Mable CFO's blueprint for women in finance
Now Chief Financial and Operations officer at Mable, she has previously held executive roles at Redbubble Group, ANZ's Technology Division and Diners Club Australia.
In this interview, Emma discusses her career journey and shares her advice for aspiring finance leaders.
Q.What were the most important moments on your journey to CFO?
Clark: When I started at university, I set a goal to become a CFO, reach a target salary and buy my dream car by 30. It feels shallow now, but the fact that I set this goal was pivotal, because I didn't just meander around. I went and collected the skills and experience I needed to build towards it. If I didn't have that aspiration, I may still have achieved these goals, but it would have taken much longer.
I also decided early on to be a commercially minded CFO. Understanding yourself and knowing what type of CFO you want to be – your unique value proposition and how to develop it – is super important. I sought out people who could give me skills beyond finance, because to be a good commercial leader, you really need to understand how other people think.
Emma Clark is Chief Financial and Operations officer at Mable
Q.What's a non-financial skill that every CFO needs?
Clark: Public speaking stands you in amazing stead. One of my former bosses is the best public speaker I've ever met. He started coaching me pretty early in my career, which was pivotal. He'd put me up in front of a group, then at the end of it, he'd say, 'Here's where you nailed it, and here's where you lost them'. And even though I know it is a strength of mine, it's a skill I constantly refine with annual media training.
If you want a promotion, you need other non-financial skills like this. Investing in these has made the biggest difference to my career. I'm not the best technical accountant, but I can do other things that they can't. People want the full package in a CFO.
Q.What advice would you give to aspiring CFOs?
Clark: You need to be able to read the room. I think one of the challenges for finance professionals is that the numbers aren't always clear to others, even senior leaders. You can't just speak to them like you would to another finance professional. You really need to focus on the individual you're having the conversation with. Is this landing for them? Should I adapt my language or change the narrative?
You also need to understand people's motivations. In a group, work out where you can bring unique value to everyone's benefit. Know where you fit and what your superpower is.
Q.What's one challenge you've had to overcome to progress your career?
Clark: In job interviews, I tend to talk about what I don't know. During an interview for one CFO role, I said I hadn't done investor relations before, and it was brought up in every subsequent interview.
It was almost like disclosing issues to an auditor, only to have the same problems fed back to you at the end, like some big revelation. I realised no other candidates were going out of their way to say what they hadn't done before. I know now the importance of focusing on my strengths.
Q.What barriers do women face on the path to CFO?
Clark: One of the barriers is having children. When my kids were little, I spent my time at work feeling like a bad mum and at home feeling like a bad employee. You can feel like you are failing everywhere because you can't dedicate yourself wholly to just one thing.
Plus, it's not nine-to-five when you take up a senior role. Not just because of the work itself, but also the expectation that you'll travel, present at conferences, attend board meetings and be available for social occasions. There's all this stuff you can't say no to, but it takes you away from home even more.
I've seen my friends opt out of senior roles because they feel they would otherwise not provide enough value to their employer or have enough time to be present and engaged as mums.
Q.What advice would you give to organisations looking to support aspiring women?
Clark: It's about understanding these differences. I believe many women won't put their hand up for a job unless they feel they can do 100 per cent of it. Sometimes, we can be our own worst enemy.
Let's say you have two candidates, a man and a woman, who are equally skilled on paper. The man might tell you everything he can do, while the woman might tell you everything she can't. That doesn't make her less capable of doing the role. I would encourage employers to check their biases and understand that's just a style difference – it has little to no bearing on how well the person will ultimately perform the role.
Emma Clark is CFO at Mable.
-
Disclaimer
This publication contains general information only and Deloitte is not, by means of this publication, rendering accounting, business, financial, investment, legal, tax, or other professional advice or services. This publication is not a substitute for such professional advice or services, nor should it be used as a basis for any decision or action that may affect your business. Before making any decision or taking any action that may affect your business, you should consult a qualified professional adviser.
Deloitte shall not be responsible for any loss sustained by any person who relies on this publication.
About Deloitte
Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee ('DTTL'), its network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. Please see www.deloitte.com/au to learn more.
Copyright © 2025 Deloitte Development LLC. All rights reserved.
-
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
ABC News
11 minutes ago
- ABC News
Consumers left in the dark about steep hikes to insurance premium
When Michele Vanderlanh Smith discovered her annual home and contents insurance premium had jumped by 600 per cent, she thought it must have been a mistake. In just 12 months, Westpac's insurance arm, underwritten by Allianz, had lifted her premium from $728.16 to $5,345.88. Living on the first floor of an inner-city Sydney apartment block, not prone to flooding, she said she couldn't believe the explanation her contents insurer gave. "The [contents] insurer basically justified the $5,000 increase by saying that my property's a flood risk," she told ABC News. "And, based on their national modelling and commercially sensitive information, et cetera, I wasn't entitled to have access to that data." In contrast, her the cost of her building's strata insurance had barely moved. Westpac's insurance arm also argued she had "consented" to the new premium because her payments were set to automatically debit. When Ms Vanderlanh Smith said she had only set up automatic payments while working overseas because she could not access her mail during this time, the insurer would not budge. Instead, she was told she would need to obtain a hydrologist's report at her own expense, if she wanted to challenge the premium increase. Julia Davis from the Financial Rights Legal Centre said households are facing steep hikes with little or no explanation. "It's impossible for consumers to know if they're being charged a fair price," she said. "The pricing algorithms insurers use are commercial in confidence — it is a total black box. "If your premium doubles from one year to the next, it's really hard to understand whether or not you are paying a fair price." The centre's Insurance Law Service takes 100–150 calls a week, often from people reporting premium increases of 30–50 per cent. Some callers, like Ms Vanderlanh Smith, have faced rises of several hundred per cent. "Insurers say they're not price gouging," Ms Davis said. "But again, they don't share any tailored information with their customers about individual risk on people's homes." She said the law centre sees examples every day of "insurers simply not meeting community expectations". "We're still getting calls from people whose claims haven't been appropriately handled in the 2022 floods. "Now people from Cyclone Alfred are experiencing significant delays, or their vulnerability hasn't been identified. This is commonplace." The frustration comes as Australia's biggest insurers post bumper profits, fuelled by years of premium increases and a relatively quiet year for natural disasters. The ACCC's latest monitoring report found the government's cyclone reinsurance pool has moderated price rises in cyclone-prone areas, but across much of the country premiums remain high and continue to climb. Craig Bennett, director at S&P Global Ratings, said ASX-listed insurers including Suncorp, QBE and IAG were enjoying "very, very solid results". "You've seen a lot of [premium] rate rises come through in the last three to five years," he said. "They're earning through those now … that's feeding into bottom-line results." But he warned affordability pressures were mounting for insurance customers. "You've seen price increases well over, probably, three times the rate of growth of wages over the last three to five years. Consumer groups have argued households are right to question whether they are paying fair prices — or simply funding big returns for shareholders. But Ms Davis said customers unhappy with premium hikes have limited recourse. The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) does not have the power to decide whether an insurer has charged an accurate premium. "Really, as lawyers, mostly what we tell people is that you need to shop around. It's completely up to an insurer how they price you," she said. AFCA will occasionally investigate if an insurer fails to explain a sudden increase, but "very few of those complaints ever make it through". Even then, she said, "an insurer can provide a lot of detailed information to AFCA that the complainant will never be allowed to see". That was the case for Ms Vanderlanh Smith when she took Allianz to AFCA. The complaints body refused to release the modelling Allianz used to justify the increase, then sided with the insurer, noting it had limited jurisdiction and there was no evidence of an error in calculating the premium. In response to questions from the ABC, Allianz said it could not comment on individual cases but defended its approach. "In these cases, it was necessary to adjust premiums to accurately reflect the updated flood risk assessment and ensure adequate coverage." Consumer advocates are pushing for systemic reform, including an independent national price monitor and guaranteed discounts for home owners who invest in resilience upgrades. "We want to see big uplifts in transparency," Ms Davis said. "They want to know which of those risks are changing, how they've been priced and whether that pricing is fair. "Most of our wealth and most of our retirement planning is wrapped up in our homes, and that means that adequate insurance coverage for our homes is more and more an essential service," Ms Davis said. "And when something becomes an essential service, we think that means it deserves better pricing oversight," she said. Insurance Council of Australia chief executive Andrew Hall said some insurers already offer discounts for home improvements, but he rejected calls for a national price monitor and the idea insurers are profiteering. Instead, he pointed to state taxes, which he said can add hundreds of dollars to average premiums. "We could employ hundreds of public servants to be looking at prices every day, but I would rather see tax reform happen in this country. "I would rather see money being invested in risk reduction so that homes are built in safe locations and allow insurance to get on and do what it does best, which is be there for when the unexpected happens." He also urged consumers to shop around. "It's a very competitive market in Australia," he said, predicting premiums would begin to ease in line with inflation. "What we are seeing globally is the cost of reinsurance moderating and in some areas reduce," Mr Hall said. "I suspect what we will see in the coming 12 to 18 months, bar another large weather event, is insurers putting more effort into acquiring customers — and that will be a good thing in terms of pricing." The ABC asked Suncorp, QBE and IAG whether they were price gouging. All three said they recognised household cost pressures but insisted premiums are set on risk, and called for greater investment in mitigation. Despite finding at least three other insurers offering the same coverage for as little as $1,000 — one-fifth of Allianz's price — Ms Vanderlanh Smith said the burden shouldn't fall on consumers to avoid overpaying. "It's an easy thing to say to people when you don't want the accountability," she said. "There is no price transparency and no simple way to compare premiums. "Insurers are supposed to protect you from disaster, but they're becoming the disaster."
SBS Australia
41 minutes ago
- SBS Australia
No propeller, no crew: How drone technology could impact global conflicts, under the sea
In a warehouse south of Perth, rows of sleek yellow gliders are being built for a purpose that seems deceptively simple: monitoring whales. But they may soon have a second life in defending the nation. The acoustic sensors fitted inside these autonomous vehicles can detect the vocalisations of migrating humpback pods. Offshore gas operators, under pressure from those critical of the oil and gas industry to limit noise during critical migration periods, rely on this data to stop drilling when whales pass nearby. A yellow underwater glider undergoes buoyancy testing. Source: SBS News / Christopher Tan "These unmanned underwater vehicles can stay at sea for three to four months on a single battery charge," Mike Deeks, a former Australian Navy submarine commander who now heads the company making the drones, Blue Ocean Marine Tech Systems, says. "They don't have propellers. They move by changing their buoyancy, which means they require very little power." Initially used to measure water salinity and temperature for Defence, the new generation of "locus gliders" can operate in swarms of hundreds, even thousands, by communicating with one another, and even land on the seabed to covertly monitor activity. "We can go to places where other naval or air force assets can't," Deeks said. "And very quietly, gather intelligence." AUKUS and the 'poorer cousin' of submarines The emergence of underwater drones coincides with Australia's most ambitious defence project in decades — the AUKUS security pact with the United States and the United Kingdom. AUKUS has two pillars: nuclear-powered submarines (Pillar 1) and advanced defence technologies such as artificial intelligence, hypersonics and autonomous systems (Pillar 2). Deeks believes underwater drones fit squarely into Pillar 2. But he is blunt. "Pillar 2 is in some ways the poorer cousin of Pillar 1," he said, arguing that funding, support and progress aren't moving quickly. That critique is echoed by defence analyst Malcolm Davis from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. "We are not moving fast enough on either pillar, to be honest," he said. A computer simulation released in 2018 shows a Russian nuclear-powered underwater drone being launched from a submarine. Source: Supplied / RU-RTR Russian Television/AP "There has been a degree of risk aversion and caution that is slowing down the delivery of those technologies into an actual deployed capability." Davis says armed underwater drones will likely operate alongside submarines within the next decade. "What the future undersea battlespace looks like for Australia is a mix of nuclear-powered, but not nuclear-armed submarines, together with underwater drone capabilities," he said. Lessons from Ukraine While aerial drones have already reshaped the war in Ukraine, the undersea realm remains an emerging frontier. "One of the most innovative breakthroughs in recent warfare has been what's known as autonomous systems — or more commonly, drones," Davis said. A Ukrainian pilot prepares drones on an attack mission on a frontline near the city of Chasiv Yar, Donetsk region, in late July. Source: EPA / Sergey Shestak According to the BBC, Ukraine has also pushed the boundaries at sea. Naval drones such as the Magura V5 — an uncrewed surface vessel capable of carrying 250kg of explosives and travelling at 80km/h — have sunk or damaged several Russian warships in the Black Sea, forcing Moscow to relocate much of its fleet away from Crimea. But Davis warns the West faces challenges around how the drones are used. "We have to be very focused on rules of engagement and laws about conflict and how we use these autonomous systems to avoid risk to civilians," he said. The government's stance on underwater drones The federal government says underwater drones are central to its future defence strategy. A defence spokesperson told SBS News the 2024 National Defence Strategy outlines plans for "an integrated, focused force" that will deliver a Navy with enhanced strike capability across the sea, air and land domains through the introduction of uncrewed underwater and surface vehicles. Planned investments, the spokesperson said, include "large and extra-large uncrewed underwater vehicles to undertake stealthy, long-range missions in high-risk environments, including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and strike." The Magura V5 naval drone operates on the water's surface. Source: Getty / Global Images Ukraine The government maintains that both pillars of the AUKUS pact are on track, with Pillar 2 — focused on advanced technologies — already yielding results. "Pillar 2 is already delivering capability benefits faster than any partner could achieve alone ... especially in areas such as autonomous and uncrewed maritime warfare," the spokesperson said. That message was reinforced at a defence industry press conference in Perth on Wednesday, where Defence Minister Richard Marles was questioned on the urgency of adopting autonomous systems. "Autonomous warfare drones in every respect, including in the sea, is obviously a focus of our innovation efforts across the Defence Force," he said. "We've seen the nature of warfare change dramatically in Ukraine and we are very mindful of that. We are learning lessons from that, and it is very much informing the way in which we are thinking about what capabilities we need to apply in this space." Defence Minister Richard Marles and Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy at a Perth press conference on Wednesday, announcing support for a local engineering firm while highlighting Australia's $10 billion investment in drones and autonomous defence systems. Source: SBS News / Christopher Tan Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said the government was investing heavily in the technology. "We've allocated over $10 billion to expenditure on drones, counter-drone technology and autonomous systems," he said. "The truth is countries around the world are investing in both crewed and uncrewed systems to work with each other because they do different things and they work best together." WA locals protesting nuclear But while defence leaders in Perth have this week descended for the National Nuclear Submarine Conference, protesters chanting outside warned of another danger — nuclear escalation. Stop AUKUS WA organiser Leonie Lundy said the deal lacks social licence and said the Australian Submarine Agency has misled people about the exact nature of low-level nuclear waste to be stored in the state as part of the AUKUS deal. Protesters outside the National Nuclear Submarine Conference in Perth warn against AUKUS, expressing concerns over nuclear escalation and the storage of low-level nuclear waste in Western Australia. Source: Supplied / Stop AUKUS WA "We were promised a public meeting five months ago, to express our concerns and get answers. "We're fed up with being strung along and lied to." Greens WA MLC Sophie McNeil urged Australia to adopt an independent foreign policy and warned against turning Western Australia into a nuclear submarine base. Others raised broader concerns including the potential of making local communities a nuclear target. The deepening race beneath the waves Back at his shed, Deeks insists his company's technology will never replace nuclear submarines, nor will it be armed. Instead it will complement them — doing the "dull, dirty or dangerous" jobs. But as production scales up from dozens to potentially thousands of underwater drones, Australia is entering uncharted waters — with the recent rise in tensions in the Indo-Pacific region. Whether seen as a breakthrough in maritime surveillance or a step towards an uncertain future, one thing is clear: the battle for the seas may increasingly be fought beneath them — quietly, invisibly, and with machines.
Sky News AU
an hour ago
- Sky News AU
'Contains the word hell': Aussie blocked from placing KFC order after fast food giant flagged his name Mitchell as 'offensive'
An Aussie man has found himself blocked from placing an order at KFC after the fast food giant flagged his very common name as offensive. Mitchell recently visited one of the global food chains in Sydney, where he used the in-store electronic self-serve kiosk to place his order. However, he was soon dumbfounded after he typed his name on the giant-sized tablet in the last step and was met with a jarring message. "Please try again, the word is not allowed," the KFC system retorted. Taking to Reddit in disbelief, Mitchell said he was subsequently forced to drop one 'l' from his name for the system to approve it. "My name is Mitchell. Apparently, because it contains the word 'hell', it's not allowed," he wrote. "I tested by changing the name to 'Hell', and got the same result." People flooded the comments of Mitchell's post, with some concurring their names had also been flagged as inappropriate by restaurant chains as self-service kiosks over face-to-face ordering becomes more prevalent. "I've had similar issues, though not at KFC," one woman said. "My first name is Cassandra and gets rejected cos it has 'ass' in it." Another person joked the employee tasked with programming the self-service kiosk must have applied for their job using a false CV for this to occur. "It's just using basic substring matching of characters. Whoever got the job to program this lied on their resume," they said. "Stupid technology," another person said. "Reminds me of the guy called Nasser who had the 'ass' part of his name censored so it came out like 'N***er'." One more person used humour to lighten the conversation, urging Mitchell to "next time, try Mitcheaven." Self-serve kiosks are becoming increasingly prevalent across sectors in Australia, replacing the need for customers to connect with employees. Qantas recently invested in new kiosk technology to speed up check-in and baggage handling. In an Australia-wide first, Melbourne's Avalon Airport introduced self-service solutions, including check-in kiosks and bag drop technology. Kmart, McDonald's and Woolworths have also adopted their own self-ordering kiosks and extended the service to cater for click and collect. However, the growing use of technology is not without its troubles. The self-service kiosks at a Boost Juice outlet in Melbourne Airport recently suffered a malfunction as customers attempted to enter their names. Travellers who were hasty to board their flights tried to order at the juice and smoothie chain, but the system froze, with employees directing people to use one of the other machines or order at the counter. has contacted KFC for comment.
