Poland Honors Top Financial Directors at CFO Excellence Awards

Warsaw, Poland – The first-ever CFO Excellence Awards, organized by Rzeczpospolita newspaper, culminated in a gala ceremony at the POLIN Museum, celebrating Poland's leading financial directors. The competition underscored the growing importance of CFOs, who are increasingly seen as strategic partners vital to building company value and resilience.

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This evening is dedicated to the people responsible for the security and strategic development of organizations. Financial directors play a greater role today than just a few years ago. In times of dynamic change and growing market pressure, they are partners for management boards in making key decisions.

"This evening is dedicated to the people responsible for the security and strategic development of organizations," said Wojciech Kuśpik, president of PTWP, at the event. "Financial directors play a greater role today than just a few years ago. In times of dynamic change and growing market pressure, they are partners for management boards in making key decisions."

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A good financial director works on both sides of the balance sheet, moving away from the traditional CFO role. The company's profit margin and pricing policy depend on them.

Discussions during the gala, including a panel titled "Architects of Value. CFO in times of permanent uncertainty," highlighted the shift from traditional financial roles. Krzysztof Telega, vice president of ARP, noted that a good CFO now works on both sides of the balance sheet, influencing profit margins and pricing policies. They are essential in securing financing for new projects and technological changes, exploring options from grants and factoring to traditional loans and tax reliefs.

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CFOs therefore start by reviewing grant programs, then consider factoring or leasing, and finally traditional financing, while also looking for tax reliefs. Broad knowledge helps in making good decisions.

Modern CFOs must also leverage advanced tools like artificial intelligence, which is finding applications in finance for analyzing large data volumes, integrating information, and identifying anomalies. Anna Zaremba, a partner at EY Polska, cautioned that the effectiveness of AI hinges on data quality. Mariusz Koczwara, sales director at ADP Polska, advised a step-by-step approach to implementing new tools, focusing on data analysis and preparation first. Sławomir Grzelczak, vice president of BIK, added that ideal CFOs need diverse information sources to make sound decisions.

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We have many applications of AI in the area of analyzing large volumes of data, their integration, preliminary analysis of legal regulations or anomalies. Artificial intelligence is already functioning there.