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THURSDAY 19th february 2026
pullman on the park
Future Focussed Leadership
2025 > 2030
CFO Horizons
⌚ 07.45
REGISTRATION & ARRIVAL BREAKFAST NETWORKING
Barista coffee and breakfast items will be served in the networking lounge
⌚ 08.25
OPENING COMMENTS:
James Solomons, Symposium Host & Group CFO | Encore Holdings
⌚ 08.30
Vibe Accounting, Tiny Teams & Superproductivity > The 2030 CFO
KEYNOTE
Mark Pesce | Leading Futurist
Do you think you have what it takes to grow into a '10x CFO'? New tools like Claude for Excel offer a taste of the new sorts of workflows transforming finance. As CFOs find their way into 'superproductivity', their team grows smarter, smaller and closer. These 'tiny' teams are the engine rooms of mid 21st-century businesses. Leading Futurist Mark Pesce will share a glimpse into the very near future and ask ‘Are you ready for a massive change in how you work as a Finance leader, and the tools you use to get that work done’?
⌚ 08.55
THE CFO TECH STACK > THE NEW BLUEPRINT FOR FINANCE
CFO PANEL SESSION moderated by James Solomons, featuring:
Dianna Butterworth, CFO | Kieser Australia
In this live panel we are joined by Dianna Butterworth, CFO at Kieser Australia - With over 30 state-of-the-art clinics across the country, Kieser is on a mission to improve individual health outcomes and build a stronger Australia. Dianna will share the remarkable growth story behind the business and how she is driving Kieser’s digital transformation - ensuring the technology keeps pace with expansion and sets the foundation for its next stage of growth.
⌚ 09.25
UNLOCKING POTENTIAL TO DELIVER PRODUCTIVITY AND GENUINE IMPACT
KEYNOTE | Trent Fuller | CEO | Young Guns Container Crew
Three time CFO, now CEO, Trent Fuller will discuss the importance of how purpose-driven leadership and a strong culture are working together to transform every organisations most valuable asset – Your workforce. Trent will also share the journey Young Guns have been through as they have grown to over 1,500 employees and transformed a typically unskilled, unreliable and a transient work force into a highly engaged one and how CFOs play a critical role in enabling this shift by aligning resources, setting clear goals, and reinforcing a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.
⌚ 09.55
The CFO Blueprint: Building High-Impact Finance Teams for the AI Era
CFO PANEL SESSION moderated by James Solomons, featuring:
Harley Thomas, Partner, Finance & Accounting |Sharp & Carter
Jennifer Scott, Interim CFO | Vision Australia
Shireen Jahan, CFO & Executive Corporate Services | Bairnsdale Regional Health Service (BRHS)
As AI reshapes processes and multi-generational teams redefine expectations, today’s CFOs face a critical mandate: futureproof their finance function while guiding their own career pathway. This panel explores what the next five years will require from finance teams, from deeper analytical skills and digital fluency to strategic storytelling and adaptive leadership. We will examine whether AI will drive leaner teams or create entirely new roles, and discuss how CFOs can nurture accounting graduates, strengthen the early-career pipeline, and design flexible, tech-enabled models. Gain insights to build a resilient, future-ready finance function that supports growth and innovation.
⌚ 10.25
MORNING NETWORKING BREAK
Barista coffee & refreshments served in the networking lounge
⌚ 11.10
What is it Like to Get Hacked? A CFO & Business Owner Tells All
CFO In Conversation featuring:
Lance Rubin, Founder | Model Citizn
Shanna Davis | Eftsure
A candid conversation with finance leader Lance Rubin on what really happens when a business gets breached . Lance Rubin, founder of Model Citizn and long-time CFO, thought he’d taken the right steps to protect his business. And then, one day, he learned they’d been hacked.
In this live, on-stage conversation with Eftsure, Lance walks through how the incident unfolded, how it slipped past existing controls, and what changed in the days, months and years that followed. It’s a rare, practical look at cyber risk from a finance leader who’s lived it – and is willing to talk openly about what others often keep quiet.
⌚ 11.40
OUTSOURCING YOUR FINANCE FUNCTION – A CFO GAME-CHANGER
CFO PANEL SESSION moderated by James Solomons, featuring:
Dilip Kherajani, CFO and Founder | Business Avengers
Rohit Maloo, COO | Business Avengers
Jenny Hutchens, Financial Strategy Advisor | Wesley Mission Queensland (WMQ)
Donal Brady, CFO | Bus Stop Films
As a CFO, you may be sceptical about outsourcing, but it can be a game-changer, especially with the high cost of wages, difficulties in talent retention, and the ongoing talent shortage. This session will explore how outsourcing key finance functions—ranging from AP, AR, Payroll, Bank / Credit Card Reconciliations, Month-End Journals, and P&L/Balance Sheet preparation. Outsourcing can also significantly reduces costs whilst mitigating the challenges of recruitment and retention, freeing up CFO time for strategic growth while maintaining control over critical financial decisions.
⌚ 12.10
FINANCE IS EVOLVING – ARE YOU KEEPING UP? THE CFO GUIDE TO AI & FINTECH
KEYNOTE Damon Hauenstein, CFO & COO | Weel
This session will go beyond the ‘buzzwords’ of AI and Automation explore the real technologies and challenges facing finance leaders looking to successfully navigate the evolving digital landscape with confidence and build a high-performing finance function and examine - Why outdated finance tech stacks are slowing teams down, The tech stack solutions modern finance teams are adopting, How is AI really transforming finance? A framework for selecting the right fintech, ensuring seamless integration, security and maximising ROI and how to build a scalable, secure, and future-ready finance tech stack that keeps up with your business.
⌚ 12.35
Optimise, Automate, Elevate: Empowering Accounting Transformation through AI
CFO PANEL SESSION moderated by James Solomons, featuring:
Adam Yarnell, Head of Sales ANZ | FloQast
Chris Peng CPA, Financial Controller | New Aim Pty Ltd
Ryan O'Connor , PwC Private, Director | PwC Australia
In today’s fast-changing financial landscape, AI and automation are no longer future concepts—they’re here, reshaping the way finance teams work. This panel brings together insights to explore how leaders can optimise transformation strategies, automate high-impact processes, and elevate the role of finance professionals.
Through real-world examples and practical guidance, we’ll unpack where to start your transformation journey, how to identify automation opportunities with the biggest return, and the people-first strategies that ensure smooth adoption. Whether you’re just beginning or scaling your AI initiatives, you’ll leave with clear steps to drive accuracy, efficiency, and strategic impact in your finance function
⌚ 13.05
NETWORKING LUNCH
Lunch served in the networking lounge with refreshments & barista coffee
⌚ 14.00
CFO Career Horizons: Changing Tracks
CFO PANEL SESSION moderated by James Solomons, featuring:
David Metcalfe, CFO | Melbourne Convention Exhibition Centre
Sarah Petty, Fractional CFO & Founder | Olive Business Consulting
Damon Hauenstein, CFO & COO | Weel
The pathway to becoming a CFO - and the opportunities once in the role - look very different today compared to previous generations. In this session, three established CFOs share how bold career pivots reshaped their professional journeys: moving from private to public markets, from corporate leadership to a fractional CFO practice, and from enterprise to government. Explore what drove their transitions, the realities of leading in new environments, and how each discovered renewed purpose and perspective in finance leadership.
⌚ 14.30
SELLING FOR CFOS – WHY CFOS NEED TO THE BE THE SECOND BEST SALESPERSON
KEYNOTE Alena Bennett | Award Winning CFO Coach & Author, ‘CFO of the Future’
“CFOs need to be the second best salesperson in their organisation” Alena shared this statement in her most recent CFO Annual Report. Yet, most CFOs will tell you they aren’t great sales people. Many will still profess their dislike of public speaking. However, in an economic environment where there’s a higher bar to access capital, and in an age where investors, shareholders and the ELT need to be brought on the journey, CFOs must have sales capability. To hear what CFOs need to do to become the second best salesperson in their organisation, join Alena in this highly informative CFO session and gain a competitive edge.
⌚ 15.00
AI in Finance: What’s Real, What’s Risky, What’s Next and What works?
KEYNOTE Georgina Woolf, Sr. Solutions Consultant (APAC) | Trintech
Finance leaders are under the pump to modernise their operations and deliver measurable improvements, all while staying accountable for risk management, audit compliance, and regulatory oversight. This session is for CFOs who need to cut through the hype and make sound decisions about implementing new technology in their finance departments.
Drawing on what we've seen working with finance teams over the past year and a half, we'll look at where these tools are delivering results. We're talking about areas like month-end close, reconciliations, handling exceptions, and catching potential issues early. We'll also be honest about where the promise has outpaced reality, and why some approaches that lack proper oversight are creating more problems than they solve.
Governance is a big part of this. We'll talk about why transparency, clear audit trails, and keeping people in the decision-making loop aren't roadblocks to progress. They're requirements if you want to do this responsibly in finance. You'll walk away with a practical sense of what's working in real finance teams, how to measure ROI with actual numbers, and how to move forward without sacrificing the control and accountability your role depends on.
⌚ 15.30
AFTERNOON NETWORKING BREAK
Barista coffee & refreshments served in the networking lounge
⌚ 16.00
Inside the Numbers: The Economic Trends Shaping CFO Strategy in 2026
CLOSING KEYNOTE Stephen Koukoulas, Leading Chief Economist & Former Advisor to the Prime Minister
Renowned economist and economic commentator, Stephen Koukoulas explores what lies ahead for CFOs in 2026, unpacking the key economic forces shaping Australia’s financial landscape. From interest rates, inflation, and global influences like Trump to technology-driven disruption, this session delivers practical insights to help finance leaders plan with confidence — in Stephen’s engaging, insightful, and always informative style.
⌚ 16.30
CLOSING COMMENTS
James Solomons, CFO & Symposium Host
⌚ 16.35
END