CFO Conference 2023: CFO with Purpose, organized by the CFO Association of Serbia, was successfully held at Hotel Fru\u0161ke Terme on May 18\u201319.\n\nDuring the two-day program, over 150 CFOs from companies operating in Serbia, along with consultants, bank representatives, macroeconomists, and officials from the Ministry of Finance and financial institutions, discussed the current role of the CFO and how it will evolve within a company\u2019s strategic vision. Topics also included leveraging ESG and digitalization for successful company transformation, as well as key trends CFOs need to consider to make their business models more resilient and agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first day of the CFO Conference: CFO with Purpose was marked by a highly dynamic speed meeting (click to view the photo gallery from the speed meeting), where participants had the opportunity for quick introductions as well as to hear some of the key messages delivered from the stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\"If I may start by paraphrasing the title of this conference, I am very glad that so many of us are here, and even more importantly, that we are gathered with a shared purpose. Purpose, it seems, is now more important than ever, and the Association of Chief Financial Officers of Serbia was established almost 10 years ago precisely to highlight the significance of purpose in the role of the CFO,\" said\u00a0Milan Bukumirovi\u0107<\/a>, predsednik Udru\u017eenja finansijskih direktora Srbije na samom\u00a0otvaranju konferencije.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Verica Najdanovi\u0107<\/a>, the Director of the Audit Sector at Deloitte, briefly presented the firm\u2019s traditional survey of CFO sentiments in Central Europe, with a focus on Serbia. The survey showed a mild optimism among CFOs, expecting revenue growth this year, while identifying the main sources of concern as a shrinking domestic market, geopolitical risks, and a shortage of relevant talent. CFOs in Serbia were among the more optimistic regarding improved performance of their companies in 2023 compared to their Central European peers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At Panel 1 on the Role of the CFO in a Company\u2019s Strategic Vision, the discussion included Michael Haupt (Deloitte London), Andrija Vukovi\u0107<\/a> (MK Group), Jane Cestovaliev<\/a> (4YouPharma), and Branimir Spasic<\/a> (OTP Bank Serbia), moderated by the President of the Association of Financial Directors of Serbia, Milan Bukumirovic<\/a>. Some of the key takeaways were: stay focused on the business, avoid the trap of killing ideas because of perceived risks, consider the cost of business opportunities, find ways to finance growth, the CFO is both the most important partner and advisor to the CEO, and the CFO should act as an agent of change and transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Members of the Association presented best practice projects from four companies, skillfully moderated by Sa\u0161a Mla\u0111enovi\u0107 (Karin Komerc). Dijana Markovi\u0107 (Gamico) provided an informative presentation on the Financial Health Indicators project, highlighting the complexity of assessing a company\u2019s financial health. Milo\u0161 \u0110ukanovi\u0107 (Henkel) presented Henkel\u2019s Employee Share Program, offering employees the opportunity to invest in Henkel shares. Petar Medarevi\u0107 (Gomex) detailed Gomex\u2019s loyalty program, which not only provides customer benefits (\u201ccashback points\u201d) but also delivers insights into consumer habits and needs, enabling more efficient business operations. Marko Cili\u0107 (Nelt) showcased the Data Management project, aimed at improving data management processes within Nelt<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the very end of the first day, Dejan Ili\u0107,<\/a> a renowned Serbian scientist, entrepreneur, manager with extensive experience in Germany, and professor at the University of Graz, shared his charismatic perspective on the role of the CFO. He even offered concrete career advice and insights from key moments of his distinguished career, from conversations with Steve Jobs, leading and managing Varta, to his friendship with Angela Merkel. He also emphasized that his personal purpose emerged later in life, but since realizing it, he strives to make up for lost time as much as possible. Dejan\u2019s purpose is his offspring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the end of a very intense day, participants relaxed at dinner, enjoying plenty of networking in a great atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The second day of the CFO Conference, \u201cCFO with Purpose,\u201d began with a very concrete and useful discussion with the team from the Ministry of Finance, which included State Secretary Slavica Savi\u010di\u0107<\/a>, Assistant Minister for the Fiscal System Dragan Demirovi\u0107<\/a>, and Assistant Minister for Digitalization in the field of finance Sonja Talijan<\/a>, who were very skillfully moderated by Dragan Ranisavljevi\u0107<\/a> (Gomex) and Zoran Daljevi\u0107<\/a> (Atlantic Grupa). The conversation mainly focused on practical challenges that companies face with the introduction of e-fiscalization and e-invoices, as well as on the Ministry\u2019s plans for the upcoming period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The program continued with a very important panel on ESG as both a reason and a tool for transforming company operations, featuring a highly engaging discussion that provided practical insights from Serbia\u2019s perspective through the lens of Henkel, presented by Jelena Gavrilovi\u0107 \u0160arenac<\/a>, to international practices and an overview of the EU taxonomy with reflections on how this applies in Serbia and where Serbia stands compared to EU markets, presented by Milena Milosavljevi\u0107<\/a>, an ESG expert currently working for a major global bank in Frankfurt, to what banks can do to ensure ESG is more than just reporting, including incentives and support banks can provide, presented by Sonja Miladinovski<\/a>, OTP Bank Serbia. Marko Bikicki<\/a>, EBRD, brought the perspective of an international financial institution and discussed various tools through which the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development promotes sustainability in business, covering all three ESG aspects \u2013 environmental protection, social, and governance components. The panel was very dynamically, professionally, and informatively moderated by Uro\u0161 Milosavljevi\u0107<\/a> from KPMG.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The program continued with a slightly different panel concept, which in the first part involved discussions at round tables, with a total of six topics and six round tables (M&A, i.e., mergers and acquisitions \u2013 moderator Jovana Rakovi\u0107<\/a>, Mazars, with panelists Miroslav Virijevi\u0107<\/a>, Htec, Nenad Dudukovi\u0107<\/a>, 3D Republika, and M&A expert Dragan Ranisavljevi\u0107<\/a>, Gomex; Tax optimization, incentives, compliance \u2013 moderator: Milica Stublin\u010devi\u0107<\/a>, Deloitte, with panelists Sa\u0161a Mla\u0111enovi\u0107<\/a>, Karin Komerc, and Radmila Mileti\u0107<\/a>, EmergoSport; Digitalization, data management, cybersecurity \u2013 moderator: Aleksandar Nedeljkovi\u0107<\/a>, Mainstream, with panelists Vesna \u0160karo Petri\u0107<\/a>, Data4U, and Aleksandar Miti\u0107<\/a>, Sky Express; Green energy \u2013 moderator: Milo\u0161 \u0110ukanovi\u0107<\/a>, Henkel, with panelists Ivan Smiljkovi\u0107<\/a>, ProCredit Bank, Vladimir Popovi\u0107<\/a>, Energize, and Sr\u0111an Miljani\u0107<\/a>, Agro plus Sombor; Planning, reporting \u2013 trends, practices \u2013 moderator: Milan Bukumirovi\u0107<\/a>, Uniqum\/Swarovski, with panelists Savo Bakmaz<\/a>, MaxBet, and Marko Cili\u0107<\/a>, Nelt; Finance function \u2013 now and in the future \u2013 moderator: Nevena Jankovi\u0107<\/a>, InMold, with panelists Goran Jankovi\u0107<\/a>, InMold, and Aleksandar Pavlovi\u0107<\/a>, Be-Terna), and after one hour, a representative from each topic presented the results and main conclusions from the stage, as well as reflections from the discussions at each table. It was a very interesting format in which participants at the round tables shared their experiences on predefined topics and exchanged good and bad practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The final panel featured a very engaging discussion on macroeconomic trends and the future outlook between Dan Bucsa<\/a> from Unicredit London and Zoran Petrovi\u0107<\/a> from Raiffeisen Bank, moderated by Marko Cili\u0107<\/a> (Nelt).\n\nThe discussion covered Serbia\u2019s EU accession prospects, emphasizing that access to the customs union, similar to Turkey, is even more important than full EU membership. Participants also discussed a period of relative calm regarding inflation growth, while advising caution. Real estate prices are not expected to drop significantly, though minor downward adjustments may occur, and interest rates are likely to rise slightly but not excessively. Overall, it offered an insightful view of the near future, also touching on banking and energy crises and their impact on business operations in Serbia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n