Books To The Boardroom

Manuel Nesta -Transformative Leadership: From Transactional Finance to Strategic Advisory

• Sumith Dissanayake • Season 3 • Episode 6

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Join host Sumith and guest Manuel Nesta, a senior finance professional based in Perth, Australia. Manuel shares insights from his career journey and current role as CFO at Acquire, a software company specialising in natural resources and ESG compliance.

Key points:

  • The evolution of finance from transaction processing to strategic advisory
  • Digital transformation and automation in finance departments
  • How AI is revolutionizing financial processes and decision-making
  • The growing importance of ESG reporting in the natural resources sector
  • Leveraging finance expertise to drive business strategy and growth
  • Mindset transformation needed when adopting new technologies
  • Insights on the role of immigrants in Australia's finance sector
  • Practical advice for aspiring accountants and finance leaders

The conversation explores how finance functions are evolving from transactional roles to becoming trusted business advisors. Manuel discusses digital transformation in finance processes, the critical role of AI and automation, and the increasing importance of ESG reporting in driving better decision-making and strategic growth.

Drawing from his unique background in mountain climbing and family business, Manuel offers perspectives on mindset transformation when adopting new technologies. The episode also examines the contributions of immigrants in Australia's finance sector and includes valuable advice for aspiring accountants and finance leaders.

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Manuel Nesta

[00:00:00] 

[00:00:00] Sumith Dissanayake: Welcome=== back to Books of the Boardroom podcast, season three CFO, catalyst. Today I'm excited to talk with Manuel Nesta on our podcast. Manuel is a well-rounded senior finance professional living in Perth, Australia. Manuel, thanks for joining me today.

[00:00:18] Manuel Nesta: Thank you for having me, Sumith.

[00:00:20] Sumith Dissanayake: You have very interesting finance career and there's lot to explore, but I would like to start with your current role at Acquire.

Tell me what Acquire does and what your current role in most.

[00:00:33] Manuel Nesta: Yeah, acquire is a. software company. We were born in 1996, so we will be turning 30, years, in 2026. Yes very navigated business for software, company. we were born as a natural resource, software known in the natural resources industry, especially, within the mining within the mining industry.

We have then diversified, especially in the last few years, [00:01:00] since we joined the Constellation Group. and we have, performed, our own acquisitions of, products that we found complementary to our offering. So we acquired an environmental, software, social performance, software. So we expanded into the, ESG reporting and compliance sector.

And, and we recently closed an acquisition of a drilling, system in the USA called.

[00:01:28] Sumith Dissanayake: Yeah, no. ESG is a trending, topic in finance. I wanna explore more, when

[00:01:33] Manuel Nesta: Absolutely, yes. And, I'm the, CFO of the portfolio, looking after obviously compliance, reporting and ensuring that, I guess the, long-term sustainability, of our business from a growth as well as profitability perspective.

[00:01:50] Sumith Dissanayake: Right now I want to see your background and, how we dealing with the finance. I know you are, mountain climber. 

[00:01:59] Manuel Nesta: Yes. [00:02:00] 

[00:02:00] Sumith Dissanayake: right. So how did your experience with mountain climbing shape your perspective in both personal and professional growth, and how does that energy apply, to your work in finance?

[00:02:12] Manuel Nesta: Yeah, so that's, it was one of the activities that I was more passionate about when I was living in Italy. So I moved to Australia 11 years ago, and as you may imagine in Western Australia, there's not a lot of mountains to climb. It's fairly, it's fairly flat but I always found the preparation and the discipline and the actual journey to get to the top very, similar to what, to what our.

How we function, especially in an ecosystem like a company or a corporation, where there, there have to be multiple elements that work together to get you there. Ao it is not just about, your single effort, but is about the preparation, is about the, strategy is about understanding when is the [00:03:00] time to go and when is the time to hold back.

and, yeah, and that get that kind of, that kind of structure, gave me, some, help, in building my career in finance.

[00:03:12] Sumith Dissanayake: Yeah, no doubt, right? It's all about the preparation. the excitement is all about the journey, right? So we don't know what the destination is, going to be or how it's, this looks like, but the journey is more interesting, and exciting.

[00:03:24] Manuel Nesta: Absolutely. Yes. But the, the, that preparation was, and again, it's probably one of the things that I feel gave me more, from, structuring, my workday. As a finance professional is really that preparation, that groundwork, just making sure that, we got the facts right, we got things right, and then, we can go about making confident decisions.

That's true, and I'm sure your family background also helps you, into this business and into finance as well. So tell me a little bit about your family background. And I know you, your family had a small business, [00:04:00] Yes. yeah. I, my, my family, used to run a small business in hospitality, back in Italy. a very competitive environment, especially when you're in hospitality, which is already a kind of a low margin business, worldwide. But, if you add that was back in Italy where there's a restaurant every five meters and, the quality overall is pretty high.

margins tend to reduce. it's, it was a tough environment for them. And I think there was a moment where, things turn, in a, I guess more on a negative side from a business perspective. And I was, as a teenager, I was, I think it was 14 or 15. Try to understand how could I help, the family, on top of try to be present, and offer a couple of more hands.

But, I the they weren't really, let's say, financially saving my parents in terms of, managing documentation and, being on top of what, what was going on. And Understanding [00:05:00] what was going on with that business and try to understand a little, more, deeper what were the drivers of periods when things were going well and things, there were periods alternated with periods where things were, or a be tougher. And so that's where I discovered first time the seasonality of that business. I was able to link, some of the outcomes, that I was experiencing at home, period where we could go holiday and period where there was a, difficulties in getting a new TV and said, oh, what's going on here?

So that's a bit unsettling. Understanding that seasonality gave me the ability to also start to think about how can you actually make sure that you can smooth out these kind of inflows and outflows in a way that, you can have a more programmed and sustainable and less bumpy kind of experience.

And try to, offer my help there. starting to work on some of the, this, [00:06:00] the home spreadsheets, household spreadsheets as, as many of us do. And then from there started to discover the, I guess the passion around, that sustainable, growth, sustainable, management. and really that was the.

That was the beginning of my financial career. That's where I thought that I could, expand further on that and add value, not just as a household or a small business, but, but at a corporate level,

[00:06:27] Sumith Dissanayake: Yeah. No, that's so true. There's small, especially small food venues. I like universities. There's lot to learn because I myself plan a small restaurant as well. And learn a lot from, that small venture than the university degrees or any other qualifications that I studied for 'cause it's real. And you.

[00:06:48] Manuel Nesta: Yeah, that's right. it's life experience and it's finance one-on-one where you're actually battling with, the, I was a, that was my first contact with the physical invoice. [00:07:00] and, later on during university, as we were starting, accounting, I discovered that many of my colleagues, never actually, Saw an invoice in their life before. that kind of experience certainly helped to understand some of the, the drivers mainly, and that, that helped a lot, both, I guess the family as well as my future career.

[00:07:23] Sumith Dissanayake: Yeah. Perfect. And what was the motivation or the reason behind you coming to Australia?

[00:07:31] Manuel Nesta: I took a sabbatical. I was attracted by a country that, you know, in Europe and in Italy is perceived as, far. and you don't get. or at least 10, 11 years ago. You don't get to see a lot of information coming out of Australia, but I've always been intrigued by a very young country and how they, thought, process was going to work in a, in [00:08:00] such a diverse and young country.

And I took a sabbatical and said, I'll go and see whether my, my assumptions are correct and what's the lifestyle like, and, and never regretted seeing. So I actually, back then I was working in the aviation industry, in Italy. And I, after a few months in, in Western Australia, I called back and said, I don't think I'll be coming back anytime soon.

I think I found, I found a very good place where I, then I. I was able to experience firsthand, the cultural, diversity and the enrichment that brings to this country. and, And the quality, of the decisions and the progresses that are made, every day from small businesses to startups down to big corporation in Australia.

So I thought this is a great place to be.

[00:08:51] Sumith Dissanayake: Perfect. And is, what was the reason for both? To choose both in

[00:08:55] Manuel Nesta: that's, yeah. Interesting. 'cause it was a mix of, [00:09:00] considerations. cause obviously I've never been to Australia before and I, so as any good finance person will do, I planked in some numbers and started to look at what was the, average unemployment rate, what was the average per earnings and I was looking at, so a few KPIs that, but then obviously mixed up with, some good, old, Italian kind of approach.

So the number of sunshine days per year, was extremely high for Perth. one of the highest in the world. And I say, that's, that's another big plus it was the, let's say the least far city, from Europe as well. So I thought, if I need to go back for whatever family reason might be, and then, so that was the reason why Perth.

But I was open back then to, to change if, if needed be. 'cause obviously I had no, I guess no previous exposure to other cities, but then. Travelled, [00:10:00] around Australia fair bit. Still think, it’s a very good place to.

[00:10:04] Sumith Dissanayake: That's wonderful. And, I wanna explore a little bit more about your, corporate journey as well. I know you had some, negative experience at the beginning,in some places where you work. The leadership person, the great, so I. Tell me a little bit about that, story and then what's the moral of the lesson for our, young and upcoming accountants.

[00:10:27] Manuel Nesta: Yes. I think, there was, as a young graduate. I moved to one of the big four for, as a junior auditor and made my way through and then moved to corporate finance and, as one of the dear materialised. then a few months after I was, asked to join, a company. the culture that was my first, Encounter with, with the culture that I didn't want to be part of. it showed me clearly, and I didn't know back then how to phrase it or how to, I guess what to do with [00:11:00] that, with that information or that experience that I was getting, but. Now I can definitely recognise, what, what it meant to me.

So I am, I was in a very hierarchical setting, and the, to the point where the hierarchy and, the bureaucracy was stopping in my view, the, the efficiency or was functioning as, there is an extent obviously of compliance, especially as the business grows or the, the corporation, large corporations, there is a compliance to be achieved, and risk being mitigated.

But, in my quick analysis and with my very limited experience back then. I thought that was a bit too much, at times was a bureaucracy for the sake of bureaucracy and that was an also accompanied by, I guess an accepting [00:12:00] culture of different opinions because obviously every time, something was brought up, because I was young, was already wrong.

Approach there were days where, the director of admin and finance would not even greet you in the corridor, even as he was crossing path with him. You could hear him yelling from, three, four rooms down to colleagues that were unfortunate enough that morning to, to have made a mistake on the wrong day.

That I think for me, that was the moment where I realised, oh, that is the kind of, manager slash leader I don't want to become, I didn't know what I wanted to become, but certainly I was clear about what I didn't want to look like and I guess later on I really then I guess nowadays there's a lot of, literature around, the difference between a manager, then a leader. There's psychological safety, the trust that you're able to build with your team and with your reports as [00:13:00] well as with your managers and, and how to make sure that psychological safety is actually the baseline upon which you can build a much higher productivity and creating also opportunity for people to grow.

[00:13:14] Sumith Dissanayake: That's so true because now people don't follow you for the authority. They follow you for the charisma. 

[00:13:20] Manuel Nesta: Correct. it's that, the, vulnerabilities is a big, is a big thing. in my view, being vulnerable means that you are human, and people can relate to you and understand that, there's, there is, there's life and things do happen. And that happen. They happen to, to anyone, regardless of their job title.

[00:13:40] Sumith Dissanayake: Yeah, that's right. That's right. I want to explore more, that area, but because of the time limitation, I probably switched the gears, switch the gear here and then, go into the finance transformation area because you've got more expertise in that area as well. So the digital finance transformation people ex define it in [00:14:00] different ways.

So what is your, version of definition for the digital finance transformation?

[00:14:06] Manuel Nesta: Yes. I. digital and finance transformations are very, critical, but very, also very wide concepts, which or often are, only linked to the adoption of a new technology. So I guess the, for me, the fundamental, point is that, these are concepts that certainly leverage of, the many advanced technologies that we're seeing, every day, coming and helping us.

But I guess the aim is not just the adoption of new technologies, far wider and to me is about reshaping, the way that actually business do operate. they make decision and create value. So I guess as a CFO, these transformation are key, for driving efficiency as well as, to enable strategic growth.

So the digitalisation of finance [00:15:00] processes leads to the transition of finance team from being, I guess from being purely transactional to. Becoming a trusted advisor to the business, which is exactly what, where the finance function can add more value to the business. It's not about, it is not just about, looking at numbers or accounting numbers, but it is around, enabling better decisions.

And so to me, digital and finance transformations fits perfectly into that. I guess enabling better decision making for businesses at an overall level, thanks to tools and technologies that we can adopt certainly, but is also looking at business processes. So there is not just about technology adoption, but it is about a mindset. so it's also an, it is around the mindset that we take, when we look at every business process and say, is there any, Transformation here. Fin financial, like finance transformation for [00:16:00] the function, for the processes to make sure that we actually, thanks to the digital tools, we can actually, avoid to become the bottleneck that very often, in the past, the finance function is being considered, or it has been, and actually provide that thought leadership to the rest of the business for fostering a, strategic, growth mindset.

To me there's also an element of, risk management. That is definitely enhanced by, adoption of, finance transformation and digital, transformation regarding finance. 'cause obviously, the ability to spot anomalies, raising flags, and be able to, have a, quicker, turnaround regarding what could go wrongs is definitely, a huge, positive of both.

both, 

yeah. Concepts. 

[00:16:49] Sumith Dissanayake: True. Interesting how you, explained about the transformation. I like that part. That, that, the mindset transformation, that's equally important than any, any equipment or [00:17:00] any software that you use. that's probably the biggest part here.

[00:17:04] Manuel Nesta: I totally agree, and I couldn't agree more because you can have, you can adopt. 10 digital tools that are absolutely revolutionary, to revolutionise your company. But if the mindset, if the adoption rate, if the trust and if, and I guess the. of enhancing processes and putting up for discussion, the whole thing and say, actually, if we've done this for a long time, doesn't necessarily mean that is the optimal way.

So that is a mindset thing. So the adoption of the digital technology without the mindset, in transformation is really a moot point.

[00:17:44] Sumith Dissanayake: Yeah, thanks. And when we talk about the finance transformation or digital. I think AI is another, main topic that is why we discuss these days. And what are your practical experience with ai and do you use AI for your [00:18:00] business, or your finance, area, or how do you see that?

[00:18:04] Manuel Nesta: We, for me are critical. both AI and automation for,first off, streamlining processes. finance has always been a, a function where there is an element of repetitiveness in what we do task wise, which often has detracted time. Of the main reason why the finance function should exist, which is analysis. and, thought leadership for the rest of the business and offering that different perspective to enrich, or to, let's say, counterbalance. the entrepreneurial spark on the other side, right? So if we look at the optimal weight of sensors, in a company. in my view, there has to be an healthy balance or a good trade-off between, that [00:19:00] entrepreneurial spark and the, and I guess the finance thought leadership on the other side to, to kind of balance and just make sure that things do run properly.

So for me, again, I guess the streamlining of the processes, it does help Then focusing on the main. Reason why finance is in business, or it helps businesses, which is analysis and looking at, trends, understanding drivers, establishing KPIs that are meaningful. looking at the information with a critical eye and understanding how they can actually add value to the business.

Cause ultimately, the whole point is enhancing shareholders value. doing it with, the set of values and beliefs that the organisation have. So that comes the sustainability piece into the puzzle. But ultimately, yes, I do see AI and automation to be absolutely critical. the modelling, what if scenarios, scenario modelling that helps so much, I guess in terms of, of, 

[00:20:00] as a CFO, I think, that is probably the main thing that I can think of from a, obviously there is a process enhancement, part, mainly related to AR and ap, and we do adopt, automation when it comes to, managing our, AR and AP in different forms, obviously, but, we do take advantage of those tools. but there's also, I guess the risk mitigation part, plays a big role as well in adopting, AI and automation as well as, for me, scalability and growth. so enabling a process today that is able to absorb, I guess an increased, workload on increased number of transactions without necessarily affecting, business processes or productivity is definitely, a.

is definitely the key driver why I see them critical, especially, I don't think we have seen the full extent yet, of how AI and automation can help finance. but I do, believe that [00:21:00] in the next, decade we will, we will definitely get a match, picture and the transformation, the finance transformation will really take place.

[00:21:09] Sumith Dissanayake: That's true. Of course. It's still the, the big players are experimenting that the small players are yet to get into the rhythm with AI and the automation.

[00:21:19] Manuel Nesta: I guess ai, there's also an element of there's also an element of, Misunderstand, oh, let's say regulation that needs to be discussed as well. And so that's why the uptake is still quite, quite low. There is IP issues related to ai, content generated, and and so it is an area where. I guess the law will help also shaping the do's and don'ts.

and so that's why I guess there is still this careful approach, but certainly I believe that as companies will get more conf, confident around, the, I guess the, 

 the regulations around ai, especially more than [00:22:00] automation, we will, we will be seeing a much, bigger uptake.

[00:22:04] Sumith Dissanayake: That's true. And I want to, talk about one last, top, topic. That's the ESG reporting. I think it's very close to what you do and your company does as well. So tell me your view and, where the ESG at the moment, where it sits and what's the kind of, next gen, next level in ESG reporting for, especially for the SME sector businesses at some point.

[00:22:28] Manuel Nesta: Yes. well, I think, there is no publication these days, finance specific or business specific that, doesn’t have an article, A list, on ESG and is becoming always more central, is making the, the headline very often. it is, Something that is, has transitioned already in many countries and Australia is following suit from a nice to have, let's say, to a compliance, requirement.[00:23:00] 

So I mentioned before the corporate social responsibility piece, and, that was the real, beginning of the, I guess the ESG, and you, it was going to show the commitment of any corporation to contribute to, society in very different forms, beyond, I guess the bottom line.

So it was the first exposure of, processes. Within a corporation beyond, the bottom line. And so in many countries there is already, I guess the framework around ESG reporting is coming alive. And is. More and more robust. and I'm specifically in Europe. UK is very advanced.

but Europe in general, but in Australia lately we had, the A SB one, S one and S two, around sustainability [00:24:00] reporting. So, Again, still, there's still I guess, time for company to adjust on scope one and scope two. scope three is certainly, quite far, distant in the future, but it is coming.

And so, as a CFO, I think. There is the responsibility for stuff because the reporting on ESG is following through the financial reporting. that's something that we have observed in many areas of the business. I guess when there is, no clear definition of who's reporting on what, then it ends up in financials.

So we very often are the catalyst of, of many reporting, but. You'd be surprised how many companies are now investing into sustainability officers and, ESG officers. They, I guess still the definition is of ESG is quite,I  guess different compared to person. If you talk about what, ESG is, but ultimately. Is beyond the environmental, obviously the environmental is just [00:25:00] the E of DSG, and it's the most advanced. Certainly is the one that is attracting, the majority of the attention at this stage because of the net zero, emission, commitments that many countries have done around the globe. And so, as you would imagine, that's the part of the ESG that is, under scrutiny anymore at this point in time, but.

the S and the G obviously the g being governance very big, right.

So, and the s being the social part is the one that is getting a lot of traction lately as well, because. what do you example of greenwashing environmental. Now we have example of blue washing for social, for example. So making claims around, a company, for example, equal opportunity, or, it has to be substantiated. It has to be. So there is growing attention from investors' viewpoint as well as, authority viewpoint as well as from, [00:26:00] shareholders' viewpoint, not just on adding value, but how we add in value. And That's the, that's the big change compared to back in the eighties where, the bottom line was all that mattered.

It doesn't matter how you get there. thankfully, the business world has evolved in a complete different direction where, there has to be a value creation, but there is also value creation. in which way I. That's important for shareholders, investors, employees, talent retention.

It's the purpose of a business. And the way they actually get there is how the ESG is helping to track that and, come up with a framework that is not just a statement on a website. It's not just a packaging on some food, but it's actually follow through with actions that are, and compliance that can be audited as well.

[00:26:52] Sumith Dissanayake: That's an interesting energy and, it's, businesses are becoming more human, and the accountant's role is also, going towards that. So [00:27:00] it's still team to become more human and reporting from the different angles to the financials. That's an interesting development. I.

[00:27:07] Manuel Nesta: very interesting 'cause, it's a, outside of the, classic, scheme of a business, obviously it's, I. It's still early days in terms of establishing a clear link between those activities and the value and, shareholders value, let's say. But It, the question I always ask, when I'm in similar discussion, I.

say, well, okay, if you have, some money that you would like to invest, in shares, you look to different companies, assuming they, they, reaching the same level of profitability and they are all, achieving a good growth. What is the other items? What is the dec? What is the factor that is gonna help you decide who you're gonna invest in? What 

are you looking at next? Okay, so profitability is fine. Growth is fine.

The history [00:28:00] is fine. I'm happy with the board. I think they're all, great professionals. What am I gonna look at next? 

certainly as an investor, I think you'll be looking at how they live and breathe, what's their values, how they operate in society, how they, so that, I guess the linkage between, sustainability, let's say to call the broad, more broadly the ESG, and the value is certainly taking shape.

[00:28:28] Sumith Dissanayake: that's wonderful. and, one last question, Manu, before we wrap up. So you are an immigrant and you're very successful CFO now here in Australia. So what's your message for, people who make the same journey to Australia, especially the accountants who will,

cross the seas and come to Australia?

[00:28:46] Manuel Nesta: Yeah, no, it's a, for me it's the curiosity is the main thing that I can wish, accountants, that come from overseas to Australia?

be curious about, learning. don't come with a, I guess I would [00:29:00] recommend to, to keep, absolutely open mind around how many, things have developed. On the accounting profession in Australia that unnecessarily has developed in other countries. And I talk not about the technical stuff, which we are all, being,very good. at, and we've been extremely, prepared by our unis and, our firms when we were doing a professional journey, in our home country.

But. There are side, side soft skills. I would say that in Australia are. definitely more developed than in other countries that are going to help you a lot through doing your, your accounting, journey. Not just as an accounting professional, but as a leader as well in your finance function. And when I say leader is regardless, again, from the job title is about the way we are going about things, the way we are perceived by others, and the way we are approachable to our [00:30:00] peers 

and we mentored and we are mentored as well.

[00:30:05] Sumith Dissanayake: Great advice and thank you very much for sharing your insights and thoughts on Books The Boardroom podcast, 

[00:30:11] Manuel Nesta: Thank you for having me. Thanks.

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