Written by Staff Writer
South African CFO Club was recently part of the historic founding of the International CFO Alliance. But what does this mean for you? Access to bigger markets and global recognition, according to the new chairperson.
“Imagine a CFO Club Africa Member being afforded an opportunity to apply… and being awarded an international CFO designation. I think it’s super exciting. It’s a first of its kind.”
That’s what Pieter de Jager believes will stem from the newly created International CFO Alliance (ICFOA).
De Jager is the current CFO of Tanga Cement and newly elected executive chair and general secretary of the ICFOA, born in Tunisia last month. The alliance comprises CFO bodies worldwide, with South Africa, France and Italy taking a leading role.
One of ICFOA’s big projects is to create an internationally recognised CFO designation. Currently, ICFOA is comparing the competency frameworks of the South African and Italian CFO designations. “This is a long project,” says De Jager.
If CFOs need more skills to meet the eventual competency framework, ICFOA wants to make sure there is a way to address this. “We are looking at two universities in France, Italy. As well as Germany.”
There is also hope that the formalisation of this alliance – incorporated in France – will lead to more CFO joining. “Currently, we are one of 14 member nations. We’re looking to expand to 18 to 20 within the next six months.”
Fellow ICFOA board member and CEO of CIBA, Nicolaas van Wyk points to the value of having a broad community of international CFOs. “We’ve held conferences across the world over the last few years for CFOs, and they’ve always been invaluable,” says Van Wyk.
In a recent episode of the CFOConvo, regular conference attendee Shadrack Modika explains how past conferences helped him prepare for the pandemic and allowed him to be mentored by international experts.
“Without fail our CFOs leave the conferences with valuable insights and connections. The founding of ICFOA, which CIBA was a key part of, allows these conferences to get bigger and for our CFOs to have a global influence,” says Van Wyk.
De Jager and Van Wyk are excited about the opportunities South African CFOs will access in the next few years by belonging to a global CFO alliance with an internationally recognised designation.
De Jager says, “International mobility will give our CFOs a lot more confidence to engage overseas, to be able to work cross-border, and hopefully, as we are all South Africans, to bring those skills back and apply them here.”