Speaker Highlight: Sergio Gomez Gutierez

Ahead of his appearance at World Finance Forum Madrid, Sergio Gomez Gutierrez, VP of Global Finance Processes and Systems at 世邦魏理仕 , sat down with us for an exclusive Q&A.

With over 20 years of experience, Sergio discusses the importance of business partnering, the adoption of cutting-edge technologies like AI and RPA and emphasises the need for finance leaders to build strong collaborations with IT and business units to drive process improvement and deliver ROI.

This interview a must-read for forward-thinking finance professionals!

Tell us a bit about yourself and how you’ve ended up where you are today.

My journey reflects the evolution finance has experience during the last 20 years: moving from the more typical and foundational financial activities such as risk management, reporting, consolidation, etc. through organisations and people, to finally areas where the focus is process improvement, technology and innovation.

I have a diverse professional background spanning over more than 20 years, with experience in various financial roles such as external audit, financial reporting, consolidation, controllership, financial planning and analysis, M&A, outsourcing, offshoring, local and tax statutory reporting, financial systems implementation, and financial process improvement and system optimisations, always in top class companies.

One of the critical aspects of my current role is to build an appropriate partnership with the IT function, Controllership, FP&A and the different business segments to move into one single direction.

Where is the greatest innovation in finance happening right now?

There isn't a single and greatest area of innovation in finance right now, there are many! The landscape is changing rapidly, with new technological solutions emerging almost weekly to solve problems we couldn't even imagine a few years ago. RPA, AI, chatbots, and low-code/no-code solutions are particularly noteworthy at the moment.

"However, we shouldn't lose sight of a more critical issue: the successful adoption of these innovations and ensuring they deliver a positive return on investment."

As a finance leader, how important is business partnering to a successful organisation?

It's a critical aspect. While the finance function has certain baseline responsibilities that don't necessarily require deep alignment with the business, if we're talking about finance as a value-adding function that's fundamental to corporate growth and development, then alignment of values, objectives, and a deep understanding of business expectations are paramount.

Finance should be consistently involved, or at least informed, of major business decisions and long-term plans to align and modify financial plans.

"It's crucial to demonstrate to the business that certain investments in process improvement and technology, while initially may look risky, will yield a strong ROI, but these must always be supported by robust business cases."

Similarly, finance must be sufficiently flexible and adaptable to an environment that is constantly changing.

What is the number one skill a finance leader needs to have in today’s world?

It's very difficult to highlight just one skill; a finance leader is a leader because they combine multiple abilities.

"We are in a period of transition where the environment is constantly changing at an unprecedented pace. However, there are certain skills that will always be necessary for a finance leader..."

...for example, the ability to anticipate potential risks and threats, identify opportunities, motivate and engage teams, and effectively communicate and partner with other functions. Of course, understanding and interpreting the requirements of the CEO and/or Board of Directors is crucial. Planning and having the flexibility to adapt plans as internal and external conditions change is essential. Being more familiar with technology, or knowing how to be exposed to the necessary technological knowledge and feedback, it also becomes critical nowadays.

In complex organisations with many functions where it's not always easy to identify who is responsible for what processes, conflicts inevitably arise. Therefore, another crucial skill for a finance leader is the ability to resolve conflicts.

Where are you on your automation journey, is it a big feature in your work or are you at the beginning?

Within our organisation, we're prioritising process standardisation and improvement as a precursor to automation.

Certain processes, such as cash collection and journal generation, are already mature and well-suited for automation. However, other processes require organisational enhancements, including roles and responsibilities, before we can consider automation.

Currently, we're aggressively implementing solutions that we know will be successful and have high adoption rates, like RPA in some instances. But for other technologies, such as AI predictive models, we're taking a more gradual approach, conducting proofs of concept to gather data on ROI and adoption before making significant investments.

?? Register now to secure your spot at the World Finance Forum Madrid to learn from Sergio and more senior Finance execs - https://events.futureforums.com/world-finance-forum-madrid#/tickets?lang=en