During times of uncertainty, CFOs must serve as the guiding compass for their organizations, helping business leaders move beyond reactive decisions toward sustainable, long-term strategies. Myles Corson, leader of EY’s Global and Americas Strategy and Markets, Financial Accounting Advisory Services and host of The Better Finance Podcast, has engaged with numerous CFOs about the complexities of navigating turbulent economic landscapes. Myles joins host Melissa Howatson to discuss why CFOs...

A severe talent shortage is threatening the foundation of the finance function: accounting. The accounting profession is facing a critical talent shortage, threatening the foundation of financial operations across accounting firms and businesses of all sizes. Mark Maurer, reporter for The Wall Street Journal’s CFO Journal team, joins host Melissa Howatson to explore this pressing issue. Drawing from his extensive coverage of the shrinking talent pipeline, Maurer discusses the factors...

Financial data alone can’t drive a company’s success; it’s the CFO’s ability to turn that data into a compelling narrative that moves the needle. Whether engaging investors, rallying the board, or inspiring internal teams, the power lies in transforming raw data into stories that align with the company’s vision and steer it through both challenges and opportunities. In this episode, Stephen Bates, Chief Financial Officer of Canford Healthcare Ltd. shares his more than 20 years of experience...

Filmed at Vena’s Excelerate Finance 2024 Summit, this episode features insights from FP&A and accounting leaders about the demands and rewards of their work. Join us as we dive into the importance of cross-functional collaboration, the art of balancing strategic vision with daily tasks, and the leadership skills that make a difference. Discover how teamwork and a purpose-driven mindset are shaping the future of finance. Featured Guests in Order of Appearance:[00:00], [01:03] Blake...

The CEO-CFO partnership is arguably the cornerstone of an organization’s success, shaping not only its financial health but its strategic trajectory. This relationship is a delicate balance of mutual respect, candid dialogue, and aligned vision. A thriving CEO-CFO dynamic goes beyond simple collaboration; it involves a continuous cycle of challenging each other’s perspectives, reinforcing financial discipline, and driving innovative strategies.  Our host and CFO of Vena, Melissa Howatson,...

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has been in effect since 2018, reshaping how businesses handle personal data across the globe. While many view GDPR as solely a legal or IT challenge, its impact ripples far beyond those departments—it touches every aspect of an organization.  For CFOs, GDPR isn’t just about compliance; it’s about safeguarding the financial health of the company, managing operational risks, and ensuring long-term sustainability. CFOs must be at the forefront of...

Filmed at Vena’s Excelerate Finance 2024 Summit, we had the opportunity to engage with a range of FP&A leaders, discussing the current state of business operations and their financial priorities as they strategize for 2025 and beyond. Learn what’s top of mind for CFOs, finance leaders and Microsoft, and how they plan to support business growth in the year ahead. Featured Guests in Order of Appearance: [00:00], [01:53] Dan Crumb, Chief Financial Officer, Kansas City Chiefs[00:48], ...

Today's CFOs must excel at both driving organizational productivity while ensuring operational efficiency. Brian Krause is CFO at Community First Solutions, and has over 20 years of experience building and leading financial teams, a VP of Finance, Controller, and three-time CFO. Brian joins host Melissa Howatson to delve into the distinction between productivity and efficiency, exploring how CFOs can strike the perfect balance between to drive optimal results. Learn how to maximize...

The ability to transform raw complex financial data into a compelling narrative has become a critical skill. Mastering the art of finance data storytelling enables finance professionals to distill complex information into strategic insights, driving pivotal boardroom decisions and shaping business strategy. Akash Kapoor is the CFO at ColdBlock Technologies and has been advising finance leaders on operations and strategy for the last 25 years. Host Melissa Howatson welcomes Akash to explore...

In today's customer-centric business landscape, a leadership team that truly understands its customers is crucial. Everyone on the C-Suite should be learning from one another, and challenging one another to be more customer-focused. April Oman, the Chief Customer Officer at Resilinc, brings a unique perspective to the leadership team. While her primary role is championing customer success, she's gained invaluable insights about her customers from unexpected sources—including the company's...

Agile isn't just a buzzword—it's the key to unlocking your finance team's full potential in a changing market. While annual budgeting and planning can be daunting, adopting Agile methodologies can transform this process into a dynamic, collaborative effort that propels your business forward, replacing rigid forecasts with flexible, data-driven strategies that adapt to market shifts in real-time. Dominic DiBernardo is a Partner at Citrin Cooperman, where he helps middle-market businesses...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...