TECHNOLOGY

The answer seems obvious. Actionable insights come in many forms. As raw numbers, data can be the answer that sometimes executives aren’ t even looking for. In ESG strategy, numbers reflect an ongoing tale of crisis that panics consumers. Some companies have turned to greenwashing, although data can also be the reason businesses are less inclined to take this approach. Behind every decision, a set of numbers has been working in the background as the basis, the driving force and sometimes even the reason not to.“ Knowing the business” has been a central theme to the success of several CFOs, and what better way to know the business than study the numbers? Knowing the numbers positions any leader to make an informed decision about the( hopefully incoming) success of the business. So exists a divide in attaining that knowledge, which comes in the form of reactive and predictive reporting. Reactive reporting is closing the books when all is said and done; using hard facts as the last line of data. Predictive reporting uses data from the past to predict the future; anything from statistical models to past results. AI can be used to help model prospective results. Modernisation has quickly become a synonym for the use of AI in financial operations.

How are banking chiefs reacting, is the real question. Chris Johnston, Head of Global Banking at Celonis, speaks to Finance Chief about how the CFO is using reporting and digitalisation in the next era of modern finance.

Q. Please could you give me a brief overview of yourself and your experience? I’ ve actually been in enterprise software since the day I graduated from university. Early in my career, I joined a start-up that was later acquired by IBM. While a lot of my colleagues saw the acquisition as a reason to move on, I looked at it as an opportunity to learn. I was still in my twenties, and suddenly I had access to this huge global organisation, so I treated it as though it were business school. I spent around 14 years at IBM, progressing from an individual contributor into sales leadership and global roles. It gave me a fantastic grounding in enterprise technology and the opportunity to work with some of the world’ s largest organisations. From there, I spent six years at Pegasystems, where I led integrated financial services go-tomarket teams, focused on how we could better serve large global banks. Celonis approached me last year to lead the

92 November 2026