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⌚ 07.45
REGISTRATION & ARRIVAL BREAKFAST NETWORKING
Barista coffee and breakfast items will be served in the networking lounge
⌚ 08.25
OPENING COMMENTS:
James Solomons, CFO & CFO Magazine A/NZ Host
⌚ 08.30
CFO Horizons: Leading Through Uncertainty, AI and the Path to 2030
CFO PANEL SESSION moderated by James Solomons, featuring:
Adam Botica, CFO & VP Finance | Freo Group
Hayley Bobrige, Chief Financial Officer | FTP Solutions
sarah graf, chief financial officer | HBF
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The CFO Playbook Is Being Rewritten in Real Time | The CFO role has changed more in the last five years than in the previous twenty - and the pace is accelerating.
To set the tone for the day, we're joined by three of WA's leading CFOs to explore what the next evolution of the CFO role looks like in practice - and how they're managing the short, medium, and long-term horizons, from today's priorities to the strategic decisions that will define their organisations beyond 2030!
⌚ 09.00
What AI Really Means for the CFO – A Futurist Perspective
keynote | Mark Pesce, Leading Futurist
IMark Pesce has spent three decades at the intersection of technology and human behaviour. In this exclusive keynote, one of Australia's most respected futurists cuts through the AI hype to examine what the intelligence revolution actually means for financial leadership. What does it do to your cost base, your team structure, your decision-making? And critically - what does it demand of the CFO personally? Practical,provocative, and deliberately forward-looking, Mark will challenge CFOs on how to harness AI and become the most powerful leader in the room.
⌚ 09.30
Beyond Borders, Beyond Control
KEYNOTE | Mary Italiano, Head Of Sales | Eftsure
Cybercriminals are moving faster, hitting harder, and scaling globally. And AI is accelerating the shift. The result: fraud doesn’t stop at firewalls or national boundaries, and neither can your defences. Yet many finance leaders
still lack clear direction on how to secure international payment workflows. Nick will share today’s new threat realities, from AI-driven impersonation to cross-border fraud operations and emerging compliance gaps. Increasingly, when finance teams strengthen their payment processes, they protect the entire organisation. Whether your business operates in one country or twenty, Beyond Borders, Beyond Control is a deep-dive discussion that will help CFOs navigate a world where attacks are automated, threats are global, and financial operations must be more resilient than ever.
⌚ 10.00
OUTSOURCING YOUR FINANCE FUNCTION – A CFO GAME-CHANGER
CFO PANEL SESSION moderated by James Solomons, featuring:
Lachlan Cornwell, Chief Financial & Operations Officer | True Protein
Dilip Kherajani, CFO and Founder | Business Avengers
Amy Knoll, Head of Finance | True Protein
As a CFO, you may be sceptical about outsourcing, but it can be a game-changer, especially with the high cost of wages, difficulties in talent retention, and the ongoing talent shortage. This session will explore how outsourcing key finance functions—ranging from AP, AR, Payroll, Bank / Credit Card Reconciliations, Month-End Journals, and P&L/Balance Sheet preparation. Outsourcing can also significantly reduces costs whilst mitigating the challenges of recruitment and retention, freeing up CFO time for strategic growth while maintaining control over critical financial decisions.
⌚ 10.30
MORNING NETWORKING BREAK
Barista coffee & refreshments served in the networking lounge
⌚ 11.15
WHAT IS THE #1 SKILL ALL GREAT FINANCE BUSINESS PARTNERS HAVE?
KEYNOTE | Andrew Jepson FCA, CEO & Founder | The FBP Team
A skill that is top of the list for organisations such as Google and NASA when they recruit their technical experts. A skill that i5 teachable….. And a skill few in finance spend any time developing? Join Australia’s leading Finance Business Partnering expert, Andrew Jepson FCA, as he takes us through the number one skill all finance professionals must develop!
⌚ 11.45
UNLOCKING POTENTIAL TO DELIVER PRODUCTIVITY AND GENUINE IMPACT
KEYNOTE | Trent Fuller | CEO | Young Guns Container Crew - TBC
Three time CFO, now CEO, Trent Fuller will discuss the importance of how purpose-driven leadership and a strong culture are working together to transform every organisations most valuable asset – Your workforce. Trent will also share the journey Young Guns have been through as they have grown to over 1,500 employees and transformed a typically unskilled, unreliable and a transient work force into a highly engaged one and how CFOs play a critical role in enabling this shift by aligning resources, setting clear goals, and reinforcing a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
⌚ 12.15
Future of Finance: Where AI Is Just a Way of Life
KEYNOTE Damon Hauenstein, CFO & COO | Weel
The cost of intelligence is collapsing - and finance functions built on the assumption that analysis is scarce and expensive are about to feel it. In this keynote, we move beyond the AI hype cycle to examine what the
transformation already underway in software engineering, strategic analysis, and everyday workflows means for WA's finance leaders. From reframing the ROI case for AI investment, to understanding the shift from doing to
designing - this session makes the case that CFOs are uniquely positioned to lead this transition. The technology is here. The question is how quickly you'll move.
⌚ 12.45
AI in Finance: What’s Real, What’s Risky, What Works and What’s Next?
KEYNOTE | Georgina Woolf, Sr. Solutions Consultant (APAC) | Trintech :
Finance leaders are under the pump to modernise their operations and deliver measurable improvements, all while staying accountable for risk management, audit compliance, and regulatory oversight. This session is for CFOs who need to cut through the hype and make sound decisions about implementing new technology in their finance departments. Drawing on what we've seen working with finance teams over the past year and a half, we'll look at where these tools are delivering results. We're talking about areas like month-end close, reconciliations, handling exceptions, and catching potential issues early. We'll also be honest about where the promise has outpaced reality, and why some approaches that lack proper oversight are creating more problems than they solve. You'll walk away with a practical sense of what's working in real finance teams, how to measure ROI with actual numbers, and how to move forward without sacrificing the control and accountability your role depends on .
⌚ 13.15
NETWORKING LUNCH
Lunch served in the networking lounge with refreshments & barista coffee
⌚ 14.00
FINANCE IS EVOLVING – ARE YOU KEEPING UP? THE CFO GUIDE TO AI & FINTECH
CFO PANEL SESSION moderated by James Solomons, featuring:
Simon Grantham, CFO | XCircle
Damon Hauenstein CFO & COO | Weel
Mathew Southgate CA, MAICD, Group CFO | Australian British Food Group
This panel session will go beyond the ‘buzzwords’ of AI and Automation explore the real technologies and challenges facing finance leaders looking to successfully navigate the evolving digital landscape with confidence and build a high-performing finance function and examine - Why outdated finance tech stacks are slowing teams down, The tech stack solutions modern finance teams are adopting, How is AI really transforming finance? A framework for selecting the right fintech, ensuring seamless integration, security and maximising ROI and how to build a scalable, secure, and future-ready finance tech stack that keeps up with your business.
⌚ 14.30
SELLING FOR CFOS – WHY CFOS NEED TO THE BE THE SECOND BEST SALESPERSON
KEYNOTE Alena Bennett | Award Winning CFO Coach & Author, ‘CFO of the Future’
“CFOs need to be the second best salesperson in their organisation” Alena shared this statement in her most recent CFO Annual Report. Yet, most CFOs will tell you they aren’t great sales people. Many will still profess their dislike of public speaking. However, in an economic environment where there’s a higher bar to access capital, and in an age where investors, shareholders and the ELT need to be brought on the journey, CFOs must have
sales capability. To hear what CFOs need to do to become the second best salesperson in their organisation, join Alena in this highly informative CFO session and gain a competitive edge.
⌚ 15.00
Building, Managing and Retaining a Finance Team
CFO PANEL SESSION moderated by James Solomons, featuring:
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AI is reshaping the finance function at pace - but the human questions remain stubbornly complex. This forward-looking panel brings together a Chief People Officer, a CFO leading a high-performing finance team, and a FinTech entrepreneur to examine what it really takes to build, develop, and hold onto great finance talent when the role itself is being redefined. What skills will matter most in five years? How do you retain ambitious professionals when AI is automating their entry points? And how do leaders foster a culture of curiosity and adaptability in a function historically built on process and control? Essential listening for any finance leader thinking beyond the next quarter.
⌚ 15.30
AFTERNOON NETWORKING BREAK
Barista coffee & refreshments served in the networking lounge
⌚ 16.00
Inside the Numbers: The Economic Trends Shaping CFO Strategy in 2026
CLOSING KEYNOTE Stephen Koukoulas, Leading Chief Economist & Former Advisor to the Prime Minister
Renowned economist and economic commentator, Stephen Koukoulas explores what lies ahead for CFOs in 2026, unpacking the key economic forces shaping Australia’s financial landscape. From interest rates, inflation, and global influences like Trump to technology-driven disruption, this session delivers practical insights to help finance leaders plan with confidence — in Stephen’s engaging, insightful, and always informative style.
⌚ 16.30
CLOSING COMMENTS
James Solomons, CFO & Symposium Host
⌚ 16.35
END
Thursday 23rd july 2026
perth pan pacific
Future Focussed Leadership
towards 2030
CFO Horizons
