In this episode, Sidetrade’s Solutions Consultant Matt Hill discusses the next generation CFO and how to enable finance teams for the future to be equipped with technology for finance transformation and processes for change management.
In this episode, Sidetrade’s Solutions Consultant Matt Hill discusses the next generation CFO and how to enable finance teams for the future to be equipped with technology for finance transformation and processes for change management.
Welcome to Finance to Futurist, a Sidetrade podcast series on how innovation data and AI are disrupting order-to- cash.
Natalie Silverman:Hi, this is Natalie Silverman for Sidetrade. Welcome to Finance to Futurist. On today's episode, we're looking at the next generation CFO, and how to enable finance teams for the future to be equipped with technology for finance, transformation and processes for change management. Please welcome Sidetrade Solutions Consultant, Matt Hill. Good morning, Matt and thanks for sitting down for Finance to Futurist.
Matt Hill:Hey, Natalie, great to be joining you today.
Natalie Silverman:I love to start off with an easy question. So don't worry, I'll take it easy.
Matt Hill:Go easy.
Natalie Silverman:I'd love to hear more about yourself and your background and how you got to Sidetrade.
Matt Hill:Sure. Well, potted history of Matt. So I've been working in and around finance teams for nearly 20 years now started off in project management. I've led project teams in the delivery of SaaS software into finance functions. And that's not just a software that's also the transformation side of things. So process as well, to make sure that that software is embedded and accepted by users joined Sidetrade 18 months ago, now a pre-sales consultant working on opportunities across Europe, but also global supporting sales teams out in the US as well as Europe as well as now the Middle East and Asia. So fantastic time for Sidetrade, really, really excited to be part of this journey.
Natalie Silverman:I know, like you said, you have a lot of experience talking about digital transformation. You know, I asked Naomi, who is also on your team, I asked her on the last episode if she thought digital transformation was just a buzzword. But you know, we're hearing more that finance transformation or digital transformation is really picking up speed, especially in the finance department. So I just wondered, What does a CFO need to think about in terms of digital transformation? And what do you need to do to enable finance teams now for the future?
Matt Hill:Yeah, it's a great question. And, you know, we can debate this for many hours. I mean, I think for me, having been involved in lots of areas of the kind of sales and implementation side, I think, for me, transformation boils down into not only the technology, but the processes, as I alluded to earlier on. And I think from a procurement point of view, from a potential customer's point of view, I think really, there's a couple of areas that they probably need to make sure that they're comfortable with as part of that transformative journey. I think, for me, the the first part is turning the mirror on themselves, and understanding where they are now, you know, finance, transformation is a That's a great segue. You mentioned change management. And journey. And any journey has a start point. And I think it's really important that they understand and benchmark where they are in that journey before they start, and then keep reflecting against that as they move things forward. And I think also, there's a risk, I guess, that as part of that journey, that other things come into scope, other conversations happen, other ideas come into play. But I think it's important that people are able to use that reflection at the start of the process, so that they don't boil the ocean, they're not looking at trying to shoehorn additional benefits, additional value statements, additional features, additional functionality into the journey that they're embarking on. Sure, talk about them, have a partner who is able to acknowledge that to push that through whatever the change management looks like, and maybe come back to it later. But focus their energies, focus their ambitions on the high value activities that they're looking to achieve. So they're the two main things that in my experience, vendors and customers and potential customers should be talking about, and constantly reflecting I'm hearing sometimes that change management and digital on as they as they move things forward. And then of course, transformation are almost interchangeable, but I feel like finally, there's the people side of things. So this isn't just they're slightly different. So what are your thoughts there on on the differences between change management and digital about technology and process. And a top down approach is very transformation from a finance perspective? Yeah, I think for me, digital transformation by its nature is much a change management piece that needs to be embedded into focusing more on the technology. So focusing more on the into that program works so that the end users are accepting that features, functions that a vendor has focusing on the software or understanding why things are happening and being different ways that things can happen for me, then the change updated as things happen to their roles and to the way they management side of things is really from the user's point of work so that they can see where the value really sits as they're view, and making sure that the users themselves understand why elevated from mundane activities and repeatable activities to the technology is coming, why the process changes are happening, what timescales they're going to be delivered perhaps more strategic actions and more value add actions. to, so that they can do themselves buy into that program of works and adopt it and use it moving forward. So for me, they're the two things, you've got the technology side, and then the process side, which is, which is for the end users.
Natalie Silverman:And speaking of people, and going back to the role of the CFO, we've obviously talked a lot about how the role has evolved over time. And as people are coming up into the finance function, right, maybe right out of university, or, you know, early in their careers, we're talking about almost a different skill set that might be needed as they move into senior leadership and into the CFO role. So I just wondered, what does the next gen CFO look like to you?
Matt Hill:Yeah, I mean, first thing I do every morning is boot up LinkedIn, and have a look at what's happening out on the wires. And there's so many different papers out there by you know, well respected organizations around what the future of a CFO and what the current CFOs challenges are. And I think you're absolutely right, I think over the last 15-20 years, I've certainly seen a change in experiences and the skill sets that C suite need to need to have, and particularly in the CFO chair, I think, you know, there's there's been many, many buzzwords that have been knocking around for for a very long time. Now, you know, Data Lake, SaaS, Big Data, these are these are all things that people are now becoming more comfortable with. But the role of the C suite is now not only to understand the finance level, they're cutting level CFO type conversations, but also maybe more on the technology side and, and things that have traditionally been left to it and CTOs and people like that to deal with so that those CFOs can use that technology and leverage that technology within the finance function.
Natalie Silverman:You know, again, I like to throw some crazy questions out there. And I know you have a tech background. So I think this will be pretty easy for you. But there was a controversial statement I heard recently, actually, too. And so the first one I'm going to throw out there is CFOs that use AI will replace CFOs that don't. What comes to mind when you hear that? And do you think that's an accurate statement?
Matt Hill:I think it depends on your definition of AI. You know, it's a very, very broad church, in my experience of what AI actually can cover everything from RPA and automating processes through technology, which absolutely has a place. But as long as the process and the data remain static, as soon as that changes, then you rewriting those bots. And often that's a costly thing. You've got data lakes. So is that self learning data? Am I learning around my customers behaviors with me? Or is that more three dimensional? Certainly what I like to call it where perhaps insights are being fed in from other populations and other interactions from other organizations with the same customers to allow you to benchmark. So I think there is definitely a move towards data availability and tools within certainly the finance function. The CFO, therefore will be guess evolving so that his or her role is more aligned to using that data and bringing in tools that can leverage the power of that data rather than ones that perhaps are more traditional, certainly, when when I was interacting in my first role 20 years ago.
Natalie Silverman:And I think the last question for you is, you know, there was a statistic that I had heard recently that said almost 30% of CFOs are actually learning about technology for this, you know, autonomous finance or digital transformation, however you want to call it in their own personal time. So in a way, they're almost self educating themselves in order to level up their skill set. What's your advice for a CFO again, we talked a little bit about next gen. We talked about maybe people in the role today and how they need to focus more on the change management and digital transformation side. But yeah, what's your advice for how they can really learn more about these newer technologies? The AI is the machine learnings. The NLP is you know, even blockchain that's been coming into the mix a bit more, what advice would you give a CFO?
Matt Hill:An element of what you're talking about there is perhaps only natural as people move through finance functions into those C suite roles. You know, the people who I'm dealing with now typically more tech savvy, I think it's fair to say I think they are more interested in technology than perhaps you more traditional finance leaders and finance functions would have been when I first started talking to people 20 years ago. So I think just shared nature of the people involved in those roles is that they are in their own time in their spare time in their free time more aware of technology and the powers that it can bring you know you you look at things like Netflix and Disney Plus and the way that we consume technology in our in our homes now versus 20 years ago where you had your your television with your traditional five channels in the UK and then Sky came along and gave you another 150 channels. You know, that was a big step forward. And now everything's all about streaming people are more used to dealing with technology. And I think a lot of it in business reflects personal experiences as well. So the way that you pay bills as an individual, the way that you deal with people you're interacting with, as an individual is being reflected now within the business world. And I think that that's being mirrored by, as you say that the CFOs, who are who are learning about technology and understanding technology in their own spare time. For me, I think there's still a gap and education that vendors like citrate can help CFOs to understand, you know, there's a lot of talk around cloud, there's a lot of talk around big data. There's a lot of talk around data lakes, a lot of these terms have been around for 10, 15, 20 years, but it's the nuances behind that. So educating around you know, multi tenancy is a great example of this cloud is is a technology. It's a way to store data. It's it's fantastic, but there are different flavors of cloud that I think vendors can help people to understand and why that is a good value for a piece of software like ours and citrate when you're buying new technology.
Natalie Silverman:Thanks, Matt, for your insights into the future of finance. For Sidetrade, this is Natalie Silverman.
Conclusion:This has been another episode of Finance to Futurist, a Sidetrade podcast series. Make sure you catch every episode by subscribing to our podcast on Sidetrade.com or through your podcast platform of choice. Thanks so much for tuning in. This podcast is brought to you by Sidetrade, and this for general information purposes only. All rights reserved.