The CFO Show

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 for AFP members.In this episode, Bryan talks to host Melissa Howatson about the many ways finance professionals can engage in ongoing learning on the job, and through outside programs and networking opportunities.Learn how CFOs and finance leaders can instill a culture of continuous learning, and how finance professionals can embrace a growth mindset to advance in their careers.Discussed In This Episode:Strategies for financial leaders to promote a growth mindset and continuous learningThe effectiveness of micro-learning and its application at critical momentsAnalyzing the return on investment (ROI) of continuous education and strategies to counteract the inclination to cut educational expensesThe benefits of cross-functional learning in all stages of a finance professional’s careerIndicators that finance professionals should consider when selecting an employer that supports continuous learning

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 pace with rapid change.Learn what hard skills are essential to the modern Office of Finance and how finance leaders can upskill their teams to improve the accuracy and efficiency of financial forecasting and modeling.Discussed In This Episode:The transformative impact of technology on the Finance Department and the evolving requirements of finance occupationsThe critical importance of data literacy, data visualization, and data analytics for modern finance professionalsThe importance of learning SQL and other programming languages to perform needed data analysis and financial modelingHow micro-learning and cross-team training can allow finance professionals to acquire new skills on the job and level up in their rolesThe tools and tech stack finance teams need to support data collection and data interpretation

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 innovations could have for finance professionals and the potential impact of AI on the future of work.Learn how Microsoft sees the ultimate future state of business operations for finance teams and beyond.Discussed in This Episode:Microsoft's ongoing investments in AI, the evolving interaction between people and technology, and the potential impact of AI on the future of workHow AI will elevate finance leadership by freeing up time for more strategic work, and improving the speed and accuracy of financial reportingHow Microsoft prioritizes investments and works with partners to ensure that their innovations have the greatest impactWhy organizations should be careful to implement AI in the right places, and how they can prepare their workforces for changes that AI will inevitably bringHow Microsoft ensures its AI products are used ethically and responsibly

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 to better fit the modern FP&A team. Learn how finance leaders should prioritize soft skills as they build the future office of finance.Discussed In This Episode:Cultivating a work setting where empowerment and meaningful tasks are the foundationStrategies for ensuring your team feels valued as you implement new systems and processesExploring the reasons behind the formation of siloes and how finance leaders can work to dismantle them for improved interdepartmental collaboration and integrated business strategy.The significance of possessing essential soft skills and maintaining transparency throughout the hiring processHow leaders can be a talent magnet, building and retaining teams that work well together

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 offering effective support, leaders can prevent the loss of valuable team members. And by acknowledging the stressors inherent in finance roles, leaders can proactively implement strategies to protect teams from burnout while ensuring their well-being and productivity. Join us as we discover the key techniques for tackling high-pressure finance environments and empowering teams to thrive.Discussed In This Episode:Understanding good stress vs. bad stressImplementing a buddy system to improve team communication around workloadBurnout warning signs that can help finance leaders identify when employees are struggling with prioritization or too much workPlanning for time off so that employees can truly unplug and unwind when they’re out of the officeWorking with your team to prioritize the most important tasks and automate tedious or unnecessary tasks

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 of experience working alongside CFOs while leading sales teams at high-growth SaaS organizations. In that time, he’s had a variety of strong CFO-CRO relationships and tells us about the ones that were the most effective.Learn how to nurture a strong partnership between the Office of Finance and revenue operations by fostering not just rapport, but strategic alignment. Discussed In This Episode:The unique responsibilities of the CFO and CRO, and how a strong partnership leads to better business outcomesThe increasing importance of the revenue operations team in modern organizations and the layer of support they bring to the businessSome of the top challenges CROs are facing in today’s business landscape, and how CFOs can support them through these challengesCommon points of friction between the finance and revenue operations teams, and how they can work better together to uncover growth opportunities and get deals doneTraits CROs appreciate in a CFO, and tactics CFOs can use to facilitate a productive relationship with the revenue operations team

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, workforce planning, and financial forecasting, leveraging her extensive accounting and finance background to help organizations create efficiencies within their finance organizations.In this episode, Stacy talks to host Melissa Howatson about the lessons she’s learned through these implementations and her advice for organizations beginning their digital transformation journeys.Learn how finance can benefit from investing in digitization, and the role CFOs need to play in leading digital transformation within their organizations. Discussed In This Episode:Identifying opportunities for digitization, and how an outside consultant can help spot inefficienciesThe five steps of a digital transformation journey in finance, including the implementation of a modern ERPHow to build a lean, flexible, and cost-effective tech stackCommon pitfalls that slow down software implementations How to select the right vendor for your current and future needs

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 episode, Thomas and Melissa flip the script, with Thomas interviewing Melissa about how to stay sharp as a CFO. Melissa discusses some best practices for continued learning, as well as some humbling moments in her leadership career.Learn how CFOs keep their tactical skills sharp as they move a little farther away from the day-to-day action.Discussed In This Episode:How to stay up-to-date on trends as a busy CFOThe value of sharing information with your peers, mentors, and wider networkHow to get the most ROI out of conferences and other outside learning opportunitiesThe importance of brushing up on the basics from time-to-timeLearning from your rising stars

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 have in common. Discover how, as a CFO, you can help drive growth in your organization, demonstrate exceptional leadership, effectively communicate with investors and become the driving force behind business performance.Discussed In This Episode:The delicate balance between growing an organization and managing costs, amidst economic uncertaintyThe importance of the CFO’s relationships, particularly with the CEO and the Board of DirectorsCreating and communicating alignment between the CEO and CFOWhy CFOs need to think with a zero-based budgeting mindset to assess and reassess the value of every position in their businessThe value of a long-range plan (LRP), and how often a CFO should update theirs

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 companies. In this episode, Joe and host Melissa Howatson discuss the role CFOs play in protecting financial data against cyber threats, and how they can partner with CIOs and CEOs to build a holistic cybersecurity operation that prioritizes culture and processes as much as technology.  Learn how important the CFO is to modern cybersecurity risk management, and the steps CFOs should take to protect their organizations against privacy and security threats.Discussed In This Episode:The evolving cyber threat landscape, and how hacker attacks are gaining strength Why people and processes are just as important to cybersecurity as technology How CFOs, CEOs, and CIOs should work together to create a holistic approach to cybersecurityProactive strategies for CFOs to safeguard their organizations and mitigate riskThe difference between privacy and security, and why understanding this difference is so important to protect financial data