In an interview, Joyce Saika, VP finance, IR and legal at Nuclea discusses his observations on the challenges presently facing the fintech industry.
As the CFO, finance director, controller at Nuclea, what according to you are some of the key challenges in the fintech industry and what steps can be taken to address them?
As Nuclea's CFO, and responsible for the legal department I believe the main challenges to the financial technology industry are:
First, a customer centric approach: the only way to build sustainable, long term financial result is through developing solutions tailored to customers needs and providing excellent customer service to build trust and loyalty. In a highly competitive environment as the finance industry, Loyalty isn´t the only factor determining growth but, for sure, profitable organic growth cannot be sustained without it.
Although Nuclea does not depend on securing funding for company survival and growth, our main challenge today is optimizing capital allocation to support innovation and expansion. Rapid growth and scalable operations and infrastructure to meet increasing demands can be challenging; new technologies, which are constantly evolving, can disrupt existing business models. So, to promote a culture of innovation within the company and to keep abreast of emerging technologies to adapt and stay competitive is crucial.
Finally, keeping up with changing regulations as we operate in a highly regulated environment, requires a collaborative relationship with regulatory bodies to gain insights, monitor changes to stay up to date with relevant regulations and ensure compliance efforts.
What in your opinion are some effective IT initiatives or projects that are aimed at increasing the efficiency of the financial planning and budgeting operations?
Our priorities are in IT initiatives and projects that can significantly enhance the financial management process, streamline operations, and enhance the efficiency of the overall financial planning and budgeting operations such as the automation of the budgeting process to reduce manual errors and improve data accuracy so finance teams can focus on more strategic aspects.
“encourage a culture of diversity, as a diverse team with a range of expertise and perspectives can foster creativity, innovation, and productivity, leading to more sustainable growth and competitive advantages.”
The use of data analytics and AI can be very helpful in improving the forecasting accuracy and help financial teams to anticipate financial outcomes and their potential impacts on financial performance.
Last, but not less important, are the IT initiatives to improve collaboration and communication, among various department and stakeholders to make a more efficient decision-making process.
How do you think organizations can leverage technologies like automation, RPA, cloud computing, and blockchain to optimize financial performance?
All these technologies offer transformative capabilities to automate process, bring efficiency and provide real time access to financial data, empowering faster and more informed decision making, which is crucial to stay ahead in an ever challenging and evolving business landscape.
But I believe the Blockchain technology can offer much more significant impacts as it has shown promising potential in enhancing financial transparency and reducing risk of financial fraud in various sectors, including in the context of balance sheets. Also, the use of smart contracts can optimize administrative costs and payment processes, while ensuring compliance with enhanced security.
In conclusion, depending on the tech maturity level of the use, those technologies can revolutionize financial operations, reduce costs and bring significant improvements in financial performance.
Before your stint at Nuclea, what were some of the previous experiences that empowered you to gain deep expertise in corporate finance, treasury, investor relations, capital markets, financial and strategic planning, and project management?
Previously in my career in the banking industry, I had the opportunity to lead and implement projects, which ranged from financial products development, cash management solutions to global clients, and strategy integration of corporate clients in bank acquisitions.
After my master in finance at London Business School, I also had the opportunity to work at ABN Amro head office in Amsterdam, implementing best practices related to FX and Derivative Sales to clients among the Netherlands, US and Brazil
As finance director at an investment arm of one of the biggest infrastructure conglomerates in Brazil, I was responsible for the overall financial, accounting and tax administration of a portfolio of 22 assets in transportation infrastructure investments of more than $20 billion reais (today around USD 4bn). Also, structured acquisition financing deals, debt raising in the capital market and negotiation of lending facilities with banks in addition to the liquidity management of the portfolio projects.
I also led relevant M&As deals, conducting negotiations, valuations, due diligence, and integration process contributed to gain deep knowledge in strategic thinking.
On an ending note, what is your advice for other senior leaders and CXOs working in the fintech landscape?
The main advice would be fostering a customer centric approach, understanding their needs, pain points and putting customers at the center of your business strategy. Be excellent in addressing their requirements - this could be basic but most of the companies are not truly doing this! And the use of data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) can unlock valuable insights to be more assertive in improving the offerings to clients.
Also, embrace agility and adaptability as core principles to respond swiftly to a landscape subject to rapid changes in market, technologies, and regulatory updates. But this alone might not be enough, so be open and ready to collaborate and partner strategically to accelerate growth and open new opportunities for innovations.
And finally, encourage a culture of diversity, as a diverse team with a range of expertise and perspectives can foster creativity, innovation, and productivity, leading to more sustainable growth and competitive advantages.
