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Robyn Denholm makes a call to arms during a panel discussion ahead of International Women’s Day.
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Empower women with financial literacy, Tesla chair urges
01 March 2023
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Tesla chair Robyn Denholm will urge finance professionals to empower women with fluency in the language of finance during a panel discussion for International Women’s Day hosted by CA ANZ today.
“It is incumbent on the financial community to make sure all women have the keys in their hand to drive their own economic and financial future … things like how a P&L sheet works, managing cash flow,” Ms Denholm said (pictured centre).
“I think that would be a huge step forward if the financial community took that on because I think there isn’t anyone better to impart that knowledge.
“My call to arms for the financial community is for financial literacy of women. Whether it is a person who is going into the arts or into science … or a start-up founder or a small business owner, financial literacy offers the keys to financial freedom.”
During the panel discussion, which will be webcast by CA ANZ this morning, Ms Denholm said women had already come a long way since she began a finance career.
“When I first started at my CA firm, there were no female partners in Australia – none, zero,” said Ms Denholm. “The same when I became CFO for the first time. There were eight female CFOs of tech companies on the Nasdaq at that point in time and I knew them all.
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“Today there are hundreds of CFOs on the Nasdaq.
“My high school teacher inspired me to take economics at university, and so the journey began from there; there are thousands of girls out there in the same situation. If they can see a person that’s done that or hundreds of people who have done that before them, then it will give them the role models to not just follow in my footsteps, but create their own.”
Also on the panel were CA ANZ CEO Ainslie van Onselen (pictured left), board member Traci Houpapa, ACCA immediate past president Orla Collins and it was moderated by CA ANZ public relations manager Gillian Bowen (pictured right).
Ms van Onselen said accountants were well placed to empower their clients.
“It’s what they do … it’s part of their DNA,” she said. “On a micro level every chartered accountant has the knowledge and the tools they can share with their clients, with their community … and give back that way.
“Look for women in your networks you can support, be they small business owners or women in start-ups, who will be looking for that knowledge and information.”
With International Women’s Day next week, Ms Collins said businesses which ignored diversity would struggle to remain sustainable.
“There is a war for talent and it’s madness that we don’t extend our recruitment net as wide as possible,” she said.
“If you ignore half the workforce, you ignore half the talent. Apart from it being ethically wrong, it hands a gift to commercial rivals, which fish in a much deeper and wider pool of talent.”
Newly appointed CA ANZ director Traci Houpapa said accountancy and financial professionals also had an important role to play in bringing about meaningful change.
“I’m a proponent of targets in terms of gender representation and transparency and I think the sooner that boards and organisations tie gender equity and equality to the performance of leadership teams, we will see greater change,” she said.
“When it comes to those projections, being part of those designs, discussions and debates … it is important for our accounting and finance professionals to stand up. When we are reviewing and revising what we’re measuring in the commercial sector and across companies and organisations, having that sound and professional view from accountants is so important.”
The panel can be viewed at https://caanz.com/code from 11am today.
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