The CFO Forum 2025 featured eminent speakers from a wide range of industries who shared their experience of managing change from the perspective of CFOs.— FAIHAN GHANI/The Star
THERE is no one-size-fits-all solution. That was the clear message from Khazanah Research Institute research adviser Prof Dr Jomo Kwame Sundaram, a veteran in global economic policy, as he addressed finance leaders at the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Forum 2025.
He warned that today’s CFOs must navigate an increasingly volatile global landscape that is shaped by geopolitical uncertainty, trade tensions as well as the ripple effects of US-imposed tariffs—all while finding the right balance between short-term agility and long-term resilience.
“There’s no single solution for how finance leaders should balance short-term agility and long-term resilience in the business. This is because every company faces different situations, especially depending on their industry,” he said during his keynote speech at the CFO Forum 2025.
The two-day event organised by Star Media Group (SMG), held at the W Hotel Kuala Lumpur in August, highlights how finance leaders are moving beyond traditional financial gatekeeping to become strategic innovators and key drivers of digital change.
As the forum progressed, it became clear that finance leaders are no longer just stewards of the balance sheet—they’re now expected to lead digital transformation, drive ESG strategy and manage emerging risks, particularly in automation, AI and cybersecurity.
In a panel discussion titled “Transforming Finance: Next-Gen Automation, AI and Cybersecurity”, AirAsia MOVE chief financial officer Ramanathan Amn Thiagarajan highlighted the need to transform finance from a back-office function into a proactive business partner by leveraging clean, reconciled data for advanced analytics. He described a hybrid model combining top-down financial insights with bottom-up transactional data to enable faster, smarter decisions.
Ramanathan also introduced “finance as a service,” where finance delivers tailored data products to support different teams, such as vendor profitability for commercial, contract data for partners and real-time financial health for leadership.
HRD Corp chief financial officer Mohamad Farizul Yahaya emphasised defining clear business problems before launching AI initiatives, noting that AI’s true value lies in operational efficiency, faster reporting, boosting team morale and not just cost savings.
Permodalan Nasional Bhd chief information security officer Aishah Farha Mohd Raih stressed on managing AI risks like any enterprise risk and highlighted the need for preventive controls such as data loss prevention and real-time monitoring to protect sensitive data.
Shell Business Service Centre Sdn Bhd vice president Rafidah Jumal weighed in on cross-functional collaboration to align AI investments with business priorities and compliance.
She described cybersecurity and AI governance as essential “licences to operate” and introduced “paradox thinking”—balancing innovation with risk and short-term wins with long-term resilience.
All in all, the CFO Forum 2025 served as a strategic platform for networking, knowledge exchange and strengthening decision-making, while enhancing organisational visibility. It catalysed growth and innovation, empowering leaders to drive business value in a dynamic economic landscape.
