Is your tech transformation driven by business need or FOMO?

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Hello and welcome
to this edition of the C-speak podcast,

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inspired by Seaspeak,
which is the official language of the seas

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that provides clear communication
amongst ships captains.

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We're bringing together Forvis
Mazars experts to discuss

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the big strategic challenges
that face business leaders today.

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They're going to share their views,
knowledge and practical

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tips to help businesses
gain competitive advantage.

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I'm your host for the podcast.

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Mark Kennedy is my name,

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and I'm a partner and a member
of the group executive board at Forvis Mazars Group.

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And today, I'm very excited to welcome

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two of our leading experts on the topic
we're covering.

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The first is Asam Malik.

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Asam is a partner here at Forvis
Mazars in the UK

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and leads our technology
and digital consulting team.

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He has over 20 years of experience
in advising clients

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on how to better leverage technology
and manage technology and data risk.

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And we're also joined by Helen Parker,
another partner here at Forvis Mazars,

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somebody who's worked with me on
and off many times over the years.

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And Helen leads
our strategy consulting service

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and helps our clients to bridge the gap
between businesses and people's

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strategies to optimize performance
and value creation.

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Thank you both for joining us today,
and we're delighted to have you both here.

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Really appreciate
you giving up the time and your expertise.

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So today we're going to talk about

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the C-suite barometer finding.

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And as you may know,
we we run a C-Suite survey every year.

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And the C-Suite barometer tells us what,

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business leaders
around the world are most focused on.

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And one of the big findings
this year was that UK leaders are focusing

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very much on technology and transformation
over the next 3 to 5 years.

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So that's a hot topic all around
the world, particularly here, the UK.

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So today
we're going to spend a little bit of time

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discussing tech transformation,
some of the challenges

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and some of the areas the business leaders
might want to prioritize, prioritize

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for success.

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To get us started, I'm
going to throw this as an open question

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to both Helen and that certainly
you can decide who wants to take it.

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But when we talk about technology
transformation, what are we really

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talking about?

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I mean, as a layperson,
I am bombarded with AI,

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automation, cybersecurity,
and it all seems to me to be a big jumble.

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What are we really
talking about at the moment?

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Yeah, I think you're right, Mark,
to start with that particular question,

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because technology transformation means
different things to different people.

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from my perspective, what technology
transformation really means is the

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adoption of new and emerging technology
to digitize processes at an organization.

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and also integrating technology

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more into the processes
of an organization,

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with normally three clear objectives,
which is at either reduce cost,

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increase efficiency or to enhance
customer experience.

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What do you think, Helen?

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I maybe would pick up on the word
transformation.

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I think, you know,
this is a step, a real step change.

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I think a lot of the time we hear the word
transformation and more importantly,

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and users or staff in organizations
hear the word transformation.

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And it's not necessarily always delivered
or they don't see those full impacts

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of change on their everyday processes or,
you know, that sort of view activity.

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So, I think being careful about the word
transformation is important here as an

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okay, okay.

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So that's something
you've kind of touched on on 2 or 3,

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three things that you,

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seeing as driving

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this kind of trend
and this view on tech transformation,

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I mentioned at the start, I

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which is kind of the word on
everybody's lips at the moment.

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Do you think that's really a core priority

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for business leaders,
or is it a bit of a fad?

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Is it going to disappear?

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Yeah, I don't think I can disappear.

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I think technology's always been on high
on the list of leaders priorities,

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because its ability to just transform and
district, but just represent processes.

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And I think that's incredibly important
that recognization that we need

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to keep an eye on the technology
that's out there because it

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it can really, really make a difference
to the way that we do things.

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I think AI is definitely here to stay.

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I think it's going to becoming more
and more embedded in our day to day lives.

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And I think we're going to see that
even more.

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I think a really good example of
that is just this week,

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Apple's announcement
that they launching Apple AI,

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which effectively is their, artificial
intelligence that they're building

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into Siri and their operating system,
which integrates ChatGPT.

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So again, you're seeing another example
there of how

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it's becoming more and more embedded
into our day to day lives.

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My personal view is
that it's just going to be

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as normal as going on Google
or going on a search engine.

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It's just going to be part of what we do
every day in pretty much

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every component of technology
that we touch going forward now.

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I did see that, that announcement.

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Interesting.

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one of the things

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that I'm wondering about, the
if you're embedding these things

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into our everyday lives
and, you know, let's face it,

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the smartphone has

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has made that kind of process both,

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I suppose, ubiquitous,
but also kind of painless, seamless.

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You don't even notice it's happening.

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how did out of business leaders

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react to that?

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I mean, what
what do they need to start thinking about?

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Because

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if it's happening all around you, it's
happening to you without any decision.

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It's quite different than deciding,

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oh, I'm going to transform my business
and do the, you know, x, y, z.

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Here's my plan.

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I mean, yeah, there's
a lot of business leaders to think about.

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And you're right,

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Mark, that the challenge with some of this
new technology is it's been so seamless.

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It's been so easy to access
and it's so user friendly as well.

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and I think the key thing for businesses
too, this is recognizing that challenge

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because people have access to this
technology in their personal lives.

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They want access to this technology
in their business as well.

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And sometimes they've got quicker access
in their business lives.

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But from a business this perspective,
there's a couple of really key,

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important things they need to think about.

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Firstly, is that training.

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They really need to make sure
that their staff are trained to run.

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How to truly leverage understand
possibilities of this new technology.

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Because without the training,

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you're just going to be scratching the
surface on what it can do.

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secondly, it's about strategy as well.

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You can't just implement
this new technology.

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You've got to have a strategy around,
well,

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what is it going to do for your business?

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What is the return on investment
for this investment?

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What's the business case.

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And those are things that are often
overlooked because, you know,

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the temptation is to jump in
and start using it because it's shiny.

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It's new, it's exciting,

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but you can't, you know,
you can't miss those important steps.

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Otherwise you're not going to get back
into, you know, return on investment.

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And the last two things I will say
it's it's really important to get the data

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that is underlying in your organization,
right, in terms of the quality of the data

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and also making sure it's comprehensive.

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Because if you're putting AI
and these new technologies on data

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in your organization, and that data is
not accurate and it's not comprehensive,

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you're going to get a really negative
output at the back.

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You know,

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I've used this term
with a few of my clients

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is that

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if you don't have the right business,

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then you're going to get artificial
information.

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You're actually going

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to get information that you're going
to be making wrong decisions on.

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So it's important to get that right.

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Yeah.

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Yeah.

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And so there's been a lot of publicity
but error rates particularly in AI.

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But yeah there's 2 or 3 topics
that you raised there

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which I think a really interesting
business model and so on.

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And data.

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But before we jump into that,
maybe just wanted to come back to Helen

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as cited strategy.

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and I suppose one of the things
that I always think about when I,

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when I start thinking strategically
is, well, what's the risk profile here?

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What are the risks
that are coming with a particular change?

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and I was just interested in
what do you see as the big risks and what

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what's the response as somebody
who practices in this area of strategy?

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Yeah, I think it's very easy.

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Is, Asam said to be tempted
to adopt these things

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because they're seeing other organizations
do or they're hearing it.

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you know, in the external market.

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But I think it's really been
quite ruthless in terms

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of what you focus on
and what you prioritize,

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and really making sure that the decisions
that you make are business decisions.

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It should be,

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you know, there's all sorts of things
over the last few years that have helped

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us gain efficiencies in businesses
and yes, tech and digitization

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can be one of those levers,
but it's making sure that you are doing it

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for the right reasons
and more importantly, at the right time.

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and, you know,

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there's there's a lot for business leaders
to navigate.

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Digital and tech transformation
is a lot to take on.

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And I think it's been really making sure
that you are doing

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the right things at the right times
and prioritizing the right areas.

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And before you do that
and is awesome, said,

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you know, making sure
that you've got the best,

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you know, really clear business case
that sets out what your target outcomes

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are, your return on investment,
and making sure that that rigor is put in

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at the beginning will make will ensure
that you then are set up for success.

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I think if you don't do those things,

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if you don't link it to your overall
vision, your commercial direction, then

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the risks will start to arise that you're
maybe not doing this at the right time.

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And then one of
the risks that I see a lot,

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you know,

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in all of our engagements for clients,
we are dealing with the C-suite.

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And I think increasingly,

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some members of the C-suite
feel quite uncomfortable

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when it comes to digital and tech
because they don't have the experience

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or some of those capabilities

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that perhaps they would do
when making other business decisions.

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I think it's making sure that you,

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your C-suite,
have got the right information

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to be able to make those informed
decisions is really important.

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And whether that's getting external
support or taking more time to make sure.

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So you have that information
and are able to make informed decisions.

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I think it's really important because,

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you know, it's
it can be quite a vulnerable place

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for a member of the C-suite
if they if they don't have knowledge

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in this area and it's supporting,

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then the information that, yeah,
give them the information that they need.

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Yeah, I can I can certainly,

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relate to that

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and that, you know, the conversations
we might be having as a firm

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about the technology change and,
and someone who's not

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from that background,
it is quite daunting because,

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I guess it's
this kind of unintended consequences.

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You're not sure what dominoes
you're tipping.

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One of the areas
that that always interested me

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if I just stay with you,
Holland, for a moment is,

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is the people consequences of us and,

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you know, are there particular thoughts
about how you manage that, again,

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from a strategic perspective or the risks
that you might be trying to address?

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Yeah,
I mean, when we talk about transformation,

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as I said at the start,
we are talking about significant change.

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This is going to have to be, you know,
people are going to see a real difference

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and there's going to have to be different
ways of working,

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different ways of solving problems,
different ways of making decisions.

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And that all really leads back
to your organizational culture.

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And I think business leaders, as you,
you know, as

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you start to flex your model or adopt
all of this transformation,

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you really need to be thinking
about how your culture then supports that.

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I think being really, focused on culture,
how do you bring people along

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on the journey, you know, ultimately

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with, with translations,
how do you sell it to the end users?

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You know,
you are fully reliant on your workforce

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adopting these new systems
or new ways of working.

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you know, at the beginning

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phase of the planning, you absolutely
have to get that feedback and input.

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It's,
you know, really being able to understand

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the business requirements
and not just the TAC requirements.

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so spending time with on the ground users

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to understand the business requirements
is really important.

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And then all of the,
you know, comms and engagement

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to ultimately sell it to them,
bring them on the journey.

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as I said at the beginning,
I think there's a lot of transformation

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is being used a lot

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in all different parts of an organization
over the last few years.

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I don't know if end users always feel
that they have seen or felt

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that transformation.

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So you've got a potential that maybe
people don't trust the word transformation

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anymore, or they're expecting too much
or expecting to get those,

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and then another part is

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really looking at change
on a cumulative basis.

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So I think for a lot of people
on the ground, they've had to deal

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with a lot of change over the last
few years, and it's really putting that

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that into context
and understanding the cumulative

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impact of change on our people
is really important.

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because if you look at it in that wider
context,

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you might then have different approaches
to how you bring them on the journey

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and more importantly,
keeping them on the journey.

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and you know what?

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What you want your people on the ground
to be those change agents for you.

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And so I think really focusing on culture,

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focusing on the end users
and the degree of change

00:13:48:17 - 00:13:51:20
they've been through over the last
few years should be, you know, good,

00:13:51:20 - 00:13:55:13
good levers,
for how to design an effective plan.

00:13:56:09 - 00:13:58:10
That's a
that's a really interesting point that,

00:13:59:15 - 00:14:00:19
we don't often think about.

00:14:00:19 - 00:14:01:02
Yeah.

00:14:01:02 - 00:14:04:02
The number of different change plans
we've all been through and,

00:14:04:06 - 00:14:07:06
and just the human impact of that,

00:14:07:16 - 00:14:10:05
I suppose just to, you know,
you've both been clear

00:14:10:05 - 00:14:14:03
about the need to be very grounded
in your business model

00:14:14:03 - 00:14:17:03
and what you're trying to achieve
from that perspective.

00:14:17:16 - 00:14:19:03
what do you think? Yes.

00:14:19:03 - 00:14:20:05
just going back to you,

00:14:20:05 - 00:14:23:20
what are the main barriers if I
if I'm there, we're having a discussion.

00:14:23:20 - 00:14:27:01
And were we saying, right, we are going
to embrace AI in the business.

00:14:27:07 - 00:14:29:02
What are the main barriers to success?

00:14:29:02 - 00:14:32:16
What are the big things that
that we've got to unblock to make it work?

00:14:33:01 - 00:14:36:11
So I think one of the key ones that,
you know, Helen mentioned earlier

00:14:36:11 - 00:14:39:15
was just making sure
that we got the leadership team

00:14:39:15 - 00:14:42:15
or members of the leadership team
that really understand technology.

00:14:42:21 - 00:14:45:22
You know, you know, I've talked
a lot in the past and some of some

00:14:45:22 - 00:14:49:04
with its ability to shift that we've done
around the need for a technology net

00:14:49:12 - 00:14:54:01
or someone on on the board
or the executive that understands

00:14:54:01 - 00:14:59:07
the opportunity that this technology
brings, but be also understands the risks.

00:14:59:19 - 00:15:02:03
and thirdly, can challenge as well.

00:15:02:03 - 00:15:04:18
So, you know, it's important
that when you are getting

00:15:04:18 - 00:15:07:21
these initiatives that have been put
through to you from your technology team,

00:15:08:04 - 00:15:11:06
you have the ability to really challenge,
understand what they are doing

00:15:11:12 - 00:15:14:05
and whether it's right
for your organization.

00:15:14:05 - 00:15:17:09
I think the other thing, Mark, is that,
you know, it's it's important

00:15:17:09 - 00:15:17:23
that, you know,

00:15:17:23 - 00:15:21:17
when we're talking about barriers, that
we don't just think about AI technology

00:15:21:17 - 00:15:24:01
is much broader than that,
and we need to think about

00:15:24:01 - 00:15:27:14
different types of technology
that can enable that transformation.

00:15:27:18 - 00:15:29:06
You know, I very, very hot.

00:15:29:06 - 00:15:30:23
It's on everyone's lips right now.

00:15:30:23 - 00:15:33:23
But actually that's things
like machine learning, robotics,

00:15:34:07 - 00:15:37:03
it's a combination of those technologies
that's really going to enable

00:15:37:03 - 00:15:38:11
the transformation.

00:15:38:11 - 00:15:41:18
AI on its own
is not going to enact that transformation.

00:15:42:00 - 00:15:45:02
And, you know, going back to what
Helen said earlier about the start,

00:15:45:10 - 00:15:48:10
that all comes down
to connecting only to a strategy.

00:15:48:17 - 00:15:50:13
If you have it in a strategy
that makes it clear

00:15:50:13 - 00:15:52:13
that this is the transformation,

00:15:52:13 - 00:15:54:13
these are the objectives
that we're looking to achieve,

00:15:54:13 - 00:15:55:16
then we can look at what

00:15:55:16 - 00:15:59:07
the solutions are to achieve that,
but make sure that we have people,

00:15:59:15 - 00:16:02:01
you know, on the board, on the executive
that understand that

00:16:02:01 - 00:16:04:13
and can
then really guide us through that change

00:16:04:13 - 00:16:07:13
because it is a huge change
for the organization to do.

00:16:08:02 - 00:16:09:00
Sure, sure.

00:16:09:23 - 00:16:12:02
Helen, would you add anything to that?

00:16:12:02 - 00:16:14:00
I think it's getting those basics right.

00:16:14:00 - 00:16:15:21
Making sure that you're ready for this.

00:16:15:21 - 00:16:19:09
You know, having the strategy,
having the business case, making sure

00:16:19:09 - 00:16:23:08
you've got the skills, whether that's
in-house or, you know, exams that fire

00:16:23:15 - 00:16:26:16
and that who's able to
to translate it for you a little bit.

00:16:27:16 - 00:16:28:05
you know,

00:16:28:05 - 00:16:32:06
very often we go into organizations
that want to embark on transformation.

00:16:32:06 - 00:16:35:13
And one of our first questions is,
do you have a data strategy as an example?

00:16:35:13 - 00:16:36:20
And they say, no.

00:16:36:20 - 00:16:38:13
And that goes back to what Asan said.

00:16:38:13 - 00:16:40:20
You know, you've got to be building.

00:16:40:20 - 00:16:43:17
You've got to have sound foundation
on which to build.

00:16:43:17 - 00:16:47:23
And, you know, the basics of data
is really, really important.

00:16:47:23 - 00:16:48:21
And that's

00:16:48:21 - 00:16:53:02
and so I think probably it's about
having patients doing it step by step

00:16:53:10 - 00:16:57:14
and then making sure that you implement
this sort of transformation program

00:16:57:14 - 00:17:00:04
at the right time.
I think the timing is key.

00:17:01:11 - 00:17:02:02
Okay.

00:17:02:02 - 00:17:04:20
You could include advice on both of those.

00:17:04:20 - 00:17:08:00
I suppose
you've touched on one of my nightmares

00:17:08:06 - 00:17:11:06
when you mentioned data again,
which is the,

00:17:12:06 - 00:17:13:19
issue of security

00:17:13:19 - 00:17:18:08
and whether that's, you know,
inappropriate use of things are are people

00:17:19:04 - 00:17:22:04
with bad intent
getting onto your system and doing things,

00:17:24:07 - 00:17:26:02
you know, I suppose, again,

00:17:26:02 - 00:17:30:16
coming through strongly in the C-suite,
that's a very significant theme

00:17:30:22 - 00:17:34:00
globally that a lot of C-suite leaders

00:17:34:00 - 00:17:37:00
are anticipating problems in this area.

00:17:37:20 - 00:17:40:01
I think 40% said

00:17:40:01 - 00:17:43:01
they expected a data breach
or an attempted,

00:17:43:15 - 00:17:46:13
or an issue relating to a data breach,

00:17:46:13 - 00:17:50:14
in the coming year, which is a significant
uptick from the previous year's survey.

00:17:50:23 - 00:17:54:15
So in the context of transformation,
particularly,

00:17:55:23 - 00:17:59:19
what should we be thinking about as
leaders now, looking forward?

00:18:01:00 - 00:18:01:16
I think,

00:18:01:16 - 00:18:04:10
you know, you mentioned the point around
security, Mark.

00:18:04:10 - 00:18:06:15
I think that's
an incredibly important one.

00:18:06:15 - 00:18:10:09
And I think that there's two facets
to security when it comes to new

00:18:10:09 - 00:18:11:21
and emerging technologies such as this.

00:18:11:21 - 00:18:15:23
You've absolutely, correct
in highlighting that, you know,

00:18:15:23 - 00:18:19:19
we we're seeing cyber criminals
leveraging new and emerging technology

00:18:19:19 - 00:18:23:18
such as AI to perpetrate more and more
sophisticated attacks on our clients.

00:18:24:01 - 00:18:27:12
And we're seeing that because
they're using it to craft emails, etc.,

00:18:27:12 - 00:18:30:12
which is, you know, a very traditional way
of attacking an organization.

00:18:30:14 - 00:18:33:22
But now what we're also seeing
is that cyber criminals are also using

00:18:33:22 - 00:18:38:19
AI technology to mimic the voices of key
people in the organization,

00:18:38:19 - 00:18:42:08
and even to create videos
that look like they are from,

00:18:42:22 - 00:18:46:04
you know, senior stakeholders
in organizations to influence people,

00:18:46:08 - 00:18:50:13
to kind of go there to click on links
or release forms, etc..

00:18:50:13 - 00:18:54:11
So we're seeing that, definitely
we're going to see more of that for sure.

00:18:54:19 - 00:18:57:19
I think the other area, which is,
you know, much more controllable by

00:18:57:19 - 00:19:01:06
organizations is when you're implementing
this new and emerging technology.

00:19:01:14 - 00:19:04:07
Think about embedding security.

00:19:04:07 - 00:19:07:07
and I'll give you a good example of that,
is that one of our clients

00:19:07:11 - 00:19:11:11
who's implemented AI recently,
they didn't lock down the access that they

00:19:11:19 - 00:19:16:22
I had in terms of, you know, all the
documents, etc., on their shared areas.

00:19:17:05 - 00:19:21:20
And one of their employees
then went on to the AI and asked it,

00:19:22:03 - 00:19:25:04
and who were the highest paid employees
in that organization?

00:19:25:16 - 00:19:29:03
and the I went and got that information
straight away, which really highlights

00:19:29:03 - 00:19:32:15
the need that when you're implementing AI,
a new and emerging technology,

00:19:33:02 - 00:19:37:07
you think about embedding security
as part of that implementation.

00:19:37:12 - 00:19:41:10
It can't be an afterthought because
you had the horses bolted at that point.

00:19:41:13 - 00:19:45:02
So it is an important consideration,
which is often enough to build.

00:19:45:17 - 00:19:47:03
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:19:47:03 - 00:19:51:00
And the excitement of of rushing ahead
and maybe the fear of missing out

00:19:51:01 - 00:19:54:01
or maybe not getting that the things

00:19:54:19 - 00:19:58:19
bolted in place, to use your analogy,
is, is is a real risk.

00:19:59:02 - 00:20:01:03
Anything you touched on that
security point,

00:20:01:03 - 00:20:03:14
Helen, I know
it's something that you think about.

00:20:03:14 - 00:20:04:00
Yeah.

00:20:04:00 - 00:20:07:14
I mean, my team do a lot of work around
sort of business continuity

00:20:07:14 - 00:20:08:19
and crisis management.

00:20:08:19 - 00:20:12:23
I think we're increasingly seeing,
you know, quite a different framework

00:20:12:23 - 00:20:16:06
having to be, implemented
as you're developing

00:20:16:06 - 00:20:19:06
your, your strategies
and your plans in that area.

00:20:19:10 - 00:20:21:07
you know,
we always say that you're only as strong

00:20:21:07 - 00:20:24:16
as your weakest link
when it comes to, crisis management.

00:20:24:16 - 00:20:28:03
I think for me,
it's looking at third parties as well.

00:20:28:03 - 00:20:34:21
And often your tech, digital solutions
do require a lot of use of third parties.

00:20:34:21 - 00:20:38:14
I think it's making sure that you've done
your risk assessments on them.

00:20:38:19 - 00:20:43:12
And, you know, the reason, issue
with the London hospitals not being able

00:20:43:12 - 00:20:46:19
to do operations over the last few weeks
because of that third party

00:20:46:23 - 00:20:49:23
blood testing,
I think is the perfect example.

00:20:50:13 - 00:20:53:19
you know, it's it's
not that blood company reputation

00:20:53:19 - 00:20:54:20
that's going to go through the mud.

00:20:54:20 - 00:20:58:18
It was the NHS and that was what was,
you know, all the journalists picked up

00:20:58:18 - 00:21:02:11
on, so I think it's really making sure
that in the tech area,

00:21:02:17 - 00:21:05:21
you've done your due
diligence on third parties that you use,

00:21:06:04 - 00:21:09:10
and you've integrated
some of the risks that you might find

00:21:09:10 - 00:21:12:10
into your overall crisis management
planning as well.

00:21:13:02 - 00:21:14:01
Okay. Okay.

00:21:15:14 - 00:21:16:17
just I suppose we're

00:21:16:17 - 00:21:20:15
coming close to the end of our time, but
I want to pick up briefly on regulation.

00:21:20:15 - 00:21:23:15
Again, strong feedback in the survey that,

00:21:24:03 - 00:21:26:23
over 90% of UK C-suite executives

00:21:26:23 - 00:21:29:23
are expecting increased regulation around

00:21:30:00 - 00:21:33:00
I in particularly generative AI.

00:21:33:11 - 00:21:36:13
what areas do you think regulators
should be looking at?

00:21:36:21 - 00:21:39:21
I think there is a need for regulation,
Mark, because I think that, you know,

00:21:40:09 - 00:21:42:09
there's a with AI in particular,

00:21:42:09 - 00:21:46:04
we're accessing and leveraging data
in, in very, very different ways.

00:21:46:04 - 00:21:49:16
In particular, you know, personally
identifiable information

00:21:49:23 - 00:21:52:19
that we have on customers of
clients is being used for very,

00:21:52:19 - 00:21:54:18
very different ways than it was intended.

00:21:54:18 - 00:21:59:05
So in order to protect, you know,
the individuals, we do need regulation.

00:21:59:18 - 00:22:01:23
I think the challenge is making sure
it's pragmatic.

00:22:01:23 - 00:22:05:02
It's it's the big task here
because we need to make sure there's

00:22:05:02 - 00:22:09:14
a balance that doesn't stifle innovation
because there's a huge opportunity here.

00:22:10:03 - 00:22:13:03
But we can't have
is to too much regulation

00:22:13:03 - 00:22:16:03
not prevent some of the innovation
from bearing fruit.

00:22:16:09 - 00:22:16:21
Yeah.

00:22:16:21 - 00:22:17:06
Yeah.

00:22:17:06 - 00:22:20:21
It's, I think there's a line there, isn't
there, that it's it's difficult to say.

00:22:20:21 - 00:22:21:15
Well,

00:22:21:15 - 00:22:25:13
because it's new and it's one of the,
the interesting features of this kind of

00:22:26:14 - 00:22:29:20
development in the technology world
is that we're testing

00:22:29:20 - 00:22:32:20
real time on real populations rather than,

00:22:34:13 - 00:22:36:02
you know, testing in a lab somewhere.

00:22:36:02 - 00:22:38:07
It's not possible.
So how do you draw that line?

00:22:38:07 - 00:22:40:15
I think is
is quite an interesting question.

00:22:40:15 - 00:22:46:06
And I guess and it's a perspective
that we need to remember that as boards

00:22:46:08 - 00:22:51:03
and, and auditors and others are part
of that institutional framework

00:22:51:03 - 00:22:53:07
to put a bit of challenge around,

00:22:53:07 - 00:22:56:07
you know, are
we drawing the line in the right place?

00:22:57:04 - 00:22:58:00
I just want to

00:22:58:00 - 00:23:01:19
you both touch the business model
at various points during the conversation.

00:23:01:19 - 00:23:05:05
And I know, you know, on the one hand,
I'm talking to a technologist

00:23:05:05 - 00:23:09:21
and and the other a strategist that was
interested in what you both thought.

00:23:10:07 - 00:23:12:10
Where would you start?
How would you start?

00:23:12:10 - 00:23:14:08
You know, I often hear
directors say, well, what do we do?

00:23:14:08 - 00:23:15:16
You know, and I'm not I'm not.

00:23:15:16 - 00:23:17:04
So with the more technical aspects.

00:23:17:04 - 00:23:18:21
But in thinking about your business model,

00:23:18:21 - 00:23:20:15
what's the first
question you'd ask yourself?

00:23:22:07 - 00:23:22:20
I think for

00:23:22:20 - 00:23:26:17
me, Mark, with any business, you know,
when you talk about transformation,

00:23:27:05 - 00:23:30:06
you know, the conversation
can't start with technology.

00:23:30:06 - 00:23:32:06
It's about business change to start with.

00:23:32:06 - 00:23:36:00
And I think for me, where I'd always start
and this is where Helen and I would work

00:23:36:00 - 00:23:39:17
hand in hand would be you need to think
about what the use cases are first.

00:23:39:18 - 00:23:41:22
You know, what are you trying to achieve?

00:23:41:22 - 00:23:44:10
The technology is an afterthought.
That's an enabler.

00:23:44:10 - 00:23:47:05
But what we really want to start with is
what are we trying to achieve?

00:23:47:05 - 00:23:49:04
What are we trying to achieve change?

00:23:49:04 - 00:23:50:18
And what's our objective?

00:23:50:18 - 00:23:52:00
And then you think about

00:23:52:00 - 00:23:54:04
how do you bring technology
to help us to make that change.

00:23:54:04 - 00:23:56:12
That would be my kind
of starting point with that.

00:23:57:16 - 00:23:57:20
Yeah.

00:23:57:20 - 00:23:59:01
Back to basics.

00:23:59:01 - 00:24:02:09
Yeah I agree I think, you know, it's
getting your vision.

00:24:02:09 - 00:24:05:09
What what are we actually trying
to solve here.

00:24:05:13 - 00:24:08:11
Being ruthless on the prioritization

00:24:08:11 - 00:24:11:11
and then going into planning
what some of those priority areas are.

00:24:11:11 - 00:24:15:09
I think with tech and transformation,
it has to be you have to make sure

00:24:15:09 - 00:24:18:11
you're doing the right time
and in the right sequence.

00:24:18:11 - 00:24:19:02
Known example

00:24:19:02 - 00:24:23:04
what we talked about for data strategy,
there's a sequencing on transformation.

00:24:23:04 - 00:24:24:21
And there's some aspects
that need to confess.

00:24:24:21 - 00:24:26:00
And if you're not ready

00:24:26:00 - 00:24:29:20
for some of those bits then
you've got to do build those foundations.

00:24:30:13 - 00:24:33:22
first,
and really making sure that you are.

00:24:33:22 - 00:24:35:19
Yeah, doing things at the right time

00:24:35:19 - 00:24:38:22
and more importantly, for the right
reasons, with a really good plan

00:24:38:22 - 00:24:42:07
that sits behind it and really good
engagement with your staff,

00:24:43:12 - 00:24:44:19
planning and engagement.

00:24:44:19 - 00:24:46:05
Very good.

00:24:46:05 - 00:24:50:15
last question for you and a very brief
answer on on both from both of you.

00:24:50:15 - 00:24:52:06
I think,

00:24:52:06 - 00:24:54:17
just if you had one top tip,
if you want to leave,

00:24:54:17 - 00:24:56:12
you know, a sentence or a bullet point.

00:24:56:12 - 00:24:59:12
And so in a listener's head,
what's your top tip

00:24:59:15 - 00:25:03:13
for someone to consider
when digitally transforming your business?

00:25:03:14 - 00:25:05:13
Helen

00:25:05:13 - 00:25:09:08
I would say,
and probably stealing from the tech world.

00:25:09:13 - 00:25:13:09
I don't think there's anything wrong
with being a fast follower,

00:25:13:22 - 00:25:18:13
so let others make the mistakes
before you get the timing right.

00:25:19:14 - 00:25:23:00
and I think the phrase is that bleeding
edge and leading edge.

00:25:23:17 - 00:25:27:14
there's nothing wrong
with, being a bit patient and waiting

00:25:27:14 - 00:25:29:04
and see how some of these solutions

00:25:29:04 - 00:25:32:14
benefit others before you start
to adopt it yourself for your jump.

00:25:32:14 - 00:25:35:08
Okay, good, good good answer. Asim.

00:25:35:08 - 00:25:38:08
Yeah, for me
it would be starting with a strategy

00:25:38:09 - 00:25:40:17
and a strategy
that just doesn't think about AI.

00:25:40:17 - 00:25:43:15
It thinks about broader technology.

00:25:43:15 - 00:25:46:22
embedding security, as I highlighted
earlier, which is the importance of that.

00:25:46:22 - 00:25:50:23
And finally, you know, making sure that
that's built on a solid business case,

00:25:51:09 - 00:25:55:01
that's that those would be my top tips
and a very good back to business.

00:25:55:09 - 00:25:55:17
Okay.

00:25:55:17 - 00:25:58:18
Well, listen, that
brings us to the end of this first episode

00:25:58:18 - 00:26:02:05
of the C-speak podcast
by Forvis Mazars.

00:26:03:00 - 00:26:05:09
I want to thank Helen and Asam

00:26:05:09 - 00:26:08:17
for joining us
and for sharing your expertise.

00:26:08:17 - 00:26:13:05
I know both of you, as all
our partners, are always happy to

00:26:13:15 - 00:26:16:15
to talk to people and on whatever topics

00:26:16:15 - 00:26:20:05
are of interest and ensure
people can reach out to if they want to.

00:26:20:05 - 00:26:24:02
To hear a bit more, I'd like to thank
everyone who's listening to us.

00:26:24:02 - 00:26:28:07
We really do hope the podcast helps you to
to begin to navigate

00:26:28:07 - 00:26:29:06
some of the challenges of

00:26:29:06 - 00:26:32:11
what is a really interesting and complex
business environment at the moment.

00:26:33:00 - 00:26:36:06
If you enjoyed the show,
please do subscribe on Apple Podcasts

00:26:36:06 - 00:26:39:12
or Spotify or wherever
you're you're picking up podcasts,

00:26:40:01 - 00:26:43:04
and be sure to come back
to our next episode, and we'll be

00:26:43:10 - 00:26:46:19
picking up on some other challenges
that face business leaders today.

00:26:47:05 - 00:26:50:18
Until then, this is Mark Kennedy
saying thank you from Forvis Mazars.