ALGIM Webinar: CIO’s & Digital Commercial Finance Teams challenges & opportunities in communicating digital spend/value with finance and council members

Learn more about Tauranga City Council and their effort to develop comprehensive IT cost transparency to support value stream owners and commercial teams across digital spend.

In this webinar we will cover key areas of learning on:

1. Local Government challenges in digital spend and the need for benchmarking to provide transparency across NZ
   
   
2. Difficulty in bridging the gap between waterfall thinking in finance and agile methodologies in digital teams – WBS structures in ERP/SAP and Agile
   
   
3. Justifying costs and demonstrating value for digital initiatives
   
   
4. Creating transparency and defendability for ongoing cost increases that local councillors can understand
   
   
5. Managing the conflict between waterfall and agile approaches when dealing with fluid value streams and finance
   
   
6. Providing financial transparency, especially for cloud consumption which can be unpredictable
   
   
7. Optimizing licensing & cloud costs
   
   
8. Addressing the mismatch between ERP systems and digital/IT needs for granular reporting and budgeting/forecasting
   
   
9. Solutions are required that can bridge the gap between traditional ERP systems and the needs of modern digital operations.

About the Presenters: 

Ken Renz

Chief Digital Officer

Tauranga City Council 

Currently CDO at TCC and previously GM Data and Digital and acting CEO at Health Hawkes Bay. Ken has 20+ years as a CDO in government and commercial organisations and is interested in how we turn Digital teams from deliverers of technology to human-centred design innovators using digital tools to enable the business to deliver more effective outcomes for its customers.

Patrick Pfister

Commercial and Special Projects Lead

Tauranga City Council 

Born and bred in Switzerland, process automation and optimisation has always been at the forefront of my professional life.

Previously in NZ education and now in Local Government, my focus on “efficiency through financial literacy and transparency within a tight budget envelope”, has remained.

Ravi Kuppan

CEO & Co-Founder 
Yarken

Ravi is a seasoned software executive with expertise in IT strategy, enterprise software, and digital transformation. As CEO of YäRKEN, he leads a Cost Transparency SaaS platform that helps IT departments optimise financial management. With experience in C-level stakeholder management, commercial negotiations, and scaling software ventures, he has a strong track record of driving strategic growth and business success.

Tyson Tamihere

Engagement & Procurement Lead

Yarken

Tyson is an experienced delivery-focused manager with a strong background in IT procurement, commercial advisory, and technology strategy. As Engagement and Procurement Lead at YäRKEN, he helps organisations drive financial transparency and expose cost optimisation opportunities. With experience across private and government sectors, he has led major procurement initiatives, optimising costs and streamlining sourcing processes for complex IT projects.