Overview

Case Discussion:

• CFO at the heart of strategic development / Formulating financial strategy
• Hazards in the Boardroom : Relationships and Influence
• Obtaining ownership, accountability and buy-in from the budget holder
• Hidden value of Finance Business Partnering
• Why first few days are most critical when tackling crisis?
• Digitising the finance function: Information architecture, legacy systems

Practitioner Insights Into:

• Financial leadership in action
• Building relationships with the CEO, board & business heads
• Strategic imperatives
• Reporting intelligence
• Embracing the power of digital
• Talent management in finance

Virtual Delivery Approach:

A Virtual Classroom will be used as the online delivery tool with a total of 3 sessions during each day, each session lasting 90 minutes. Each session will lead to the next session with an interval of 30 minutes at the end of session 1 and 60 minutes at the end of session 2.

All sessions are designed to focus on the touchpoints and to optimize your learning experience using different perspectives to reinforce understanding and practical application of knowledge.
You will have ample opportunity to engage with Raj and other course participants throughout the Virtual Classroom. Discussions at the end of each session will be centered around carefully chosen topical issues and themes of interest to the participants.

During the final session, participants will have further opportunities to learn from each other and from Raj through a facilitated discussion. Participants may highlight aspects they found particularly helpful and worthy of further consideration for possible deployment in their workplace.

Course Overview:

Crucially, CFOs now need to provide a commercial outlook, see the big picture and engage much more in the board room than ever before. Given the backdrop of shifts in the business and economic environment, coupled with the requirement to operate in a safe and remote setting, CFOs need to bring ideas and help make fiendishly difficult decisions across their organization. These concern whether to revive, reopen, shutdown, transform, restructure or deploy a blended approach.

Course Director:

Raj Gandhi

Founder & CEO of GGV London
Finance, Treasury & Risk Solutions

Professional Qualifications:

• Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA)
• Fellow of the Association of Corporate Treasurers (FCT)
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
• Member of the Institute of Directors (MIoD)

Raj is a professionally qualified accountant and a treasurer carrying extensive experience of training consulting including Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney, Dubai, Riyadh, Johannesburg, Holland, London

In a career spanning 25 years, Raj has held board and senior roles across the financial services, energy, and retail sectors specializing in finance, treasury, governance, and risk.

Formerly CFO of London Capital Group plc, previous roles include a member of the group reporting team and global audit manager, treasury at Royal Dutch Shell plc, business director and audit manager, treasury at Man Group plc, and treasurer of Empire Stores Group plc.

In 2010, Raj founded GGV London to empower executives globally, focusing entirely on solutions and knowledge transfer. GGV delivers leadership training, consulting, and mentoring services to family-owned companies, SMEs and MNCs across Africa, Asia, Europe, and UK.

Raj is proud of long-standing relationships with prominent institutions such as the ACT, ACCA, ICAEW, IIA, IoD, Euromoney and NEDonBoard. He also delivers executive and MBA programs for the University of Hertfordshire Business School.

Past Participation Includes:
Oil majors | Pharma | Banks | Big four accounting firms | Family-owned businesses – Large listed and unlisted industrials and manufacturing companies

Course Outline

Day 1:

Session 1:

Strategic Development and the CFO

• Engaging in strategy discussions
• Making strategy work by tracking implementation, adapting

Financial Leadership in Action

• Transparency and dialogue, shifting up gears, creating and protecting value Delivering on expectations
• Setting financial strategy, aligning to organization’s strategy, operating plans and performance

Discussion or Task: CFO at the heart of strategic development / Formulating financial strategy

Session 2:

Hazards in the Boardroom

• Board behaviors: e.g. groupthink when the board disagrees

Building Relationships and Influence

• Working alongside the CEO, handling conflict or issues calling for judgment
• The Influential CFO – personal effectiveness, presence and credibility – Holding center stage

Reflections on Case Study- Discussion: Working harmoniously alongside fellow board members

Session 3:

Performance Reporting and Analytics

• Executive dashboard, communication in fewer words to a non-financial audience
• Digitizing the finance function: Information architecture, legacy systems

Business and Economic Environment

• Providing insights and commentary on trends, industry benchmarks

Beyond Budgeting

• Outcome-Driven Budgeting & Event-Driven Forecasting
• Linking planning, budgets, and rolling forecasts to strategy

Discussion: Obtaining ownership, accountability, and buy-in from the budget holder

Course Outline – Day 2:

Session 1:

Finance Business Partnering

• What it’s not
• Barriers and limitations
• Measuring success

Talent Management

• Developing strategy to attract, motivate and retain talent

Mergers & Acquisitions

• Evaluating target company
• Organizing for due diligence
• Negotiating the deal

Discussion/Task: Hidden value of Finance Business Partnering

Session 2:

Leading Corporate Treasury

• Profit center vs. value-added center vs. cost center
• Working capital and the Cash Conversion Cycle
• Managing risks (liquidity, funding, interest & currency rates) / Using Derivatives e.g. (swaps)

Corporate Risk Management and Risk Reporting

• Identifying and assessing risks (current and emerging risks) via risk hat maps
• Articulating risk appetite and risk tolerance

Discussion of cases where treasury controls were weak or collapsed / Rationale for hedging risk

Session 3:

Crisis Management

• Assessing situation, identify biggest problems
• Knowing your stakeholders, rebuilding credibility
• Scenario planning and risk assessments / Plan B or C

Corporate Governance

• Embedding governance within the organization

Reassuring the Board

• What really matters
• Contingency planning and lessons learned for the next crisis

Discussion/Task: Why first few days are most critical when tackling a crisis?

Workshop Instructions

• 15-16 Feburary 2021 – 10:00 am – 03:00 pm
• Regular Fee: AED 1,850 Per Participant (Exclusive of VAT)
• Team Offer: Pay for 2 and register 3rd for free
• Includes: Courseware, and SIMFOTIX Certificate
• For registration (s) send us your Name, Designation, Organization, and Mobile Number to [email protected]
• For More Information please contact: Qazi Waqas Ahmed Mobile: +971 56 309 0819; Email: [email protected]

Who Should Attend

• Current and Aspiring CFOs from all sectors
• Aspiring finance directors, controllers
• Board directors
• Bank relationship managers
• Other interested parties