Leading women finance professionals dissect the impact of the pandemic on enterprises
Almost three months into calendar 2021 and around a year since India first imposed a lockdown, amidst the raging Coronavirus pandemic, life and businesses seem to be stabilizing at a new normal. Individuals and corporates have adapted and adjusted to it and the vaccination drive has emerged as a light at the end of the tunnel.
To review the transformation that companies have undergone during the tumultuous year gone by and how the role of finance professionals had evolved, Forbes India CFO Dialogues, in partnership with the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) hosted a virtual workshop. Moderated by Manu Balachandran from Forbes India, it showcased a dynamic, all-women panel of finance leaders, who have helped their organisations thrive in unprecedented times by skilfully navigating the challenges posed by the Covid19 crisis.
The illustrious panellists comprised Sandhya Sriram, Vice President, Global Head of Audit and Risks, Wipro Enterprises; Jyotsna Sharma, CFO, Bridgestone India Private Limited; Megha Chopra, Country Business Head, Global Commercial Services, American Express, India; Ritu Rekha, Partner & Leader, Finance Transformation, PwC and Hanadi Khalife, Senior Director - MEA and India Operations, Institute of Management Accountants. These women of substance came together to share their insights and experiences while also addressing the paradigms of talent gap, women at work and other.
The discussion began with Sandhya Sriram pointing out, “None of us thought that we'll be celebrating the one-year anniversary of the pandemic. It has taught us how to conserve cash and identify which tools to use while digitizing our businesses. The entire landscape of risk management changed and our approach to it became dynamic. Agility has become the keyword and while CFOs never has a choice between cost and growth, post-pandemic, they have evolved into CVOs - Chief Value Officers.”
Agreeing that agility has become crucial, Jyotsna Sharma added that acceptance and adaptability have become important attributes too. “Last year fast tracked the importance of agility, cost conservation, being alert and transition of businesses. We had to let go of old practices and accept new ones. In fact, the role of the CFO and finance professionals has become more visible during the pandemic,” she observed.
The panel agreed that beyond CFOs, the entire C-suites of organisations began to find ways to be digital-first, keeping data analytics and automation at the forefront. Businesses became agile and adapting to new customer preferences became the key. “We saw huge pivots from survival to sustenance to revival in businesses. All these changes have brought data and analytics to the fore for all CXOs. As short-term fixes did not work for organisations during the pandemic, people and organisations have seen value in fundamentally changing how they operate,” said Megha Chopra.