The American Express India CFO Summit revealed how CFOs are tapping into opportunities to pivot towards profitability

External disruptions are not uncommon for Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) but the COVID-19 pandemic posed a different challenge. The unprecedented situation led to significant changes and enabled organisations to rethink every business function, especially the role of finance. Here, the CFOs were quick to address the areas of concern and build agile operating models to get businesses back on their feet.

Within seven months, many businesses were able to tackle issues effectively and now are exuding signs of stabilisation.

To discuss how CFOs navigated through uncertainties and adapted to the new normal, American Express in partnership with Moneycontrol, held a virtual ‘India CFO Summit’, during which the stakeholders from the government and CFOs from top companies gave insights into how priorities changed for the businesses while tackling the pandemic.

During the discussions, American Express also unveiled a report titled ‘Chief Financial Officer to Chief Value Officer’, which explores the impact of the current pandemic on finance function and business operations along with the key financial transformation areas of focus. The report is based on the insights gathered from a survey conducted for American Express by EY, the leading professional services organisation.

As a curtain raiser to the event, Manoj Adlakha, SVP and CEO, American Express Banking Corp. India, set the agenda for the day. In his keynote address, Adlakha said India is seeing encouraging signs which reflect green shoots for the economy. Meanwhile, he also emphasised on American Express Bank’s partnership with small, medium and large businesses, whether they operate locally, regionally or internationally. “We provide them expense management solutions to help them manage and monitor their travel and related entertainment expenses as well as everyday business expenses within their institutions. Our involvement and commitment to CFOs are in line with our global efforts,” said Adlakha.

He also shared key insights from the report and said that 50 percent of the CFOs were hopeful of returning to the normal course of business in less than one year and over 35 percent respondents already reported growth in business performance showing signs of stabilisation.

He also invited Anurag Singh Thakur, Minister of State for Finance, to address the online audience. “The government of India has envisioned an Atmanirbhar Bharat, which is a well-planned economic strategy. I am bullish because I believe in the ability of Indians like you who are empowering new India. The Finance Ministry is open to new ideas,” said Thakur.

The Summit saw a fireside chat and two panel discussions where industry stalwarts threw light on immediate steps they took when the lockdown was announced and how they ensured safety of the workforce.

During the fireside chat - ‘Building Financial Resilience’, Megha Chopra, Country Business Head, Global Commercial Services, American Express India said there were many key learnings from the pandemic such as prioritisation of spends, digital transformation and building agility for resilience.

"Businesses had to prioritise where to spend and how much to spend. There was a lot of shaving off that had to be done. Look at product launches. There had to be prioritisation on what you need to do in line with what your expectations revolved around during this crisis," said Chopra.

The first panel discussion on ‘Nurturing the new Cash Management Ecosystem’ took off during which Aneel Gambhir, CFO Blue Dart Express Limited; Raghava Rao, VP-Finance & CFO, Amazon India; Sandhya Sriram, Vice President Finance, Wipro Enterprises; Sanjib Nanda, CFO Tata Steel; Tushar Kotecha, CFO, Aditya Birla Housing Finance Ltd; Dinkar Venkatasubramanian, Partner & National Leader, Restructuring & Turnaround Services, EY; and Megha Chopra spoke about challenges in manufacturing and distribution.

Meanwhile, experts Pratyush Mittal, CFO Mondelez India; Sandeep Batra, CFO Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Limited; Shankar Raman, CFO & Member of the Board, Larsen & Toubro Limited; and Megha Chopra, Country Business Head, Global Commercial Services, American Express India deliberated on the second topic 'Charting The New Normal With The CFO'.

The Summit concluded with an interaction with Hardeep S. Puri, Civil Aviation Minister and Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, who spoke about government initiatives.

"Economic decision making led by the Prime Minister was carefully calibrated through stimulus and reforms initiative that the government has undertaken in the last few years. We are a different economy. The sequencing of the measures has been critical to the revival that has prompted research agencies and think-tanks to now revise their growth projections," said Puri.

The Summit, in a nutshell, highlighted that CFOs were in the driver’s seat to maintain continuity in business operations.