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Articles by Simon Bittlestone
Finance AI: Enabling Better Analytics and Decision-Making
Delivered at the ENGAGE Africa 2025 Conference, hosted by AICPA and CIMA in Johannesburg Artificial Intelligence is no longer an abstract concept for the finance profession – it’s already embedded in the tools, systems, and processes that define how finance delivers insight. But it is also something far more profound: a force multiplier for human intelligence. AI performs the tasks that rely on speed, pattern recognition, and precision. Humans bring creativity, empathy, and judgment.
Inspiring excellence
Since taking on my role as CIMA president and chair of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, I have been reflecting on what being an inspiring leader in the profession means. Leaders, to a certain degree, all do the same thing. Whether you are a company executive, sports coach, or schoolteacher, we lead by empowering other people to achieve things they couldn’t necessarily do on their own.
The view from the President: The digital opportunity
We all know that the world is going through a radical, exciting, and sometimes unsettling revolution driven by digital technology. Innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic process automation (RPA) are reshaping industries, optimising processes, increasing efficiency, and driving value at an ever-increasing pace. As finance professionals, our mission is clear: to drive and champion these changes for our organisations to deliver value.
Metapraxis Launches Budgeting Calculator to Help FP&A Teams Deliver Annual Budgets Efficiently and at Reduced Cost to Business
Metapraxis, a company that provides an integrated platform for financial planning, reporting and analysis, today announces the availability of a Budgeting Calculator to help enterprise FP&A teams to make the business case for budgeting process automation.
Effective financial planning will secure businesses a certain future
It’s a difficult time to be navigating the complex world of business. Whilst adapting to new ways of working remotely, a practice which looks to become the new norm, professionals at all levels of business are experiencing new challenges. Whether workers are going for a promotion, trying to keeping up team morale or fire-fighting a never-ending to do list, times are hard and without being able to interact with colleagues face to face, simple tasks can suddenly become complex.
INSIGHT: Not a “Get Out of Jail Free Card"-Covid-19 Impact on Audit and Tax
The issues we have been seeing in the audit sector have been ongoing for some time. Issues like the ones seen with Patisserie Valerie, Carillion, Metro Bank and Conviviality did not start at the outbreak of Covid-19, and they are unlikely to go away when it eventually dies down. Yet, some have expressed concern that the crisis will stifle efforts to increase the viability of the smaller, challenger firms to break the dominance of the Big Four accounting firms.
CFOs must prepare for increased R&D activity
Business leaders, particularly those involved in R&D and innovation, have much work to do to prepare for an imminent increase in workload, according to a study which shows that pressure from global governments will cause R&D activity to increase in the next three years.
Gartner says stakeholder management strategy is critical to CFO transition success
New-to-role CFOs who develop a strategic approach to relationship building and stakeholder management are up to 50% more likely to experience a successful transition, according to Gartner, Inc. Gartner research has found a correlation between strong market performance and a higher number of CFO exit events, primarily through retirements. Additional Gartner research has found that 50% of new leaders underperform in their roles.
Predicting the Unpredictable: How Can Businesses Plan for Brexit?
Dealing with risk is a part of running any business, but CFOs can plan ahead to minimise any impact. When it comes to Brexit, they need to start planning for potential outcomes as soon as possible to be on the front foot. Simon Bittlestone, CEO of financial analytics firm Metapraxis, shares his tips on how to prepare for what’s to come post Brexit. Synonymous with uncertainty Brexit is throwing up so many unanswered questions – will Britain stay in the customs union?
Aspiring Startup Founders Could Benefit From a Grounding in Finance
In recent news, after just one month on the job, the Chief Accounting Officer of Tesla resigned. Not to be outdone, after a year-long stint, the second go-around on his job, Tesla’s CFO also resigned. Analysts noted that the person who’s taking over the CFO position, just promoted to VP in December, has no specific accounting experience. How is it that a highly visible public company like Tesla came to have a CFO who’s not a dyed-in-the-wool accountant?
Fewer Data Processors, More Strategi
If one wished to forecast how the corporate finance function will evolve in 2019, what might that look like? Here is our view. At most companies today, finance operates in a typical pyramidal hierarchy, with a thin layer of leadership at the top, a middle-management layer, and at the bottom a “finance factory” — essentially a data processing unit.
Career moves: TSB, ICG and others
Embattled TSB chief Paul Pester resigns after IT issues cripple bank Paul Pester has stepped down from his role as the chief executive of TSB, with immediate effect. The resignation comes after the recent IT meltdown in April which caused problems for customers. He will be replaced by non-executive director Richard Meddings as the interim CEO until a replacement is found. Working in the company for seven years, Pester said: “The last few months have been challenging for everyone at TSB.
How to make succession planning a success - Director of Finance Online
Adapting to staff changes at a senior level can be a challenging time for any organisation. There will naturally be a certain unease created by the appointment of a new leader, particularly when their predecessor has been at the helm for a long time. For board changes in large corporations, media scrutiny can have a destabilising effect on a business.
The new tactic to cope with Solvency II
Ultimately, the regulation is in place to make sure insurers have 99.5% confidence that they could cope with the worst expected losses on an annual basis – which means they need to have a large proportion of capital within the business at any one time. In order to meet these necessary SCR figures, many firms are considering selling large chunks of their written business to balance out the capital on their books.
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