8DECEMBER 2022CFO TECH OUTLOOKIN MY OPINIONBy James Welsh, Head of Enablement Finance, Corporate and Institutional Bank & Treasury,National Australia Bank [ASX: NAB]"The pace of change has never been this fast, yet it will never be this slow again. There's an enormous opportunity, and enormous potential, in that realisation." said Canadian PM Justin Trudeau in Davos 2018, to the World Economic Forum.Exciting, yet uncertain, times ahead, and this has never been more true for the finance industry. According to a recent report by Autonomous Next, the cost savings achievable through technologies such as AI, ML, and blockchain across financial services are expected to reach $1 trillion by 2023 with the front and middle office accounting for $416 billion of that total. However, we must temper this optimism with a dose of reality. Finance is often referred to as the backbone of an organization and our deep-rooted heritage in control makes us stable, but not necessarily as adaptable as we'd like to be. In fact, Charles Tilley, Chairman of the International Federation of Accountants, noted a recent survey showed that only 8 percent of CFOs believed they implemented processes well. This is a staggering gap between ambition and execution. Unless addressed, this gap will result in a huge amount of productivity savings being wasted.As an industry, we need to close the gap, but we can't do it alone. Designing and implementing technology is a complex endeavour and success is centred on cross-functional collaboration and teamwork. But how do we get better at teamwork, especially with those outside your direct reporting line? It's like anything ­ you need to practice. To practice and thrive, you will need both an environment and culture which facilitates this.Target speed and flexibility through cross-functional teamsAgility means different things to different people and what works for finance functions is likely to be different from, say, a digital team. However, collaborating using cross-functional teams to drive better IN UNCERTAIN TIMES AGILITY IS THE NEW STABILITY James Welsh
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