The Better Finance Podcast

In this episode of the Better Finance podcast, host Myles Corson, Victor Casalino, Americas VP and CFO at Microsoft and Dave Helmer, EY Global Tax and Finance Operate Leader, discuss changes potentially impacting tax and finance today. Results from the EY 2022 Tax and Finance Operations Survey indicate that, of the 1,700 companies across 45 countries that responded, 85% are scrutinizing their existing finance and tax operating models for issues that can potentially weaken their future impact. Many are finding it necessary to make dramatic adjustments in some key operational areas to keep pace with our evolving post-pandemic workplace. Talent: Businesses are experiencing a short supply of finance and tax talent internally, particularly those with transformational skills in technology — e.g., AI, machine learning, data modeling — all of which can help drive speed and quality.  Legislative and regulatory changes: Dramatic changes globally sent companies scurrying to find skilled resources to identify and interpret myriad changes and make required adjustments within their company. Sustainable plans for data and technology: 50% of survey respondents cited the absence of formal, viable data and technology plans as the number one reason they could fail to achieve their mission and vision. Budget pressures and cost reduction: 74% of respondents said they had to institute cost reduction strategies due to the pandemic and economic downturn. To help address these and other functional and operational challenges, many large companies are exploring co-sourcing more strategic and value-add activities in their finance and tax functions and partnering with teams outside their organization with deep knowledge and commitment to certain areas of the business. Successful co-sourcing enables companies to streamline and develop consistent processes, automate when possible, and optimize technology to drive value and speed. The views and opinions expressed are those of the individuals and do not reflect the official policy or position of EY or any other organization. © 2023 Ernst & Young Global Limited  

In this episode of the Better Finance podcast, Myles Corson talks to Prat Bhatt, Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer at Cisco, and Ciara Lee, Cisco’s first ESG Controller, about the importance of financial rigor in ESG. Cisco’s stated purpose is to make the world a better place. So how does the company’s first environmental, social and governance (ESG) Controller make sure that happens? In a fascinating and wide-ranging discussion, they cover what the rigor of finance can bring to ESG, and the importance of finance’s unique ability to bring accountability, governance, control systems and formal processes to the ESG table. Together, they unpack the challenges of getting to net zero across scope 1, 2 and 3 by 2040, and the particular challenges of scope 3.  The views and opinions expressed are those of the individuals and do not reflect the official policy or position of EY or any other organization. © 2023 Ernst & Young Global Limited

In this episode of the Better Finance podcast, Myles Corson welcomes Brian Tomlinson, ESG Reporting Managing Director at Ernst & Young LLP and Ariel Babcock, Head of Investment Stewardship at Fidelity Investments and formerly Head of Research for FCLT Global, a not-for-profit organization that develops research and tools to drive long-term value creation. FCLT’s research of short- and long-term business strategies has found that the pressure for quick projects and fast payoffs may trigger poor outcomes and investment value erosion. In fact, short-termism is experiencing some market pushback due to the constraints it places on decision-making relative to longer-term investments. It seems clear that short-termism does constrain companies’ appetite for investing in environmental, social and governance (ESG), primarily due to ESG’s inherent medium- to long-term (often times decades long) payoff.  ESG investments may be minimized or cut entirely to hit short-term earnings goals, possibly undermining shareholder rights as a result. Particularly in turbulent economic environments where companies tend to hoard capital, long-term goals may be weakened or overthrown. The views and opinions expressed are those of the individuals and do not reflect the official policy or position of EY or any other organization. © 2023 Ernst & Young Global Limited    

Myles Corson, EY Global & Americas Strategy and Markets Leader, Financial Accounting Advisory Services, Dave Helmer, EY Global Tax and Finance Operate Leader, and Lyn Bird, VP, Cross-Industry at Microsoft, were guests on the EY Microsoft Tech Directions podcast. Together they discuss how technology is enabling modern finance and tax transformations. Talent shortages, legislative change, and technological transformation caused by the pandemic and geopolitical uncertainty are placing unprecedented pressure on corporate finance and tax departments. In-house finance and tax specialists are tracking a growing set of requirements that crowd their agenda. These developments are increasing the workload for functions that are facing budget cuts and unparalleled skills shortages. Many businesses are co-sourcing select activities to tech-enabled finance and tax specialists. The mounting complexity of modern finance and tax systems is leading corporate finance and tax departments to pass at least some of the responsibility for routine work to outside providers. Whether it’s in-house, managed services or a blend of both, co-sourcing routine tasks such as financial planning, tax and statutory accounting can help improve efficiency and give senior staff the breathing space to tackle answers to some of the big strategic questions facing businesses. In this podcast, our panelists share how businesses are taking action to adjust to these changing dynamics and how leaders can better position their finance and tax functions, leveraging data and technology, to add greater value to the organization. The views and opinions expressed are those of the individuals and do not reflect the official policy or position of EY or any other organization. © 2023 Ernst & Young Global Limited

This special Think ESG episode of the Better Finance podcast features Brian Tomlinson from Ernst & Young LLP, and Nathan Fabian, Chief Responsible Investment Officer at the Principles for Responsible Investment. The discussion sheds light on the EU taxonomy: a system for reporting on sustainable activities. The taxonomy is expected to be a lasting reform, with significant implications for companies with operations in the EU. The EU has placed sustainable finance and the transition to a sustainable net-zero economy at the core of its growth strategy. Efforts were directed toward development of a taxonomy with standardized environmental performance criteria aligned with the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation. Communication and disclosure of progress toward alignment of companies’ economic activities with the taxonomy’s sustainability performance criteria was a priority.  The EU taxonomy creates the concept of “green by law” and provides an objective set of largely science-based criteria by which activities are measured in order to be labeled and marketed as “sustainable.” The taxonomy structure indicates when an activity makes a substantial contribution to one of six environmental objectives (climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation, water, circular economy, pollution and biodiversity) with no significant harm done to the other five. A recent EY study examines the first-year results of the application of the taxonomy and the disclosure practices adopted by EU companies in the first wave of reporting. Visit ESG Reporting on ey.com for more. © 2023 Ernst & Young LLP

This special ESG episode features Brian Tomlinson, Ernst & Young LLP, and Tensie Whelan, Director, Center for Sustainable Business at NYU’s Stern School of Business, as they explore ESG reporting and the correlation between sustainability and financial performance.  Environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance, and how it is reported has gained significant attention across the market — as investors continue to drive for more consistent and transparent ESG metrics that will help them better assess corporate health and long-term value. The EY Global Institutional Investor Survey found that 89% of the investors said they would like the reporting of ESG performance — measured against a set of consistent standards across the globe — to become a mandatory requirement. While many corporations are reporting on their ESG performance and financial performance, they are often not reporting on how the two relate. The challenge most businesses face is proving the monetary impact of their sustainability efforts. So, the Center for Sustainable Business at the New York University Stern School of Business developed a Return on Sustainability Investment (ROSI) methodology to bridge the gap between sustainability strategies and financial performance, helping to build a better business case for both current and planned sustainability initiatives. The pace of change in ESG reporting continues to accelerate. Corporate leaders across the organization should recognize and address the ESG needs of investors and all their stakeholders to create sustainable, long-term value. Visit ESG Reporting on ey.com for more. © 2023 Ernst & Young LLP

In this episode, Myles Corson welcomes Marc Siegel, EY Americas Corporate and ESG Reporting Leader, and Brian Tomlinson, ESG Managing Director at Ernst & Young LLP, to discuss updates on ESG reporting matters, sustainable finance trends and the launch of subseries of the Better Finance podcast dedicated to ESG regulations and initiatives.

In this episode of the Better Finance podcast, Myles Corson welcomes Ken Tanji, Chief Financial Officer of Prudential to discuss how to achieve financial security in a world of growing disruption, the importance of inclusivity and DEI in finance, and the key to successful hybrid working and employee satisfaction.  

In this episode, Myles Corson welcomes Joel Bernstein, CFO, Customer Success & Head of Global Finance at SAP. They discuss SAP’s business model transformation, how finance functions adapted during the pandemic to accelerate investments in digital finance, and SAP’s strategy to make environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting more transparent to become a more customer focused business. SAP has had to embrace significant change in their transformation from a legacy business model to a cloud based business model. An integral part of the business transformation was the ability to articulate corporate purpose, as well as a clear strategy about where the business was heading, to engage and inspire its people to make a sustained change. ESG and sustainability issues are being widely embraced by the business world at large. As regulators, including the recent proposal from the US Securities and Exchange Commission, introduce global standards on climate-related disclosures reporting requirements progress, CFOs have a valuable and critical role to play in building reliable ESG reporting processes. SAP is a frontrunner in sustainability in finance, having announced carbon neutrality by 2023, two years ahead of what they originally thought they’d be able to accomplish. By becoming a customer focused business and considering the needs of both internal and external customers, Joel believes finance has the opportunity to be a better business partner and thought leader to drive change across the organization.  If finance is not fully involved in transformation, it’s happening without the function, and not as a result of it. Be on the right side of that equation. Embrace the opportunity for finance to be a business partner, thought leader, and change driver. Finance should not be the reason that things cannot change. The importance and acceleration of ESG and sustainability in Finance is very visible, and it is taking shape in the office of the CFO. This is a unique opportunity for finance to link operational and financial data to sustainability, making a big impact to the organization and its stakeholders.  The views and opinions expressed are those of the individuals and do not reflect the official policy or position of EY or any other organization. © 2022 Ernst & Young Global Limited

This special episode of the Better Finance Podcast focuses on the importance of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards in finance. Marc Siegel, EY ESG Reporting Thought Leader, and Janine Guillot, CEO of the Value Reporting Foundation (VRF), discuss the role of VRF in simplifying ESG reporting and disclosure. The conversation highlights how corporations can adopt an ESG strategy, measure ESG performance using relevant metrics, and make ESG disclosures in a transparent manner. The discussion also examines the importance of involving cross-functional teams in ESG initiatives to help drive successful adoption of global ESG standards. In 2021, the Value Reporting Foundation (VRF) was formed through the merger of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) with the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC). The integration of these two entities signalled significant progress towards the development of environmental, social and governance standards. The SASB's comment letter to the SEC made it clear about the importance of ESG disclosure, including climate risk, in assessing financial performance and business risk. Companies should consider ESG disclosure as an essential aspect of their ESG strategy. Europe has come out with an intent to develop European nonfinancial reporting or ESG standards, that would be applicable to companies and have asked the Financial Reporting Advisory Group to develop those standards. There is strong demand from global companies and global investors for some sort of international harmonization around standards. The views and opinions expressed are those of the individuals and do not reflect the official policy or position of EY or any other organization. © 2022 Ernst & Young Global Limited