Carlyle CFO Dinner

It is always valuable to bring together a group of progressive CFOs and the latest in our series of Carlyle CFO Dinners was no exception. Multiple industries were represented and as ever, the conversation round the table was incredibly open, insightful and far-reaching.

Top of the agenda for demands on the CFO's time were:

• Sustainability Reporting and the challenges both of keeping up with regulation and of finding appropriately skilled talent to respond to its demands;
• Cyber security as a constant threat which most consider on a 'when not if' basis - some useful trading of experiences, risk mitigation and insurance followed; and
• Managing finance's response to AI - CFOs demonstrated a range of appetites for adopting AI across finance processes, with some waiting until such time as first adopters prove the return on investment. Data cleanliness and reliability was also holding them back. Equally, CFOs are working to ensure spend on AI by the wider business remains proportionate and reasonable in light of the opportunities and challenges it presents.

A profession-wide view was offered by Chris Barber, CFO of ICAS, who was also able to provide a positive outlook on the attractiveness of the profession and the training being offered to our future accountants. Whilst economic conditions and the geo-political environment remain uncertain, there were pockets of optimism emerging.

Interesting to compare our discussion to PWC's report on 'What's Important to CFOs in 2024'