Beyond the Numbers
Regulation vs. Process Reinvention What’s Really Setting the UAE CFO Agenda?
A live leadership panel reshaping the Office of the CFO.
Asma Jan Muhammad
Chief Financial Officer, The CFO Centre UAE
Anand Soni
Chief Financial Officer – MENA, AHK Worldwide UAE
Sanjeev Dutta
Chief Financial & Risk Officer, Proxgy
Rahul Dev Swarnkar
Executive Strategy & Transformation, COVORO AI
About the Session
Beyond compliance. Toward a better finance operating model.
Regulation is becoming more digital, connected and data-driven. For UAE finance teams, that means greater expectations around control, transparency, accountability and trusted data.
At the same time, CFOs are being asked to improve speed, automate more work and contribute earlier to decisions around growth, cash, risk and investment.
This session examines whether regulatory change should be treated as another compliance requirement - or used to redesign how finance works.
The discussion brings together senior finance leaders to explore what regulation is exposing, where finance capacity is being consumed, and how compliance-grade data can create value beyond reporting.
Understand how regulation is exposing weaknesses in finance processes.
Learn how CFOs can move from operational reporting to strategic decision-making.
Explore how e-invoicing and regulatory data can support connected finance.
Discover why process redesign must come before automation.
Identify practical priorities for building a future-ready finance operating model.
What You’ll Learn
1
Regulation and process
How regulatory change can expose manual reconciliations, fragmented ownership, spreadsheet dependency, and weak controls - and create the case for process redesign.
2
The strategic CFO
How finance can move earlier into pricing, investment, working capital, risk and growth decisions instead of reporting on them after the fact.
3
Connected finance
How e-invoicing and structured transaction data can connect tax, reporting, reconciliation, treasury and business processes.
4
Reinvention and automation
Why organisations should fix the process before adding technology and how automation can release capacity for higher-value finance work.
Voices from the Panel
- The beauty of regulation is that it comes with a hard deadline.
Chief Financial Officer, The CFO Centre UAE
It pushes organisations to decide what structure will be there, what processes will support it, and what kind of refined and clean data will drive the process.
- Finance is the tail end of everything that happens in the business.
Chief Financial Officer – MENA, AHK Worldwide UAE
All the processes that start somewhere else eventually land in finance—with or without the data.
- Compliance makes us more disciplined and more insightful.
Chief Financial Officer – MENA, AHK Worldwide UAE
The challenge is not only meeting the requirement. It is using the discipline it creates to improve how the business operates.
- There’s a symbiotic relationship within the community and the ecosystem.
Sanjeev Dutta
Chief Financial & Risk Officer, Proxgy
Regulation, business, and institutions can work together to create stronger participation, confidence, and sustainable growth.
Meet Our Speakers
Voices from finance, tax, and technology
Asma Jan Muhammad
Chief Financial Officer, The CFO Centre UAE
Asma is a strategic finance and transformation leader with more than 20 years of international experience across finance transformation, capital allocation, treasury, governance, shared services, M&A and digital finance. She brings a strong perspective on evolving finance operating models amid regulatory changes.
Anand Soni
Chief Financial Officer – MENA, AHK Worldwide UAE
Anand is a business CFO and turnaround specialist with nearly three decades of experience across finance, commercial operations, funding, cash flow, taxation, restructuring and business transformation. He connects compliance and finance transformation with profitability, liquidity, risk and business performance.
Sanjeev Dutta
Chief Financial & Risk Officer, Proxgy
Sanjeev brings extensive experience across finance, governance, risk management, commodities, trade ecosystems and finance transformation. His background includes senior leadership at DMCC and experience across financial infrastructure, transparency, regulatory evolution and sustainable trade.
Rahul Dev Swarnkar
Executive Strategy & Transformation, COVORO AI
Rahul is a business transformation and compliance leader with experience across finance, technology, regulatory reporting, e-invoicing, VAT, GST, data and enterprise process transformation. He moderated the discussion, connecting regulatory change with the evolving Office of the CFO.
Watch the Executive Panel
Watch Regulation vs. Process Reinvention: What’s Really Setting the UAE CFO Agenda?
Hear senior UAE finance leaders discuss the practical choices shaping finance transformation: how to strengthen control without slowing the business, how to use regulatory data more effectively, and how to move finance closer to strategic decision-making.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Session about?
The session explores how UAE CFOs can respond to digital regulation, e-invoicing, automation and rising expectations around finance-led value creation.
Is this a product demonstration?
No. Beyond the Numbers is an executive thought-leadership series focused on peer perspectives, practical challenges and the future of finance.
What topics are covered?
The discussion covers regulation, finance operating models, e-invoicing, trusted data, process redesign, automation, working capital, risk and strategic CFO leadership.
Can I watch the session on demand?
Yes. Register or submit your details to access the recording, subject to the organiser’s access policy.