"There is now an RPA solution for everyone's needs. The barriers have dropped. You can start from free. Money isn't an issue." We conclude our November 2018 focus on Robotic Process Automation by talking to RPA expert and author Rob King. He shares his insights based on over 25 years experience as a lean business process and efficiency innovator, a 6 Sigma trainer and Master BlackBelt. ABOUT OUR GUEST: Through his UK-based company Wzard Innovations, he's not only a widely respected Robotic Proce...
Nov 28, 2018•48 min•Season 1Ep. 28
“Get really clear about how you want to spend your time. Don’t get roped in to attending every holiday party if you don’t want to”. Not only is it Thanksgiving but it’s the end of Q4, finance professionals are closing off the year’s sales gaps, new budgets are being set while unspent budgets are being used as quickly as possible – plus there are the school and Christmas/New Year breaks to deal with. That's why our guest has plenty to say about how we can all start to put OURSELVES first and recl...
Nov 21, 2018•20 min•Season 1Ep. 27
The first of our occasional "Friday Focus" episodes coincides with our current series of Finance Transformation conferences being held in mid-November 2018 in New York, London and Johannesburg. Alvin Liew presents at the Johannesburg conference and brings a global perspective to this expanding market. He talks to Andy Harris (AICPA & CIMA, UK) about the qualities, traits, and professional opportunities that today's millennials will factor in on their journeys to becoming tomorrow's CFOs. == ...
Nov 16, 2018•29 min
"Maybe there's a missing link...Analysis alone won't suffice." Our subject matter expert this week is CIMA member Peter Simons. He talks to Kyle Hannan (AICPA & CIMA, UK) about emotional intelligence, soft skills, competition, lean process, influence and insight, and the importance of management accounting as an 'engaged' profession. OUR GUEST: A Development and Innovation Specialist with AICPA & CIMA (UK), Peter has a Finance MBA and a long track record of innovative and illuminating re...
Nov 14, 2018•24 min•Season 1Ep. 26
"With the recent release of watchOS5, we've realised that there's an opportunity to share even more insights with our listeners". Out and about this weekend? Want to reduce your screen time though not your podcast-listening time? Here's a quick introduction to something new we'll be bringing you very soon. These podcasts will soon be going beyond the week...and offering you the occasional "Friday Focus" episode for the weekend too. They'll be related to particular events like conferences, editor...
Nov 09, 2018•3 min
"This change is people first, then technology, and not the other way around". We're focusing on Robotics and Process-Automation this month, and our guest is just the man to outline how Human Intelligence should accompany RPA to transform a business at scale. Chris Argent talks to AICPA & CIMA's Kyle Hannan about the challenges faced by high performers. Chris will be a speaker at our forthcoming "Finance Transformation" conference in London and offers a deep and valuable experience of change ...
Nov 07, 2018•40 min•Season 1Ep. 25
"In today's global marketplace, more and more decisions to do business with people and organisations are driven by their security posture" On this final day of Cyber Security Awareness Month in the USA and CyberSec Month in the EU, we talk about the practical realities - and the recommended best practices - surrounding cyber risk assessments. OUR GUEST: Anthony Hargreaves is currently Director at RSM and an AICPA resource-contributor. An IT Auditor with many years of experience across the world,...
Oct 31, 2018•18 min•Season 1Ep. 24
"In order to learn more...you have to become uncomfortable. You have to get out of your comfort zone! You have to get out there and talk to people". Peter Rehm is our first returning guest on the podcast and describes himself as "a CPA who is also a technologically-orientated blockchainer". In the last week of Cyber Security Awareness Month in the USA and CyberSec Month in the EU, he talks to London-based AICPA & CIMA staffer Kyle Hannan about why people and companies may want to be paid in ...
Oct 24, 2018•32 min•Season 1Ep. 23
"Smishing is a funny term to describe a very serious problem that's going to be more and more prevalent" Rod Griffin is Director of Public Education at Experian, a leading credit reporting agency which aggregates information on over 1 billion individuals and businesses around the world. Speaking from the company's head office in Texas, Rod tells AICPA & CIMA's Orlando-based Samantha Delgado about how people can protect themselves against fraud and identity-theft and disrupt them right back. ...
Oct 17, 2018•24 min•Season 1Ep. 22
" Information security and IT are two rather different things, and organisations don't realise that yet". As EU CyberSec Month and USA Cybersecurity Awareness Month continue, so does our focus on online safety for business. Cybersecurity expert Lisa Traina introduces AICPA & CIMA staffer Julia Woislaw to the world of 'ethical hacking', a technique which saw her featured on NBC news. OUR GUEST: Lisa deploys over 30 years of experience as a CPA, CITP, and CGMA to assist financial institutions,...
Oct 10, 2018•17 min•Season 1Ep. 21
"This whole space is very volatile and very technical...so it's important to think carefully and to do your homework before putting your capital to work" In conversation with Linsday Patterson (AICPA & CIMA, Washington DC), Dr. Smith shares how his work and research on blockchain and accounting technology enables him to offer some welcome illumination on this occasionally opaque intersection of technology, finance, and entrepreneurship. OUR GUEST: Dr. Sean Stein Smith is a Member of the Advi...
Oct 03, 2018•21 min•Season 1Ep. 20
"Security is a table stakes business-survival matter" This October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month in the USA and CyberSecMonth across the EU. On the eve of this month-long focus on the safety and resilience of the internet, we talk to an expert who reveals why it's something that every business should prioritise EVERY day of the year. Kyle Hannan (AICPA & CIMA, London) talks to Tim O'Hara, a Chicago-based IT Solutions Adviser and cybersecurity consultant. OUR GUEST: Tim's clients...
Sep 26, 2018•19 min•Season 1Ep. 19
"What's ordinary to accountants is extraordinary to everyone else...and that's your unique skill-set". In addition to her work with AICPA & CIMA's CPD Academy programmes, Andi Lonnen is a qualified ACCA, a financial trainer, a speaker, and an author. She makes a difference to her clients by making finance fun for business professionals! Research carried out for CIMA’s report Ready for business: bridging the employability gap (February 2014) identified that today’s finance professionals need ...
Sep 19, 2018•21 min•Season 1Ep. 18
"We're not robots, we're people. And it's PEOPLE that get things done, together". Samantha Watson (AICPA & CIMA, London) talks to specialist people-developer, speaker, and trainer Clare Haynes of Wildfire. They discuss the differences between Emotional Intelligence and Emotional Quotient, the ways that they contribute to a better-functioning workplace environment, and how it can help when having difficult conversations. OUR GUEST: Clare Haynes has a psychology background and a career which h...
Sep 12, 2018•20 min•Season 1Ep. 17
"There are three things leaders need to do: Lead themselves, influence others and drive change ". From AICPA & CIMA's office in London, UK, Andy Harris talks to Mark Fritz, a global leadership speaker, mentor, author, CIMA-presenter, and professor. Mark is most often associated with the phrase "Own It" and is well-known for his popular and practical presentation "Why You Never Wash A Rental Car". WE DISCUSS: In this episode, Andy and Mark discuss some pivotal issues and uncover some practica...
Sep 05, 2018•16 min•Season 1Ep. 16
"People say that everybody has a different reality. Now with Blockchain, everybody has the SAME reality". From AICPA & CIMA's office in Durham, North Carolina, Zinaida Mahmutefendic talks to Senior Digital Architect James Barnes and Peter Rehm, a former CPA with wide experience inside some of the USA's largest financial services companies. ABOUT OUR GUESTS: James Barnes was a Senior Digital Architect at Globant, LLC. He worked at IBM as well as across a multitude of industries including manu...
Aug 29, 2018•14 min•Season 1Ep. 15
"Get buy-in BEFORE the change happens" From AICPA & CIMA's London office, Kymberley McAdam talks to accounting expert, author and podcaster Julie Ann Sullivan about several core topics central to the accounting profession worldwide - and podcasting! Listen all the way to the end for a special opportunity available only to listeners of this podcast. OUR GUEST: Based in Pittsburgh and helping clients worldwide, Julie Ann has a deep experience and diverse background which gives her a unique bus...
Aug 22, 2018•21 min•Season 1Ep. 14
"If I could imagine what the future looks like... it allows us to repurpose ourselves" Vince LoRusso, CEO and co-founder of gamification startup TrueUp, outlines how gamifying the accounting and finance world can help companies better understand and benchmark skills for their teams and their job candidates. THE DISCUSSION: In this conversation with Zinaida Mahmutefendic of the Association's office in North Carolina, Vince answers questions like: What IS "Gamification"? What's the value of bite-s...
Aug 15, 2018•21 min•Season 1Ep. 13
"When you don't see it, you don't know it". Great things happen when women team up. In this exclusive conversation with AICPA&CIMA Communications and Social Strategy Lead Manager Jennifer Gardner, Betsy and Maggie share what they've discovered from 12 years of research and interviews with more than 125 women business leaders. THE DISCUSSION: Focusing specifically on partnerships between women and exploring their unique attributes and strengths, our guests explain the RAISE model for developi...
Aug 08, 2018•16 min•Season 1Ep. 12
“Parents have to get smarter than their children” In conversation with the Association's Jennifer Gardner, Professor Vivek Wadhwa outlines how today's changes in technology are fundamentally different compared to just 15 years ago. He shares some practical tips that help us limit technology's unintended impacts on our lives while benefiting from the opportunities it offers. OUR GUEST: Professor Wadhwa is an academic, a researcher, a writer and a tech entrepreneur based in Silicon Valley. He was ...
Aug 01, 2018•16 min•Season 1Ep. 11
"Work can be a burden, or it can be a delight. How we view it depends on the choices that we make" Our featured expert is a chartered psychologist who holds five degrees, including an MBA and a doctorate in occupational psychology. Describing himself as "the leader's psychologist", Dr. Jonathan Passmore explains how coaching can help individuals, teams and organisations identify and grow new momentum in both their professional and personal spheres. THE DISCUSSION: Dr. Passmore shares what he's l...
Jul 25, 2018•40 min•Season 1Ep. 10
"Stay committed to ethics and objectivity. Your commitment will be tested over and over again as we move through this revolution" A true pioneer in the field of Applied Artificial Intelligence in Business and Strategy, Professor Al Naqvi is Executive Director of the Society of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine and Healthcare, and CEO of the American Institute of A.I. His goal is to democratise artificial intelligence responsibly. Zinaida Mahmutefendic (AICPA-CIMA) finds out how, and discovers ...
Jul 18, 2018•25 min•Season 1Ep. 9
"Get out with clients and users and look for problems that are big, ...that you care about, and that in your gut are worth solving" Amy Radin's passion and expertise are helping leaders execute innovation under uncertain, complex and fast-changing conditions. S he shares her insights with Jennifer Gardner, AICPA Lead Manager for Communications and Social Strategy OUR GUEST: Amy Radin has been at the forefront of rewiring brands for the future that is upon us. She built a track record of success ...
Jul 11, 2018•27 min•Season 1Ep. 8
"How do you feel about looking into a rear-view mirror that's three months old? How does that help you move your business along?" Marc Zionts, CEO of North Carolina-based Automated Insights, explains how natural language generation can help various industries go beyond business intelligence dashboards and automate data insights. == MORE ABOUT OUR PODCAST == DON'T MISS OUT. Get the latest show every week, automatically and free, at https://www.aicpa-cima.com/disruption.html . Share it easily with...
Jul 05, 2018•18 min•Season 1Ep. 7
"It's very easy to misapply the technology in a way that isn't taking advantage of the unique aspects that these distributed networks can provide". A software engineer and professional cypherpunk, Jameson Lopp of CASA, guides us t hrough the history of cryptoassets. Learn about its cypherpunk beginnings, rise in mainstream popularity last fall, and growing enterprise interest. == MORE ABOUT OUR PODCAST == DON'T MISS OUT. Get the latest show every week, automatically and free, at https://www.aicp...
Jun 27, 2018•23 min•Season 1Ep. 6
"Don't focus on one technology but focus on the convergence of ALL of these technologies right now!" This is not the first time technology is disrupting our industry. Amanda Wilkie of Boomer Consulting, Inc. shares how technology innovation in the past, from the computer itself to mobile and social networks, disrupted the accounting and finance industry. WE DISCUSS: how we can expect blockchain and Internet of Things (IoT) to disrupt our industry practical ways our profession should prepare for ...
Jun 20, 2018•22 min•Season 1Ep. 5
"There's a slight danger that you get hung up on all the potential barriers and end up not starting." As companies are turning to robotic process automation (RPA) to eliminate manual tasks, what does this mean for our profession? Ed Brooks of The RPA Academy walks us through problems RPA can solve for us and why we should embrace it. == MORE ABOUT OUR PODCAST == DON'T MISS OUT. Get the latest show every week, automatically and free, at https://www.aicpa-cima.com/disruption.html . Share it easily...
Jun 13, 2018•25 min•Season 1Ep. 4
"It's important to really cherry-pick the information that matters most and understand how it applies to your profession. How does blockchain tech currently impact the accounting and finance industry, what will the landscape look like, and how can we prepare? Ron Quaranta of the Wall Street Blockchain Alliance explains blockchain and shares observations, trends, and takeaways from Consensus 2018 - Blockchain Week NYC. =========== DON'T MISS OUT. Get the latest show every week, automatically and ...
Jun 06, 2018•16 min•Season 1Ep. 3
"Remember, security is EVERYONE'S problem, regardless of what your role is." GBD2. In light of recent data breach and privacy concerns news, Chris Romeo of Security Journey explores why accounting and finance professionals at all levels should be more mindful and aware of cybersecurity threats affecting our data, as well as our clients' data, and how we can start building a security culture. OUR GUEST Chris Romeo CEO and co-founder of Security Journey, which specialises in online application sec...
May 30, 2018•25 min•Season 1Ep. 2
"Human Intelligence is about how you apply your technical skills in the context of your business to lead and influence people to create value for your company" AICPA & CIMA's Clar Rosso and Jennifer Gardner explore how accounting and finance professionals across the globe can continue to bring value to their organisation with human intelligence, while working alongside robots. ================= DON'T MISS OUT. Get the latest show every week, automatically and free, at https://www.aicpa-cima....
May 23, 2018•14 min•Season 1Ep. 1
