Rzeczpospolita Honors Top Financial Directors Amid Evolving Role

The Polish business landscape celebrated its leading financial directors at a recent gala hosted by Rzeczpospolita. The event highlighted the significant transformation of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) role, emphasizing their growing importance in strategic decision-making and value creation for companies.

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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. Today's gala is to appreciate those managing finances and building company resilience.

Speakers at the event, including Wojciech Kuśpik, president of Gremi Media, noted that CFOs are now key partners to management boards, navigating dynamic market changes and building organizational resilience. The discussions focused on the "Architects of Value" theme, stressing that modern CFOs must go beyond traditional accounting. They are expected to influence profit margins and pricing strategies, while also leveraging advanced tools like artificial intelligence for data analysis and anomaly detection.

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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 profitability and pricing policy depend on them.

The integration of AI in finance was a key topic, with experts like Anna Zaremba from EY Polska pointing out its utility in analyzing large datasets and legal texts. However, the success of AI implementation hinges on the quality of data fed into the models. Mariusz Koczwara from ADP Polska advised a methodical approach, advocating for "small steps" in finance, which involves careful data analysis, preparation, and then the implementation of modern tools.

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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. AI is already functioning there.

Further insights came from Sławomir Grzelczak of Biuro Informacji Kredytowej (BIK), who stressed the need for CFOs to access diverse information sources to make sound business decisions and map risks. Professor Piotr Wachowiak of the Warsaw School of Economics added that while hard financial knowledge is crucial, soft skills such as collaboration, negotiation, and integrity are equally vital for future financial leaders.

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Implementations have revealed how important data quality is. What we put into the model guarantees the quality of what we get out of it.