We are bringing you news and highlights from the Gartner CFO & Finance Executive Conference 2023, taking place this week in London, UK. Below is a collection of key announcements and insights coming out of the conference.
On Day 2 of the conference we are looking at building finance teams for an AI future; refreshing finance technology strategy; understanding the finance technology strategy consulting market and how to be a top sustainability CFO.
Presented by Mark D. Mcdonald, Senior Director Analyst, Gartner
AI is a technology that can truly emulate human behavior, but something this radical will also necessitate equally radical shifts in the way finance teams work. In this session, Mark D. McDonald, senior director analyst at Gartner, explored how to build finance teams that can exploit the technology effectively and responsibly.
“Corporate finance teams have painted themselves into a corner: demand for finance work has grown beyond the function’s ability to meet it.”
“Technology adoption levels do not satisfy modern needs, and people are maxed out working long hours making the profession unattractive with fewer entering the profession and a growing number leaving.”
“AI offers a way to excite a younger ‘AI generation’ that has the skills to use the technology. It provides a way to codify and preserve the knowledge of the most experienced employees, and it can cope better with the increased complexity of modern finance demands.”
“It is important to position AI as a coworker, and to divide labor in the most effective way, so people and machines each do the work they are best suited for.
Progress can be delivered in a learning loop where people build machines, frame the rules, and scope of work for them. Machines can parse through large datasets, make calculations, automate mundane processes and give warnings and advice, while humans handle exceptions, update processes and refine the machines.”
Presented by Nisha Bhandare, VP Analyst, Gartner
Sixty-four percent of CFOs believe autonomous finance will be a reality in five years. Yet 70% of technology investments fail because of an outdated technology mindset in finance. In this session, Nisha Bhandare, VP Analyst at Gartner, discussed how finance can increase agility and deliver innovation by embracing a composable technology strategy.
Presented by Geraldine Garaud, Director Analyst, Gartner
The finance transformation strategy consulting market offers services to help CFOs define strategies and roadmaps across multiple business-aligned, forward-looking initiatives. In this session, Geraldine Garaud, director analyst at Gartner, examined how the market is evolving.
Presented by Kristin Moyer, Distinguished VP Analyst, Gartner
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) has become a top strategic priority for companies, and as a result, increasing attention and pressure is being placed on CFOs to maximize the ESG value equation for their organizations. In this session, Kristin Moyer, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner, discussed how financial executives can implement and execute ESG programs that maximize market valuation.
Thanks for joining us! See you next year!
Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) delivers actionable, objective insight that drives smarter decisions and stronger performance on an organization’s mission-critical priorities. To learn more, visit gartner.com.
Rob van der Meulen
Gartner
rob.vandermeulen@gartner.com
