YOUNG FINANCE TOP

7 OCTOBER 2025

Join us for a unique and inspiring day at the Young Finance Top, where young finance professionals gather to enhance their careers and personal growth. Our event is designed to provide participants with a range of workshops and inspiration sessions aimed at developing both hard and soft skills.

During the day, you will have the opportunity to choose from multiple workshops tailored to your interests and goals. These workshops will cover various topics to help you excel in your finance career and equip you with valuable skills and knowledge.

We conclude the afternoon with a walking dinner and the award ceremony for

the Best Young Finance Team.

The event promises a unique and engaging experience exclusively for young finance professionals. Explore our program and create your own itinerary by selecting from the three parallel sessions available throughout the afternoon.

OVERVIEW

Program overview

12:00 - 13:00

Welcome lunch

13:00 - 14:30 - choose one the following parallel sessions

Session 1: Data visualisation

Session 2: AI as your personal assistant: prompting

Session 3: Materiality

14:45 - 16:15 - choose one the following parallel sessions

Session 1: Assertive communication

Session 2: AI in finance: what to expect

Session 3: Circularity

16:30 - 18:00 - choose one the following parallel sessions

Session 1: Speaking as a data expert

Session 2: Measuring AI efficiency

Session 3: SDGame: evaluate a sustainability investment decision

18:15 - 19:00 - Keynote Wim Smets

19:00 - announcement winner Best Young Finance Team edition

19:10 - walking dinner & networking

MORE INFO

Practical

Venue

De Mooie Molen

Nedermolenstraat 3

9310 Aalst

7 october 2025

Pricing

Subscribers CFO Magazine: 200 euro

Normal tarif: 300 euro

Only people with finance function in the company will get access; participation of commercial profiles will be denied.

Number of seats are limited.

in partnership with

Anker 1

Program details

12:00 - 13:00

Welcome lunch

13:00 - 14:30

Break out 1

Data visualisation

Workshopleader: Prof. dr. Matthias Bogaert

In this workshop, participants learn about the importance of data visualisation as a powerful tool for communicating insights clearly and convincingly. The session is entirely practical and uses concrete business examples to discover the most important dos and don'ts of effective data visualisation step by step.

Participants learn how to remove unnecessary clutter from a graph, which graph is most suitable for a particular type of problem, and how simple visual techniques can be used to attract and direct the audience's attention. The aim of the workshop is for participants to learn how to transform cluttered and descriptive graphs into clear, convincing and explanatory visualisations.

Break out 2

AI prompting

Workshopleader: Volve

Discover how to get the most out of generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and Copilot with smart prompts. Learn techniques to arrive at relevant, reliable and usable output more quickly, tailored to financial issues. This workshop will give you a grasp of AI as a sparring partner, assistant and accelerator in your work.

Break out 3

Materiality

Workshopleader: Jocelijn Geurts

Focus on What Really Matters: Build Your Own Materiality Matrix

Not every sustainability issue carries the same weight. How do you decide what truly deserves your organization’s attention? In this workshop, we dive into the process of materiality: smartly identifying and prioritizing the topics that make the biggest difference for both your stakeholders and your strategy.

✔ Learn step by step how to conduct a materiality analysis
✔ Build your own sustainability matrix through hands-on exercises
✔ Discover how to translate insights into strategy, reporting, and value creation

After this session, you’ll know exactly how to make sustainability concrete, measurable, and strategically relevant for your organization.

From broad conversations to sharp focus – turning sustainability into real business impact.

Break out 1

Assertive Communication

Workshopleader: Julie Beuselinck

Speak up with clarity and confidence – even in challenging conversations.

In fast-paced, high-pressure environments like finance, it’s not always easy to make your voice heard — especially in meetings or when dealing with senior colleagues or clients.

This 90-minute interactive workshop is designed for those who want to communicate more assertively and effectively, without coming across as too forceful or holding back.

You’ll learn a practical, easy-to-apply framework helping you to express your ideas clearly, set boundaries professionally, and handle difficult conversations with more ease.

Walk away with more confidence, more clarity — and less second-guessing.

14:45 - 16:15

Break out 2

AI in finance: what to expect

Workshopleader: Deloitte

Explore how AI is transforming financial processes. Learn which applications are already creating value today and how you can deploy them strategically within your organisation. This workshop offers insight into the power, limitations and impact of AI on the finance function.

Break out 3

Circularity

Workshopleader: Sofie Rapsaet

From Cost to Value: Unlock the Power of the Circular Economy

Waste doesn’t exist. What if your organization is leaving hidden value on the table? In this interactive workshop, you’ll discover how circular business models not only contribute to a more sustainable world, but also open up new opportunities for growth, innovation, and financial performance.

✔ Learn how to close loops and turn waste into profit
✔ Work hands-on with real-life business cases
✔ See how circular strategies can strengthen your company’s financial value

Whether you work in finance, strategy, or operations, you’ll leave with concrete insights and tools you can apply immediately in your own organization.

Dare to see value differently – and become a pioneer in the circular economy.

16:30 - 18:00

Break out 1

Speaking as a data expert

Workshopleader: Véronique Hoex

Many speakers struggle with the same thing: how do you make figures interesting without losing your audience?

During the workshop “Speaking as a Data Expert”, you will gain a keen insight into what often goes wrong and how it can be done better. You will learn how to structure your story clearly, how to make key messages stick and how to engage your audience – even if they are not specialists.

We will pay a lot of attention to voice use, body language and interaction, because you are more important than the slides. Don't expect a dry training session, but an energetic mix of insights, humour and practice. You will go home with fresh insights and practical tools that will immediately take your next presentation or report to the next level.

Break out 2

Measuring AI efficiency

Workshopleader: Prof. dr. Bart Dierynck

For many companies, cost savings, time efficiency, and performance improvement are the main drivers for adopting AI. But none of that happens automatically—especially when it comes to sustainable impact. What role can you, as a controller, play to ensure the promised gains truly materialize? In this interactive session, you’ll receive practical tools on capacity costing and reporting, enabling you not only to master the numbers but also to translate them into tangible results.

Break out 3

SDGame

Workshopleader: Peter De Roeck

Experience Sustainability in Action – with the SDGame

Step into the shoes of leadership and discover which sustainable business choices truly make a difference. The SDGame is an interactive, research-based serious game that challenges you to make strategic sustainability decisions.

Across a series of real-world cases from diverse industries, you’ll face the consequences of your choices. Who can best anticipate the impact, and steer the KPIs in the right direction?

Through these immersive scenarios, you’ll learn how your decisions shape both sustainability and business performance - and uncover the powerful role sustainability can play in finance and in developing your own leadership skills.

Ready to play the future?

18:15 - 19:00

Keynote

Wim Smets

Wim Smets’ keynote is a thrilling journey that connects the extreme world of high-altitude mountaineering with the challenges of leading transformation in business. He reveals how lessons learned in the “death zone” — where survival depends on resilience, teamwork, and adaptability — apply directly to navigating change in organizations. Expect a captivating story that inspires you to climb your own metaphorical mountain.

19:00

Announcement of the winner Best Young Finance Team of the Year

Geert Peeters - CFO Ontex