Our Managing Partner interviewed by Wirtschaftsforum
How is AI changing corporate reporting? Why do financial and sustainability data belong together? And how is sustainability evolving from a regulatory issue into a driver of resilience and business success? Our Managing Partner Christina Rahtgens discussed these questions with Wirtschaftsforum. In the interview, she shares insights into current developments, the work of the Silvester Group, and the topics that will occupy companies in the years ahead.
Interview Christina Rahtgens – Wirtschaftsform PDF Download
“Thinking strategically about sustainability“
Corporate reporting is undergoing a fundamental transformation at the intersection of financial figures, sustainability and artificial intelligence. Hamburg-based Silvester Group GmbH supports companies along this path, combining strategy, data and storytelling. In this interview, Christina Rahtgens explains, among other things, the opportunities AI opens up and why sustainable business practices must be linked to resilience and economic success.
Wirtschaftsforum: Ms Rahtgens, Silvester Group emerged from C. A. T., which helped shape digital financial reporting in Germany as early as the 1980s. What was the idea behind founding the company back then?
Christina Rahtgens: From the very beginning, our aim was to take as much of the reporting workload off companies’ hands as possible and to digitalise their processes. This is not just about compiling figures correctly. A report has to explain to the relevant stakeholders what a company has achieved, where it is heading and what goals it is pursuing. This combination of data, strategy and storytelling is still at the heart of what we do today.
Wirtschaftsforum: Silvester Group was founded in 2016, and sustainability became an increasingly important part of your offering. Did you already sense back then how much momentum this topic would gain in the years that followed?
Christina Rahtgens: We recognised early on that sustainability is far more than just a legal obligation. Companies that engage with it seriously are better able to assess risks, seize opportunities and position themselves for the future. That is why we started early, together with our clients, to think about sustainability strategically and integrate it into their reporting.
Wirtschaftsforum: Why did financial and sustainability reporting have to grow together? Wouldn’t two separate reports have been possible?
Christina Rahtgens: Two separate data worlds don’t work in the long run. We had clients where the finance and sustainability teams worked side by side. Then the question arose whether both were calculating the number of employees in the same way, or whether the reporting boundaries (the scoping) were set up comparably. That is why we need a central data foundation, a so-called single point of truth. Only with reliable figures can developments be traced, targets defined and progress measured.
Wirtschaftsforum: What role do digitalisation and artificial intelligence play?
Christina Rahtgens: The possibilities are evolving rapidly. We can now achieve efficiency gains at every step of the process, whether in handling large volumes of data or in turning that data into compliant text. At the same time, for all the technology, we must not lose sight of quality and storytelling. An annual or sustainability report is not simply a document full of numbers. It shows what a company has achieved, where it stands and where it wants to go. That matters not only to shareholders, but also to employees, customers and suppliers.
Wirtschaftsforum: Your services range from strategy and consulting to financial and sustainability reporting, design and digital solutions. What is your approach?
Christina Rahtgens: We meet every company where it stands. Strategy consultants, finance and tax experts, audit specialists and designers work closely together. What matters is that design never becomes more important than the quality of the content. In the end, every figure has to be right, down to the last decimal place.
Wirtschaftsforum: What issues are your clients currently dealing with?
Christina Rahtgens: Sustainability is increasingly being linked to risk management. Climate risks, supply chains and regulatory requirements are high on the agenda. Companies need to remain resilient. So we don’t just want to help them meet requirements; we want to position them so that sustainability and economic success go hand in hand.
Wirtschaftsforum: What sets Silvester Group apart from other companies in the industry?
Christina Rahtgens: Our strength lies in covering the entire value chain and in long-term client relationships. We don’t simply take finished content and turn it into a nice-looking report. We want to understand the company, develop strategies together, work out the content and turn it into compelling communication. Above all, our clients value quality and reliability.
Wirtschaftsforum: What are Silvester Group’s plans for the coming years?
Christina Rahtgens: We are following technological developments closely and want to offer our clients the best solutions. AI-powered sustainability solutions that streamline processes and improve results are particularly exciting. One idea would be an AI colleague that keeps track of all sustainability data. At the same time, sustainability will increasingly be viewed in terms of return on investment. From many possibilities, companies have to select the projects that make sense both economically and ecologically. At the moment, climate projects in particular lend themselves to this, and we are very often brought in on them. Our goal is a company that is more sustainable, more resilient to risk and more profitable at the same time.
Wirtschaftsforum: Finally, a personal question. What personally drives you in what you do?
Christina Rahtgens: My team motivates me every day, as does our commitment to delivering on our promise of quality. At the same time, amid all the discussions about regulation and return on investment, we must not forget the bigger goal. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals must not fall by the wayside. We only have this one planet. Companies have to do their part to ensure that we can continue to live on it well and prosper economically in the future. For me, that is a personal responsibility
Where does your company stand?
A shared data foundation for financial and sustainability metrics, AI in the reporting process, sustainability as part of risk management: we’d be glad to talk with you about which of these are currently on your company’s agenda and what next steps make sense.
Get in touch – we look forward to the conversation.
You can find more interesting interviews from Wirtschaftsforum here.
Christina Rahtgens
Managing Partner Communications & ESG
