All articles by Web Asia
Web Asia
Finance functions: Exploring and understanding opportunities for greater efficiencies
When Flight Centre CFO Adam Murray needed to transform the company’s finance operations, he developed a BPO project with Cognizant that has delivered deep and lasting change.
From Czech railway stations to Florida condos: Skanska is limitless
With projects and employees scattered across two continents, Skanska is one of the biggest construction companies on earth. Not that the Swedish giant simply turns up at a site and starts laying bricks. On the contrary, success increasingly relies on intelligent use of data and the cloud – both in the finance department and across the business more broadly. Nor are these functions necessarily mutually exclusive, with the company’s finance director heavily invested in areas like sustainability. Andrea Valentino talks to Magnus Persson, CFO at Skanska since 2018, to learn more.
CX strategy: Need to choose right set of solutions and right model for implementation
In an increasingly competitive and crowded marketplace – one that has evolved rapidly during the pandemic – customer experience (CX) is the defining factor in the success of a business. But finding the right set of solutions to deliver market-leading CX is no simple task. We talk to Suvish Viswanathan, head of marketing for UK & Europe at Zoho, about the key factors enterprises must take into account when choosing their path to excellence in CX.
Big Bang approach: Are big transformations really benefiting from it?
The investment case may have been made – but taking a transformation from idea to fruition requires focus and dedication, something HighRadius amply provides.
Euro 2020: Role played by UEFA’s finance team in the tournament’s success
Contemporary football would be impossible without UEFA. From its headquarters in the Swiss town of Nyon, the body organises and runs some of the most spectacular sporting contests on earth, along the way investing billions into everything from elite clubs to the grassroots game. Yet commanding such a vast financial network is far from easy, especially when it risks clashing with moral considerations. Andrea Valentino talks to Josef Koller, the finance director at UEFA, to learn about how the body has invested in digitalisation to keep its sprawling accounts under control, how much of its revenue is spent on boosting football for women and girls – and why questions around balancing profit and ethics are never far away.
Diversity, equity and inclusion: Meltwater’s keys to top the game
CFOs have long been taking a more active role in business development – anyone simply expecting to just keep the lights on will soon be disappointed. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that more and more finance directors are recognising that strong DEI initiatives can play a part in creating long-term value for shareholders. Elly Earls talks to Lena Shishkina and Alexandra Bjertnæs, the chief financial officer and chief strategy officer at global SaaS provider Meltwater, to understand how CFOs are pushing to make diversity and inclusivity reporting more transparent – and to probe whether better reporting can succeed without more practical changes to hiring and pay.
Cash reserves and flexibility: Two factors to ride out a downturn
A single word is stalking corner offices and C-suites across Europe: recession. Combined with soaring inflation and stagnating wages, finance bosses have plenty to worry about – but the situation is not hopeless. Abi Millar talks to Charlie Steel, CFO of Babylon Health, to understand how executives are preparing for the challenges ahead – and how choppy economic waters could be the perfect opportunity for thorough changes in how companies are run.
EU regulations: Sharpening due diligence around global value chains
The era of voluntary compliance is ending. New EU regulations could soon force companies operating in the bloc to sharpen due diligence around their global value chains, but it’s not yet clear what exactly that will mean. Isabel Ellis asks Cristian Ducu, president of the European Ethics and Compliance Association; Johannes Blankenbach, the EU and Western Europe researcher and representative at the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre; and Rosie Monaghan, researcher and representative for KnowTheChain, about the different perspectives influencing EU decision-making – and considers what progressive companies can do to seize the moment.
Pandemic: What will be the new normal in customer service
How enterprises can leverage cutting-edge technology to provide outstanding CX – and build growth
Digital revolution: Pivotal role played by finance function in digital transformation
Digital transformation is a powerful trend across many industries and it sees CFOs and CIOs working closely to deliver tangible benefit to their organisations. That process of transformation both stems from and affects the finance function, as Jim Banks discovers when he speaks to Nicola Wadham, CIO at the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), about how this process has played out at the body.