Interview with: Sarah Adam-Gedge, Managing Director, Avanade Australia

1. Interview with: Sarah Adam-Gedge,
Managing Director, Avanade
Australia
“CFOs are faced with the common
challenge these days of doing “more
with less”, despite increasing risk
around regulations, globalisation, and
reporting requirements. CFOs often
have expanded responsibilities across
other critical corporate functions, with
performance improvement and strategic
planning increasingly becoming part of
their remit,” says Sarah Adam-Gedge,
Managing Director, Avanade Australia.
“To thrive in this ever-broadening
environment, most CFOs are breaking
away from a spreadsheet-dependent
culture and employing tailored
technology solutions, using data and
analytical tools to drive business
strategy and efficiency. And they are
doing this at a rapid pace. Driven by the
intense rapid growth of data, competi-
tive pressures, and cloud and mobile
technologies, utilising business analytics
is no longer discretionary but an
immediate need,” she points out.
Avanade Australia is a sponsor company
attending the marcus evans CFO
Summit 2017, in the Gold Coast,
Australia, 22 - 24 March.
What are the biggest challenges
CFOs in Australia are experiencing
today?
In today’s fast changing environment,
agility and the ability to make fast,
accurate decisions in real-time is more
critical than ever. This translates into
challenges such as: successfully
measuring and monitoring business
performance; providing inputs into the
wider enterprise strategy; driving
enterprise cost reduction; driving
integration of information across the
enterprise; and interpreting large
amounts of data from many sources to
make real-time business decisions.
How could these be addressed?
What steps would you outline for
CFOs?
CFO’s that are able to master big data
and analytics, collaborate closely with
customers, and possess a strong grasp
of the digital domain will be the highest
performers of the future.
Gathering real-time insights about their
organisations from the massive data
streams available to today’s companies
gives CFOs a better opportunity to make
informed decisions.
How could CFOs make a bigger
impact on the bottom line?
CFOs should look to focus on what
drives the results rather than just the
results themselves. There are plenty of
opportunities for a CFO to make
changes that affect performance, but
they may need to expand their focus to
include people, contracts, technology
and ethics.
Finding technology solutions to improve
business performance needs to be a
high priority for CFOs as companies try
to break from a culture of inefficient
data and analytics tools.
How can CFOs ensure the business
is able to respond to shifting
dynamics quickly and effectively?
What systems empower CFOs and
provide the insights they need for
better decision-making?
Most modern ERP solutions perform
integrated transactional requirements
for Finance and HR. But few have the
capability to extend out to provide real
analytical horsepower. It is important
that data can be converted to informa-
tion and presented as intelligence – that
is useful for organisations. This can be
achieved by the correct implementation
of a suitable ERP solution to enable the
decision makers to make the right
decision on time, with as much accurate
information as possible, delivered
against indicators, budgets and
benchmarks presented in a logical and
attractive manner.
Suitable ERP solutions that provide
information as intelligence should have
the following attributes: integrated multi-
functional transactional ability, data
storage, tagging and quality measures,
a robust reporting and query engine, a
business intelligence layer that sits
across the full range of functional data,
a business intelligence medium that
allows output of graphical and numerical
data on a number of sources including
mobile, a process workflow layer that
allows access to relevant documents
and actions directly from the process
diagrams, and an agile setup that works
with a continuous improvement
environment.
An enterprise operational intelligence
layer that allows integration of a
company’s strategy with results and
forecasts from data held within the ERP
is also needed, as well as an integrated
security layer that ensures a “one stop
shop” for information assurance and a
robust and searchable documentation
layer that allows relevant electronic data
to be stored and recalled where and
when relevant.
CFOs should
look to focus
on what drives
the results
rather than
just the results
themselves
How CFOs Can Use Analytics to
Drive the Business Forward

2. The Finance Network –
marcus evans Summits group
delivers peer-to-peer information
on strategic matters, professional
t r e n d s a n d b r e a k t h r o u g h
innovations.
Please note that the Summit is a
closed business event and the
number of participants strictly
limited.
About the CFO Summit 2017
The CFO Summit is the premium forum bringing elite buyers and sellers together.
The Summit offers Australia and New Zealand’s chief financial officers and solution
and service providers an intimate environment for a focused discussion of the key
new drivers shaping corporate priorities and finance strategies. Taking place at the
RACV Royal Pines Resort, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, 22 – 24 March 2017,
the Summit includes presentations on future-proofing the finance function, changing
the game with data analytics, eradicating risk, maintaining a competitive edge and
continuously improving the business.
www.cfo-anz.com
About Avanade Australia
At Avanade, our vision is to be the leading digital innovator, realising results for our clients and their customers through the power
of people and the Microsoft ecosystem.
Through thousands of projects, we’ve transformed businesses for the digital world. We’ve helped them create compelling
experiences for their customers and employees. We’ve reduced costs, increased productivity, enabled collaboration and enhanced
agility – and ultimately improved performance.
www.avanade.com
About marcus evans Summits
marcus evans Summits are high level business forums for the world’s leading decision-makers to meet, learn and discuss
strategies and solutions. Held at exclusive locations around the world, these events provide attendees with a unique opportunity to
individually tailor their schedules of keynote presentations, case studies, roundtables and one-to-one business meetings.
For more information, please visit: www.marcusevans.com
Upcoming Events
CFO Summit (North America) - www.cfosummits.com
Chief Procurement Officer Summit (North America) - www.cpo-summit.com
To view the web version of this interview, please click here:
http://events.marcusevans-events.com/cfo2017-sarah-adam-gedge
Contact
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Tel: + 357 22 849 313
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