KPMG Professional Services, one of the ‘Big Four’ recently held its Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Forum as a Webinar, themed “Surviving the COVID-19 Pandemic – Lessons from China”. The forum was hosted on the internet, with William Gong, Partner & Vice Chairman, KPMG China covering the Wuhan Province as a keynote speaker.
The webinar kicked off with a warm opening address from Kunle Elebute, Senior Partner, KPMG in Nigeria and Chairman, KPMG Africa as he highlighted that the impact of Covid-19 on most African Countries will be a twin shock on the economy due to a fall in demand for natural resources (including oil & gas), African commodities, and tourism, etc.
Dr. Ebun Bamgboye, Clinical Director, St. Nicholas Hospital made a presentation rendering local perspectives, insights and in-depth analysis of the coronavirus, with statistics on the spread rate, and other relevant data.
William Gong, Vice Chairman, KPMG China & Partner covering the Wuhan Province, during his keynote presentation, shared with the CFOs, a step-by-step guide on China’s efforts in gradually re-opening its offices. He rounded off with specific insights from the KPMG China office while strongly advising that the recovery will take some time and all organisations must, while gradually returning, prepare for another shutdown while ensuring social distancing protocols in the offices.
Dr. Anuschka Coovadia, Strategic Advisor, Healthcare & Life Sciences, KPMG South Africa, was also one of the speakers who provided lessons from her location highlighting South Africa’s unique trajectory and a need to prepare as the exponential curve is inevitable as well as careful workplace re-entry strategies. The CFO’s had several insightful and engaging questions that were brilliantly answered by the speakers according to how it related to their keynote and area of specialization.
The moderator of the event, Tola Adeyemi, Partner & Head of Audit Services, KPMG in Nigeria, gave quick summaries and provided context on the key takeaways from the speakers’ keynote address.
Finally, the forum came to a close with a vote of thanks from Tola Adeyemi, as he appreciated the speakers, CFOs and other participants, urging them to infuse the key take-aways in their organisational recovery plans. In concluding the session, he further mentioned that the speakers’ presentation slides and answers to various questions not responded to during the event will be communicated via email.