The Office of Finance is on the cusp of a transformative evolution, driven primarily by advancements in AI. While finance professionals often find themselves bogged down with manual tasks, leaving little room for strategic thinking and data analysis, AI provides critical data and time efficiencies enabling the Office of Finance to focus on business strategy. Rishi Grover , Co-Founder and Chief Solutions Architect at Vena Solutions , has spent most of his career helping companies re-engineer and ...
Aug 27, 2024•37 min
Continuous learning is not just a nice thing to have; it’s a critical necessity in Finance. As regulations, finance tools, and technologies evolve, finance professionals must stay up to date to move at the pace of business. Bryan Lapidus helps financial professionals match that change. Bryan is Director of the FP&A Practice at the Association for Financial Professionals , where he leverages his 20 years of experience in finance, risk, and operations to create and lead educational programs fo...
Aug 20, 2024•37 min
Finance teams that want to be more data-driven need both technology that can consolidate mountains of data, and skilled professionals who can interpret what it all means. Thomas Ho serves as the Vice President at ProLytics Consulting Group , guiding clients through the digital transformation in finance. In a discussion with Melissa Howatson, Thomas discusses how data gathering methods are revolutionizing finance roles, necessitating new skills that finance professionals need to master to keep pa...
Aug 13, 2024•30 min
AI is poised to revolutionize the way we work. Businesses across the globe are investing resources into the development needed to make AI an everyday reality. Leading the charge, Microsoft is pioneering the incorporation of AI into business and daily workflows. In this episode, host Melissa Howatson sits down with Ahmed Adel, the Director of Data, Apps & AI Cloud Solution Architecture at Microsoft to discuss Microsoft’s continuous investments in AI, along with the implications these innovati...
Aug 06, 2024•42 min
New technologies are changing finance roles, freeing up time for more analysis, strategy, and storytelling. As these roles evolve, so too do the soft skills financial professionals need to do their jobs well. Meg Bear is a Controller at Turner Enterprises , and has more than 20 years of experience leading finance teams and redesigning business processes. In this episode, Meg talks to host Melissa Howatson about how CFOs and finance leaders can adapt their leadership styles and hiring standards t...
Jul 30, 2024•21 min
Employee burnout is on the rise, fueled by shrinking budgets and mounting pressure for employees to achieve more with less. But how can CFOs and finance leaders gauge the breaking point for their teams? Ruchi Kasliwal has been building and guiding finance and accounting teams for over 15 years. With a deep passion for optimizing human and system resources, Ruchi joins Melissa to share vital strategies to protect their employees from burnout. By proactively identifying signs of burnout and offeri...
Jul 23, 2024•39 min
If a CRO is expected to know the balance sheet, shouldn’t the CFO should know the sales playbook? After all, a strong partnership between these two roles is instrumental to a company’s financial health, and they need to be able to support one another. In this installment of our better business partnering series, Puneet Arora , President at Yellow.ai , talks to Melissa Howatson about how CFOs can form strong partnerships with their CROs. Puneet was previously a CRO himself, and has over 25 years ...
Jul 16, 2024•40 min
FP&A professionals spend so much of their time gathering data, and only a small portion analyzing it. Integrating digital transformation in finance has the potential to shift this dynamic by automating data collection and allowing more time for in-depth analysis and interpretation. Stacy Brown is VP at Marcum Technology and has more than 15 years of experience advising on ERP and CPM implementations. Stacy specializes in financial planning and analysis (FP&A), financial reporting, workfo...
Jul 10, 2024•25 min
CFOs are experts in growing a business, navigating volatile economic environments, and acting as leaders inside and outside the organization. But as they focus on these big-picture problems, they naturally become removed from many day-to-day operations. It can be a challenge to stay sharp on basic skills and informed on new trends and technologies. Thomas Krolak , Director of FP&A at Vena, has a front-row seat to how our CFO and show host, Melissa Howatson, handles this challenge. In this ep...
Jul 02, 2024•22 min
What makes an exceptional, growth-driving CFO? Vinny Prajka might know better than anyone. Vinny has worked with dozens of CFOs in his role at JMI Equity , where he helps portfolio companies accelerate growth and navigate operational challenges. Vinny also sits on multiple boards, and formerly held two CFO positions himself, at both SonaCare Medical and BlackBaud Inc. In this episode, Vinny talks to host Melissa Howatson about the best CFOs he’s worked with, and the qualities these A-players all...
Jun 25, 2024•26 min
CFOs wield significant influence in safeguarding a company’s financial data, but entrusting cybersecurity solely to their CIOs may jeopardize privacy and open the door to data breaches. As Partner at Plante Moran , Joe Oleksak advises businesses on cybersecurity, IT audit, and technology compliance. He has more than twenty years of information systems security and information technology audit experience in financial institutions, including banks, credit unions, mortgage companies, and insurance ...
Jun 18, 2024•48 min
Market volatility in the last few years has shifted the business landscape. We’ve gone from a “growth at all costs” mindset, to one that is hyper-focused on efficiency. This shift has had a huge impact on the Office of Finance. In this episode, recorded as a keynote onstage at Excelerate Finance 2024, host Melissa Howatson and Vena’s Director of FP&A, Thomas Krolak , discuss the ways the CFO’s role has evolved, as well as changes that are yet to come. Learn what the future of finance holds, ...
Jun 11, 2024•37 min
A job description that is 40% controller, 20% bookkeeper and 20% Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) is going to be near impossible to fill. But for many businesses, this is exactly the sort of hybrid role they need. Outsourced accounting, through fractional models, has emerged as an option for businesses seeking flexibility, cost-efficiency, and specialized expertise in their financial operations. Dani Sandler works with those businesses at ScaleNorth , an outsourced accounting partner...
Jun 04, 2024•33 min
Accountants work with certainties, recording and reporting on past financial transactions to ensure accuracy and compliance. FP&A professional, however, are concerned with what-ifs, looking toward the future in the forms of forecasting and strategic planning. It’s no wonder these two sides of the finance team can sometimes feel their goals are incongruent. David Cornfield of World Wildlife Fund Canada (WWF) and Tom Seegmiller of Texada Software each started their careers on one side of the f...
May 28, 2024•32 min
The transformative potential of AI for finance teams is extraordinary. CFOs need to educate themselves on how, where and when to adopt new technologies, and what they can be doing ahead of adoption to prepare their organizations. Howard Dresner is a technologist, researcher, and one of the foremost thought leaders in business intelligence. In this episode, Howard discusses the research his firm, Dresner Advisory Services , has conducted on AI adoption, as well as his predictions for how next-gen...
May 21, 2024•41 min
Small businesses rarely have the budget to hire a full finance team, but they still need the same diverse range of support across payroll, accounting and financial planning as a large corporation. Some companies decide to outsource these functions to a dedicated finance and accounting partner as a more cost-effective and efficient way to handle their finance function needs and expedite growth. Kendra James-Anderson , founder of The Finance Femme , helps female entrepreneurs grow their businesses...
May 07, 2024•27 min
A CFO is expected not only to lead financial reporting and the Office of Finance but also to provide strategic insights and strategy that propel the business forward. As a new CFO, you might feel eager to start doing the latter as soon as possible. But you don’t need to build your long-term strategy in the first few months on the job. When starting a new role as a CFO, your first 90 days should focus on learning about the organization and its members, building relationships across the business, ...
Apr 30, 2024•31 min
If you like sports, you might say James Suh has one of the coolest jobs in the world. After 11 years with the Toronto Maple Leafs, James became CFO of the NHL’s Florida Panthers . What a first year he had, as the Panthers went from barely making the playoffs to the Stanley Cup finals! In this episode, James gives us an inside look at what goes into finance operations for a sports team, and what it was like to lead those operations for an underdog in a breakout year. His experiences offer valuabl...
Apr 23, 2024•42 min
Amid uncertain market conditions, many companies are adopting a cautious "wait and see" stance regarding their initial public offering (IPO) plans. However, instead of delaying, proactive planning for an eventual IPO launch is essential. By preparing in advance, companies can capitalize on market opportunities, mitigate risks, and position themselves strategically for a successful public offering when market conditions stabilize. Donna Dellomo , Former EVP and CFO and Current Senior Strategic Ad...
Apr 16, 2024•1 hr
As your business grows, you may feel a lot of pressure to meet increasing operational demands. However, investing in new resources brings the company additional risk, especially in times of economic uncertainty. How do you strike the right balance between prioritization, creating operational efficiencies and hiring? Andy Young , CFO at Horwich Farrelly , has led finance teams through multiple acquisitions and periods of high growth. In this episode, Andy and host Melissa Howatson discuss how to ...
Apr 09, 2024•37 min
Startups in highly regulated industries have to strike a tough balance — keeping operations both lean and compliant. Sruthi Lanka , CFO at Public.com , leans on her engineering background, as well as out-of-the-box thinking from her team, to meet both criteria. Sruthi explains why she made process efficiency a top priority for her team, and how a combination of high and low-tech solutions have created efficiencies and mitigated risk. Learn what it takes to fortify your organization against unfor...
Apr 02, 2024•39 min
Achieving optimal growth calls for collaboration between marketing and finance. Ruth Zive , CMO at LivePerson , joins Melissa to dive into data-driven decisions and the critical need for business partnering between the CMO and CFO. She shares insights on driving scalable growth, pipeline coverage and brand awareness in B2B SaaS marketing, as well as nuanced marketing metrics and the impact of AI investments on customer experience. Discussed in This Episode: Marketing strategy and data-driven dec...
Mar 26, 2024•35 min
When it comes to metrics, less is more. Our host, Melissa Howatson, is joined by Craig Schiff , Founder and CEO of BPM Partners . A pioneer in Business Performance Management, Craig helped create and define the field as it evolved from generic business intelligence and analytic applications into BPM. In this episode, we unpack the crucial components — dashboards, scorecards, KPIs, and metrics — that drive business performance management and strategic business success. We discuss the mismatch bet...
Mar 19, 2024•50 min
Finance business partnering is crucial for aligning financial strategies with overall business objectives, but what are the essential skills that finance professionals need to make truly successful business partners? In this episode, our hosts discuss moving beyond finance and technical expertise to develop key skills such as empathy, communication, negotiation, leading with influence and developing business acumen. These skills are crucial for fostering effective collaboration, understanding di...
Feb 27, 2024•33 min
How can you showcase value and ROI effectively when talking about your business- with customers and with stakeholders across the business? In this episode, our host Melissa Howatson sits down with Ian Campbell , CEO of Nucleus Research , to explore the intricacies of finance collaboration in driving business success. Ian, a Wall Street Journal best-selling author celebrated for his expertise in “the value sale,” offers invaluable insights on integrating sales knowledge and ROI best practices thr...
Feb 20, 2024•30 min
A strong partnership between finance and HR is crucial to the health of any organization, and yet, studies show that fewer than half of HR leaders believe their rapport with finance is productive. What hampers this relationship? And what can the CFO do to improve the quality of their rapport with HR? Tracy Edkins , CHRO, Board Member and Advisor, joins Melissa Howaston to detail what strategic alignment between HR and Finance can achieve for growth and sustainability. Join us as they discuss: Th...
Feb 13, 2024•35 min
Securing funding and raising capital in today’s market can be difficult, but it's not impossible. In this episode, our host Melissa Howatson speaks with Peter Arrowsmith , Managing General Partner at JMI Equity , about businesses seeking capital in the current economic climate. Peter shares insights on what is most important when valuations are experiencing a downturn from previous years and companies are prioritizing prudent cash management. From the impact of market fluctuations to the importa...
Feb 06, 2024•40 min
Finance holds a unique and pivotal vantage within a company or organization, and is much more than checks and balances. Finance is at the heart of optimizing the financial and operational performance of the organization on the whole and helps to guide leadership in making impactful strategic investments and aligning financial strategies with business vision and goals. In this episode, hosts Melissa and Tom get to the heart of strategic finance as they discuss investments, priorities and trade of...
Jan 30, 2024•26 min
We made it to 2024- not unscathed, but with a new year and fresh outlook on the economy. Yet what created the uncertainties in the markets these past several years is still driving uncertainty. To run our business and our lives, most of us want to know: when will interest rates start to drop? Will employment rates stay strong? And a big question, with big impact: are wage increases on the horizon? This week our host, Melissa Howatson, gets to ask one of Canada’s leading economists all this and m...
Jan 24, 2024•17 min
How can CFOs escape the daily grind to focus on strategic initiatives that are increasingly being asked of them? Our day-to-day financial responsibilities are constantly competing with the pressing need for organizational innovation from financial leadership.In this episode, Nicolas Herman , CFO, Microsoft Americas Enterprise , sits down with Melissa to discuss strategies for building and guiding teams to amplify their impact, and offers advice to CFOs on how to differentiate themselves and ulti...
Jan 16, 2024•42 min
