All articles by Web Asia
Web Asia
UK’s energy crisis: How businesses change risk management
As winter approaches the northern hemisphere, businesses face a real challenge. The global economy is in uncharted waters with instability across numerous domains. From supply chains to Covid, skills shortages to inflationary pressures, today’s business is not certain of enjoying a happy tomorrow. Andrew Tunnicliffe speaks with Bavan Nathan, until recently the chief audit and risk officer at Tesco, about how the next few months are shaping up, and the biggest threat to future prosperity – a protracted energy crisis.
G20: A tumultuous and closely watched meet-up in Indonesia
November 2022 saw global leaders meet in Bali for the G20 summit, but delegates didn’t have time to sunbathe. From the continued impact of sanctions on Russia to a looming energy crisis, the halcyon days of free-wheeling globalisation feel ominously distant. Nikki Peach spoke to a range of experts ahead of the summit to find out whether rival countries can unite to fight global challenges, and if our increasingly multipolar planet means shindigs like the G20 and G7 are becoming less relevant.
Artificial intelligence: Understanding risks and benefits of embracing artificial helpers
Long relegated to performing mundane tasks, AI finally seems set to transform the treasury function across business. Companies everywhere are rushing ahead to exploit new developments in areas like machine learning, a potential boon for overworked treasurers everywhere. Not that the path ahead is necessarily clear, especially when automation risks sweeping some human staff out of a job altogether. Abi Millar speaks to Sarah Boyce, associate director, policy and technical, at the Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT) to understand the risks and benefits of embracing artificial helpers.
FDI: Future of foreign investment has become anything but predictable
For decades, European companies have been used to investing in developing countries, with China and India both prime targets for foreign direct investment (FDI). But now things are changing. Traditional FDI hotspots are being transformed, with potentially revolutionary consequences for the global economy. Nikki Peach talks to Mike Pfister, senior adviser for investment and sustainable development at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), to learn which way global FDI is going, where investors should keep an eye on especially – and whether it presages a broader shift in where money goes.
Transformative impact of technology: How to avoid disappointing results
Transformation projects can offer much and fail to deliver, but HighRadius clients can testify to the significant impact on performance that AR automation can bring.
Inchcape: Integrating new units into a disparate global operation
As a seasoned veteran of finance transformation projects, Madi Pistola has been through more or less every possible scenario – good and bad – that a major change effort can present. But working with Cognizant to transform Inchcape’s systems and processes took change to a new level.
Digital revolution: How Cognizant is designing and delivering fully-aligned BPO projects
How Cognizant brings teams together to deliver on their promises
National Grid: How the utility has become a staple of British life
The better a state is doing, so the saying goes, the less you should think about it. By that measure, the British government has seen better days. From market turmoil to runaway house prices, it recently feels like the country can do little else but worry. Energy is another persistent concern, especially as temperatures drop and gas prices stay frustratingly high. National Grid, it goes without saying, is at the centre of these developments. But, as Andrea Valentino finds out when he catches up with Andy Agg, the company’s CFO, the organisation is focused on far more than merely keeping the lights on.
Kone: A worldwide army of 200,000 lifts and escalators
From ice skate blades to emergency room monitors, nylon socks to industrial cranes, Kone’s product range embodies evolution. Across more than a century, the Finnish giant has prided itself on meeting the challenges of an ever-changing world. And, as Ilkka Hara, the company’s CFO, explains, this dedication to the future remains ferocious. Andy Tunnicliffe catches up with Hara to learn about Kone’s digital transition – and the fundamental role people are playing in it.
How shorter work weeks could boost productivity
From remote work to Zoom meetings, the old ways of doing business are being swept aside. This has opened the door to the most ambitious shift yet in working habits: the four-day week. Jim Banks asks Laurent de la Clergerie, CEO at Groupe LDLC, and Joe O’Connor, CEO at 4 Day Week Global, why giving employees more time to recharge their batteries can boost productivity, staff retention and revenues.