Brian Mortimer, UK and Ireland vice-president at enterprise software company SAP, says the Financial Leadership Summit is an invaluable opportunity for chief financial officers (CFOs) to hear from counterparts in other sectors about topics such as digital transformation.
To this end, Mortimer is hosting what he describes as a fireside chat, called Taking your Efficiency to a New Level. On stage with him will be Gary Fitzgerald, group financial controller of Irish unicorn LetsGetChecked, the at-home medical testing company now valued at more than US$1 billion (€0.98 billion).
Though SAP is known for powering Fortune 500 companies, globally 80 per cent of its clients are small and medium-sized businesses.
For businesses of all sizes however, the need for CFOs to see around corners has never been greater, says Mortimer. “I remember Justin Trudeau saying, at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos that, ‘The pace of change has never been this fast, yet it will never be this slow again.’ It resonated with me because it is true,” he says.
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The finance function is already evolving, with the CFO’s role becoming ever more strategic. “Increasingly the CFO is looked to leverage technology to deliver the data required to forge the insights that drive a company, and support decision-making,” says Mortimer.
LetsGetChecked is an example of how a strong financial function can underpin a start-up’s success.
“Ireland is full of innovative start-ups, and Ireland Inc is firing right now. People going to this summit don’t go to see me delivering a PowerPoint about why everyone should be buying ERP; they want to hear from their peers like LetsGetChecked about how they are leveraging technology to fuel their growth,” explains Mortimer.
“That peer-to-peer element of the Financial Leadership Summit is so much more powerful. It’s about hearing relevant, real-life experiences. And, of course, after Covid, it’s just wonderful to be back in a room with people. Right now all businesses are evolving through this great reset and looking to find ways through it. What you’ll get from this event are insights that can help to unlock the true potential of your business.”