Apliqo is excited to be participating in the 46th Congress of Controllers (ICV)

After two years of almost everything retreating into verbal spaces, we are incredibly excited by joining our first in-person event once again.??We’ve really missed being able to integrate with the wider industry and community and this particular conference is going to allow us to engage once more with the people behind the Zoom calls.

What is the Congress of Controllers?

The conference we are attending is called the?Congress of Controllers?(ICV) and it brings together all the key stakeholders in the controlling community.??Held in Germany on May 9th?and 10th, the congress is packed with a wide array of keynote addresses, workshops, challenges, and networking opportunities that all look at the state of the industry at present and where it is going.

This is the 46th?iteration of this particular event and that is a testament to just how successful it has been in the past.??It’s rare that a congress can bring all the key decision-makers into one physical space but the gravitas and reputation of ICV make this possible.??But what also makes this special is that the conference brings together people from all parts of the value chain from CFOs and other executives all the way down to passionate students who want to immerse themselves in the world of financial control.??This cross-functional nature makes for highly interactive and forward-thinking conversations that aren’t stuck in the status quo of the past.

What Sorts of Topics Will Be Explored?

The congress agenda will look to cover three main pillars within the world of financial control:

• New Technology and Innovations.??Financial control is an industry that is continually evolving and as we see technology advance, so do the tools and systems that underlie our work.??Many of the conversations will be around these new advancements – specifically those of machine learning and artificial intelligence.??With more savvy algorithms and better data – we can start to automate and streamline a lot of financial control procedures that previously were done manually.??It also opens up opportunities for new innovation in terms of predictions, forecasting, and other key components of a holistic financial control function.
• Company Culture and Social Engineering.??You can have all the tools in the world but if you aren’t getting the right buy-in and immersion from your people – then none of that matters.??Financial control is something that touches every aspect of an organization and it requires the collaboration of various teams to work efficiently.??As such, the conference will also discuss key social and cultural topics that affect people within organizations and how we can improve results in this regard – to then impact the success of financial control as a driver of business growth.
• Sustainability and Other Macro-Economic Factors.??Lastly, the congress will also consider those factors that impact wider societal concerns.??As a world, we are moving towards more holistic measures of success and are prioritizing things like sustainability in addition to financial performance.??Financial control is at the heart of these shifts and it’s important to work together as an industry to make our mark on these important issues – for the sake of the generations that are still to come.

These three pillars will serve as the foundations for the conference activities, but they are by no means exhaustive.??We are sure that new ideas, conversations, and reckonings will emerge as the industry gathers once more for the first time in a very long time.

What About Apliqo’s Involvement?

As a company, we are very excited to be involved with this because our work is integrally tied to financial control and its surrounding components.??Having the chance to engage with some of the thought leaders in the space and hear about their views on the future will have a significant impact on how we think about serving our clients.

We pride ourselves on staying on the cutting edge of what is happening out there, and this is but one example of how we do that.??Gathering this sort of insight is not just accomplished through the major keynote addresses, but also through the serendipitous conversations that happen with people with different backgrounds, perspectives, and ideas.??By immersing ourselves fully in the event, we are ready to have our assumptions challenged, to learn from our peers, and to come back with some fresh thinking around financial control.

We will then seek to share that with our clients and help them maximize the learnings that we can unravel.??Watch our blog for more on this – and if you’re going to be at the conference itself – come and say Hi!

Here’s to connecting in person once again.??It’s been way too long.