEYNOTE II: CFO’s Guide in Modernising Data Infrastructure

As companies generate more data each day, finance teams have limitless opportunities to glean new insights and increase their value to the business. Data management tools are evolving rapidly; however, sophisticated F&PA tools are only effective if the data that fuels them are accurate. Also, as transparency over industry data increase, lack of proper data governance and management will critically impact business performance.

The greatest data issues still facing the finance teams today
Building trust and credibility in data
Harnessing digital capabilities to increase the analytic value and transparency of data
Shaping a strong data governance program in the AI era

Greg Crowl

VP Solutions Engineering, APJ

TUNGSTEN AUTOMATION

13:40

PANEL DISCUSSION IV: Building A Finance-First Culture: Aligning Financial Goals with Business Strategy

This session will explore how CFOs can foster a finance-first culture within their organisations, ensuring that financial goals are deeply integrated with overall business strategy.

Aligning financial objectives with broader business goals
Fostering a finance-first culture within organisation
Strategies for improving financial literacy across all departments
Role of the CFO in leading cross-functional collaboration
Real-life examples in successfully integrating finance with business strategy

MODERATOR:

Chieh Suang Khor

VC & PE Partnership

ORACLE NETSUITE

PANELISTS:

Rensyn Hooi

GM

ACME TECHNOLOGY

Rahmat Budiardjo

PE Investor & Former CFO

TECH-ENABLED F&B UNICORN

Michelle Alphonso

CEO

POINTSTAR CONSULTING

14:05

KEYNOTE III: Bridging the Efficiency Gap with Smarter Automation

Constant market disruptions and skill shortages prompt finance leaders to work smarter. With automation taking over the rote tasks and AI provides forward-thinking and predictive analytics; finance leaders are poised to become powerful strategic advisor and partner to business. With AI as the game changer, how should CFOs leverage on AI-embedded automation capabilities to improve enterprise’s cost efficiency and performance?

Scaling up automation for finance function
Streamlining the digital financial close process with automation
Automation with built-in AI capabilities for increased efficiency and data confidence
Balancing the use of AI, automation and human labour
Overcoming implementation challenges in driving automation at-scale

14:30

PANEL DISCUSSION V: Incorporating Agility into Planning, Forecasting and Budgeting

VUCA or not, cash flow is indisputably the lifeblood of the business. Fulfilling short-term payment obligations have become challenging to some organisations, yet leveraging on credits or borrowing is not quite an answer either as interest rates continue to grow.

Making data-based forecasts and financial strategy will equip finance leaders to tackle obstacles and provide a clear picture of their financial trajectory throughout the coming year.

Cash flow planning and frequent forecasting amidst uncertainty
Meeting cash forecasting challenges
Improving cash forecasting accuracy, liquidity planning and management and working capital with data and modern technologies
Leveraging AI and ML to build realistic and trustworthy forecasts even without reliable recent historical data

MODERATOR:

Jeremy Gray

Editorial Consultant

CXOCIETY

PANELISTS:

Marisa Tengku Azman

Regional CFO

ENGIE SOUTH EAST ASIA

Ma. Celina Leonardo

Senior Director, Corporate Finance and Strategic Investments

THE COFFEE BEAN & TEA LEAF®

Koh Lip Wee

Director of Finance

ST. LUKE’S ELDERCARE

15:35

C-SUITE KEYNOTE: Evolution of AI in the Workforce

The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the workforce has undergone significant transformation over the decades, impacting various industries, job roles, and business processes. Its evolution in the workforce from simple automation to highly intelligent systems continues to transform industries, enhance human capabilities, and define new paradigms for work. Balancing technological advancements with ethical considerations will be crucial for maximizing the benefits of AI while mitigating potential risks.

Callistus Lim

Regional Head – Solution Engineering – ASIA & ANZ

FRESHWORKS

16:00

C-SUITE PANEL DISCUSSION I: Doing Things Differently with People and Technology

In order to thrive and succeed in today’s challenging business landscape, quite often than not, enterprises need to become more customer-centric, innovative, inclusive and sustainable. However, to drive the change needed to ensure successful enterprise-wide transformation, introducing new technologies alone is not enough.

Talent management trends and career opportunities in 2025
Less about technology and more about people and processes
People and workflow simplification as key drivers of change and growth
Enhancing employee experiences for sustained success and long term’s business growth
Human-machine partnerships for the future of work

MODERATOR:

Allan Tan

Group Editor-in-Chief

CXOCIETY

PANELISTS:

Jasmine Chung

Senior Finance Director

ASCENDA

Sanjay Bakshi

Group Director, Global Head of Digital & Innovation

DURAPOWER HOLDINGS

Sourabh Chitrachar

Regional VP (APAC) – Technology Strategy & Ops

LIBERTY MUTUAL INSURANCE

16:35

C-SUITE FIRESIDE CHAT: Leading the Democratization of Digital Delivery

The session explores how the democratization of technology is impacting leadership responsibilities, accountability and decision rights.

Technology and digital initiatives as shared leadership imperatives
Realising the value of digital initiatives and driving speed and agility with technology democratization
Empowering various business functions to create technology
Meeting the challenges in achieving technology integration with business units
C-Suite collaboration to design and implement a new technology delivery model that fosters democratized digital delivery

INTERVIEWER:

C-SUITE EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW: How to Fund the Ideal Tech Strategy?

Evaluating the current enterprise tech strategy from the finance perspective
Striking the right balance between innovation and stability
Financing technologies for innovation
Controlling the technologies’ finances while ensuring innovation delivery and business value in real time
Ensuring that technology use, especially in the finance function, is at full potential

INTERVIEWER:

Allan Tan

Group Editor-in-Chief

CXOCIETY

INTERVIEWEE:

Khalid Nizami

Regional Leader – Enterprise Technology Solutions

ECOLAB

17:35

CLOSING KEYNOTE: Looking Forward – Enterprise Predictions on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in 2025

The expanding capabilities of AI in 2025
The rise of personal AI in the workplace
Future projections of multimodal AI
Big expectations and new challenges of AIs in the coming years
Predictions on the evolving landscape of AI and technology for business in 2025

2024 SPEAKERS

WHY SPONSOR

We will help you GENERATE quality business leads.
We will help you INCREASE your regional profile.
We will help you CREATE new business opportunities.

Get cost-effective marketing exposure and branding to your target audience, culminating in face-to-face meetings with your prospects.
Position and profile yourself as an industry leader.
Increase your brand recognition.
Create new partnerships and alliances.
Develop relationships through new virtual networking opportunities.
Showcase new products and services to a targeted audience of decision makers.
Get direct and exclusive access to Key decision-makers