In this introductory session of the CFO roundtable, Tom Leander provides a back-story for CFO. Originally based in Bali, moving to Singapore and finally relocating to Shanghai, it can be seen that a wealth of knowledge in Asian regions has been cultivated and shared. Now in Shanghai for four to five years, CFO Magazine has enjoyed increasingly interesting outcomes and results and these are discussed through the roundtable.

Mr Leander gives an overview of key issues to be addressed, such as the state of the CFO today and the increasingly important issue of risk management in the context of China's growing market. How are companies in China dealing with these challenges as job pressures continue to escalate? What is the CFO's view of risk? According to Leander, there is still a sense of nervousness at a financial growth in China, suggesting the need for more sophisticated decision support in business analysis.

We then given a macroeconomic perspective of the environment, and given an understanding of what kinds of pressures are mounting in China today. The concept of 'CFO optimism' in China in relation to other countries is discussed based on insightful results a quarterly survey.

The perspective of the CFO is then adopted, and we are given an idea of how they perceive them themselves and their roles in China. How has the position of CFO as strategy partner in business changed in recent years? How much time are CFOs spending on various activities compared to five years ago? A foretaste of what can be expected for the CFO in the coming two years is considered with regards to responsibility in non-financial performance management and increased accountability within companies.

For more of this informative overview, tune into this video on iTV-Asia.com.