Setting the Right Platform for CFO’s to Uphold Real Transformational Change

Sean Unwin

Chief Financial Officer, Australia

Colliers International

2

A History of Accounting

3

Moments in Accounting History

Collapse

of Enron

GFC

Sarbanes

Oxley

BASEL 1

BASEL 2

BASEL 3

2018

Post GFCPeriod of

uncertainty

4

Where Does That Place the CFO?

How well positioned we are

• CEO needs the CFO

• Sustained period steering the ship

• High regulation

• Sustained volatility

• CIO has now become the CTO(CFO is now CIO)

• How lucky we are !!!!!???

Scorekeeper

$220k

Integrator

$280k

Catalyst

$XXXk

Strategist

$XXXk

Kn

ow

led

ge

of

bu

sin

es

s is

su

es

Individuals Personal Development

Responsible for processing

transactions fast and

producing accurate information

Leverages IT and HR to

deliver value through integrated

systems and collaboration between

Business Services teams

Drives innovation and

performance improvement throughout

the business by partnering with

Line of Business managers

2IC to

CEO

Runs a

High Performance Team in

a High Performing organisation

$1m

$2m

$4m

$10m

4.5x

7x

10x

14x

6

Activities We Don’t Like

Checking spreadsheet links

Eating Pizza

in the office

at 10.30 at

night

Being told by someone that

the numbers are wrong

Reconciling

data from

one system

to another

7

Activities We Do Like

Business Direction Setting

Business

Performance

Measurement

Business Problem Analysis

Business

Intelligence

8

Getting It Right

Disciplined ActionDiscipline ThoughtDisciplined People

TechCulture of

Discipline

Hedgehog

Concept

Confront the

Facts

1st Who then

What

Level 5

Leadership

BUILDUP…

Jim Collins

Good To Great

9

How Does The Scorekeeper Think

Just past the scorekeepers view

10

How Does The Strategist Think

Andrew Penn – CFO Telstra, ex CFO AXA

11

How Does The Strategist Think

You need to think about this?

The strategists view

12

How Does The Strategic CFO Think

• Can analyse the business through different strategy models

• Readily quantifies decisions in terms of the impact on the intrinsic value of the organisation

• Consistently identify profit growth opportunities

• Leads M&A Activity

• Very strong relationship builders (esp in the capital markets)

• 2IC to the CEO

• Drives a culture of Continuous Improvement in a Learning Organisation

• Has Finance staff working in and on the organisation

• Has deployed Extended Enterprise systems

• Runs regional or global Shared Services

• Is recognised as an expert in the Accounting Profession

13

Don’t Confuse

BOTTLENECK = CONTROL + AUTHORITY

• Delegated execution

• Performance management

• Trusted advisors

• Combine people and process

systems

Scorekeeper

$220k

Integrator

$280k

Catalyst

$XXXk

Strategist

$XXXk

Kn

ow

led

ge

of

bu

sin

es

s is

su

es

Individuals Personal Development

Responsible for processing

transactions fast and

producing accurate information

Leverages IT and HR to

deliver value through integrated

systems and collaboration between

Business Services teams

Drives innovation and

performance improvement throughout

the business by partnering with

Line of Business managers

2IC to

the CEO

Runs a

High Performance Team in

a High Performing organisation

$1m

$2m

$4m

$10m

4.5x

7x

10x

14xHow can you accelerate your

progress