Agility in Action: Redefining Financial Management for the I&T portfolio at CN

1. 5-Year Evolution: Transforming I&T Finance at CN

Kathleen Deschamps will discuss key transformations and improvements made to the Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) processes in the I&T portfolio at CN over the past five years. She will address how the financial planning function has evolved to be regarded as a value-added partner for its I&T clients.

2. Shifting Gears for Impact: Revolutionizing the FP&A Approach

Kathleen will explain how FP&A has shifted its approach to business case preparation by emphasizing value identification, tracking, and realization. She will address the mission of ensuring that these benefits are realized and carried through the bottom line. Additionally, she will discuss the challenges faced during this evolution from an innovation perspective.

3. Collaborative Transformation: The Key Role of FP&A in I&T Initiatives

Kathleen will describe how FP&A strengthened collaboration between Finance and the I&T function during their cloud transformation journey. She will explain how this partnership evolved with the launch of a new initiative, highlighting the importance of including Finance in the redefinition of operational models, the adoption of technologies such as Generative AI, and the move towards agile financial management. She will also address the challenges of evaluating this initiative with emerging technologies and demonstrate how a unified team adds value to the transformation process.

4. Agile Evolution: The Roadmap for FP&A Transition to Agile Financial Management

Finally, Kathleen will share the goals and roadmap for evolving FP&A towards Agile Financial Management.

Kathleen Deschamps is a seasoned finance executive with solid experience in strategic financial planning, financial reporting, and leadership. As the Director of Strategic Financial Planning at Canadian National Railway (CN), she plays a pivotal role in preparing feasibility and profitability studies for the Information and Technology (I&T) portfolio, notably in the transition to the cloud and the launch of I&T transformation initiatives aimed at reshaping operational models, leveraging new technologies such as Generative AI, and progressing toward agile financial management. She fosters collaboration within her team and across departments, steering the financial planning function toward a value-added approach that supports high-level decision-making. With expertise in optimizing processes, risk management, and corporate strategy, she contributes to achieving CN's long-term objectives. Kathleen holds a CPA designation and is bilingual in French and English.

This event is approved for up to 1,2 CTP and 1,2 FPAC recertification credits by the Association for Financial Professionals.

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