Global companies are increasingly in pursuit of top Indian talent to fill their leadership seats. One of the latest appointments includes Nilesh Zaveri as Senior VP, CFO & COO, APAC of Warner Bros. Discovery. Tech giant Apple recently named insider Kevan Parekh as its chief financial officer, replacing company veteran Luca Maestri. The corporate realm in India is expected to reflect this global trend.

However, financial officers in the country will meet with further challenges in terms of churning the best out of this favorable ecosystem. They are in dire need of team members who are not only skilled in accounting, auditing, and compliance but also understand data visualization, are flexible thinkers, possess good communication skills, and, most importantly, have a lot of business sense. According to a recent Ernst & Young report, 22 percent of global CFOs prioritize transforming how finance talent is recruited, retained, and developed.

In addition to the traditional challenges of managing job costs and financial planning, CFOs are now facing the imperative to harness fragmented and unstructured data while embracing technological advancements and digital transformation. According to the latest EY report, 23 percent of CFOs intend to prioritize enhancing their big data and analytics capabilities to revolutionize forecasting, risk management, and the identification of value drivers. This annual special issue of CEO Insights Asia offers an in-depth exploration of the financial expertise landscape in Indonesia. We welcome your insights and feedback.