Every CFO says talent is a priority. The harder challenge is designing a finance function that can deliver more than accurate reporting: faster decisions, stronger forecasting, disciplined growth, effective controls and meaningful influence across the company. Drawing on firsthand experience building and transforming finance capabilities across complex global organizations, this keynote examines the practical choices behind creating a finance function that can scale. The session will address the operating-model choices that determine whether finance becomes more capable or simply busier: what to centralize, what to automate, where business partnering should sit, how to preserve accountability, and how to create space for higher-value analysis and decision support. Key takeaways: - A practical framework for deciding which finance capabilities to build, hire, automate, outsource or embed within the business. - The organizational choices that improve forecasting, decision-making, controls, productivity and finance’s credibility with business leaders. - How to build leadership depth, succession capability and a global finance culture that balances consistency with local judgment. - Lessons from the choices that worked, those that did not, and what should be done differently when building the finance function today.

Finance transformation promises greater efficiency, improved decision-making, and stronger business performance - but many initiatives fail to deliver the expected results. In this panel discussion, experienced finance leaders will share the lessons learned from successful and unsuccessful transformation programmes. Discover why adoption often falls short, how effective change management and data governance underpin lasting success, and what separates high-impact transformations from costly implementations that never achieve their full potential. Key takeaways: - Understand why finance transformations succeed or fail by exploring the organisational, cultural, and leadership factors that matter most. - Learn how to drive adoption across the business through effective change management, stakeholder engagement, and strong data governance. - Gain practical lessons from real-world transformation journeys to avoid common pitfalls and maximise the long-term value of finance transformation initiatives.