How Lonely Planet's digital experience can guide Chartered Accountants.

DIGITAL transformation and change expert, Gus Balbontin will detail his experience surviving massive disruption at an international Chartered Accountants forum in Sydney.

As the former executive director and chief technology officer of Lonely Planet, Mr Balbontin was responsible for helping the business transition from print to digital. 

At Business Forum 2017, which is being run by Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ), he will deliver a special presentation on responding to the challenges of disruption and change.

Mr Balbontin will explain how businesses can adapt and do things differently, while gaining a competitive advantage.

“Kodak sold film and they missed Instagram," Mr Balbontin said. "They should have come up with Instagram. Kodak’s aim should have been to capture life and share life, not sell film."

CA ANZ’s head of education, Jeana Abbott, said, “We are looking at how you harness the power of purpose to differentiate your business.

“As part of that, we’re focusing on the future. Our experts will lead discussion on maintaining your purpose, while managing emerging issues and technology.

“It’s about overcoming challenges, reshaping your understanding of problems and solutions, and how you go about fixing those problems.

“Technology is changing the way we do business and it’s vital to be flexible and know how to adapt in a changing landscape," Ms Abbott said.

“It’s something all organisations are dealing with, including CA ANZ.  That’s why we launched our CA Kairos innovation initiative, giving our members skills, and tools, to access big data in a meaningful way.

“It combines work streams, systems and platform to help save time and give SMP Members access to meaningful insights, leading to better conversations and more reliable predictions for their clients.

“This is the time that all businesses need to be focused on change, to ensure their adaptability.”

Hundreds are expected to attend the two-day forum which will be held in Sydney on June 5 and 6, and in Auckland on June 8 and 9.

Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand represents 119,000 financial professionals.

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