Fahim Khondaker

Executive summary

Fahim leads BDO’s Data and AI service offering in Brisbane and is a Professor of Practice at the University of New South Wales Business School. He has over 15 years of experience across the areas of operational and commercial analysis, strategy, and stakeholder engagement.

He is a sought-after thought leader on data analytics and AI in Australia and has spoken at numerous high-impact national and global events. 

Fahim has been involved in a number of end-to-end business reviews, created business case developments to assess the feasibility of options, and detailed commercial analysis for a wide range of organisations across a number of sectors.

His breadth of experience, coupled with his commercial acumen, gives him a holistic understanding of the diverse issues various organisations face.

He is particularly interested in the identification and analysis of key drivers for organisations, and the development of new insights to create value. He is passionate about helping managers and executives make informed decisions on complex issues.

Fahim was recognised by the Australian Financial Review as a BOSS Young Executive of the Year for 2021.

Expertise

• Data, Analytics and AI
• Strategic planning and operational improvement for Government and Not-for-Profit sectors
• Digital and technology solutions

Experience

• Designing and developing purposeful, interactive dashboards and reports that provide actionable strategic, operational, and commercial insights
• Articulating data analytics and insights’ value across organisations and developing this capability within them (including Analytics as a Service offering)
• Detailed analysis, understanding, and optimisation of:
  • Commercial drivers (supply and demand, revenue, and expenses)
  • Operational and process drivers
  • Organisational resources (workforce, assets, etc.)
  • Strategic priorities and initiatives.
• Data-driven strategic, operational, and commercial decision support for managers and executives (resulting in more confident, defensible, and informed decisions).

Qualifications and affiliations

• Chartered Accountant, Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand
• Bachelor of Commerce (Finance & Accounting)
• Bachelor of Economics
• Professor of Practice at the University of New South Wales Business School

Professional engagements and activities

• Fahim is a Professor of Practice at the University of New South Wales Business School, with a particular focus on:
  • Developing and implementing the UNSW’s Accounting, Audit and Tax Education Strategy which involves transforming over 40 undergraduate and post-graduate courses to include a focus on commercial acumen
  • Integrating data analytics, AI and insights into all relevant accounting, finance and business courses and programs
  • Advising on the research being undertaken by researchers across the UNSW Business School in relation to data analytics, AI and insights within an accounting, finance and business context
  • Leading the UNSW Business School’s industry engagement and thought leadership on data analytics, AI and insights within an accounting, finance and business context.
• Thought leadership publications
  • Three ways data analytics will change the future of accounting, 4 April 2023
  • Accountants advised to embrace AI chatbots to speed up the daily grind, 19 April 2023
  • Six top things accountants need to know about Power BI, 20 October 2023
  • ChatGPT: Why execs don’t trust AI with big decisions yet, 4 December 2023
  • Copilot puts generative AI to work for accountants, 15 December 2023
  • Webinar | Chief Value Officer: Steering innovation and value with generative AI, February 2024