Afp Conversations

In today’s competitive job market, it is now more important than ever to recognize that learning itself is a skill. In this special edition of the AFP Conversations Podcast, Jim Kaitz, president and CEO of AFP, speaks with Matt Smith, McKinsey and Company’s chief learning officer. Matt is responsible for developing the firm’s learning-and-development strategy and for the execution of learning-and-development programs for more than 29,000 colleagues globally. In this interview, Matt discusses the fundamental skill of learning, how to nurture learning in others, and how companies can create a learning culture. He also discusses his “3x3x3” approach to learning, a practical strategy to continually learn, grow and achieve development.

In this special edition of the AFP Conversations Podcast, Jim Kaitz, President and CEO of AFP, speaks with Shawn Kanugo, who will appear at AFP 2021 as the MindShift Keynote speaker. Kanugo is a globally recognized innovation strategist who works closely with leaders to better plan for the opportunities and threats associated with disruptive innovation. In this interview, Kanugo provides a preview of his presentation, Disruption DNA. He presents a roadmap for facing the onslaught of technological disruption impacting finance by exploring how to think and act differently to ensure you remain competitive and relevant. AFP 2021 takes place November 7 - 10 in Washington, D.C. The early registration deadline is through June 25, 2021. To learn more about the event and to register, visit AFP2021.org.

In this special edition of the AFP Conversations Podcast, Jim Kaitz, President and CEO of AFP, speaks with Amy Edmonson, who will appear at AFP 2021 as the Tuesday Keynote speaker. Edmonson is the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School and author of the book The Fearless Organization, which offers practical guidance for teams and organizations who are serious about success in the modern economy. In this interview, Edmonson provides a preview of her presentation, Leading Through Crisis: Leveraging Teaming to Solve Problems and Innovate. She discusses the value of successful teaming in a crisis and provides concrete tools that leaders and their teams can use to innovate in the face of disruption. AFP 2021 takes place November 7 - 10 in Washington, D.C. The early registration deadline is through June 25, 2021. To learn more about the event and to register, visit AFP2021.org.

SkyStem is a leading provider of month-end close automation platforms. Its solution, ART, helps CFOs and controllers shorten the month-end close cycle and time to issue financials by automating balance sheet reconciliations, managing month-end tasks, performing flux and variance analysis, and providing insightful reporting. In this episode of AFP Conversations, Tom Hunt, CTP, AFP’s Director of Treasury Services, sat down with Linda Harris, assistant corporate controller at Ichor Systems, and Nancy Wu, head of sales and customer support for SkyStem, to discuss the month-end close and reconciliation process, potential challenges teams may face, and best practices for adoption. Visit SkyStem’s webiste for more information on month-end close automation platforms.

The common term “implicit bias” refers to attitudes or stereotypes that adversely impact or influence one’s understanding, actions and decisions in an unconscious way. But how are these implicit biases manifested and what are their impact on an organization’s culture? In this episode of AFP Conversations, Jenny Okonkwo, president of Transform Consulting and founder of Black Female Accountants Network, a volunteer-led professional women's network with membership across Canada, the UK, the U.S., and Europe, discusses the important topic of implicit bias and her experience fostering diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. From a diversity and inclusion standpoint, Jenny dives deep into how individuals can mitigate against implicit or unconscious bias to attract a quality workforce, build quality teams and lower retention as an organization. Jenny also provides listeners with tools for managers and leaders to get outside of their bubbles and reflect on their own biases, advice for how organizations can

What if financial professionals could have access to information that has previously been unknown, like what others are thinking and feeling? Dan Seidman, Managing Director of Read Emotions, believes that reading hidden emotions is a behavioral science that can be applied to managing, coaching and business partnering. In this episode of AFP Conversations, Bryan Lapidus, FPAC, AFP’s Director of FP&A Practice, is joined by Seidman to discuss how recognizing the emotions others feel during critical meetings is key to increasing empathy and rapport. As finance engages with a variety of business partners with different agendas, priorities, and points of view, sustained success in this area requires the ability to build constructive relationships. Listen as Seidman explains how to apply these skills in the business arena – both in-person and online – to improve emotional intelligence. Seidman will be speaking at AFP FinNext 2021 Virtual for the session, “Read (Hidden) Emotions: The Science Behind a New Skill.”

In 2020, AARP was awarded the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s highest recognition for performance excellence that a U.S. organization can receive. Specifically, the Baldrige committee praised AARP’s Enterprise Dashboard, which enables leaders to sustain a focus on achieving the organization’s key objectives: grow impact, grow relevance, grow revenue and engage workforce, driving down to individual performance objectives. Scott Frisch, AARP’s EVP and COO, was one of the prime drivers of this work. In this episode of AFP Conversations, Bryan Lapidus, FPAC, AFP’s Director of FP&A Practice, is joined by Frisch to discuss the strategy and tactical implementation – including statistical models and organizational staffing – to create a North Star for the entire enterprise. Frisch will be speaking at AFP FinNext 2021 Virtual for the session, “Data Dashboard for Total Impact.” Click here to learn more about the event, taking place March 23 – 25.

Traditionally, finance has been about creating numbers and capturing data for a business. But how can we share that insight to stay relevant to business stakeholders? In this episode of AFP Conversations, Bryan Lapidus, FPAC, AFP’s Director of FP&A Practice, is joined by Jesper Sorensen, co-author of Implementing an Analytics Culture for Data Driven Decisions, to discuss the changes required within finance to reach its aspirations of providing actionable insight to the business. Sorensen explains that the future of finance requires a roadmap on how to integrate business partnering skills, data science thinking and analytics tools, and an understanding of strategic thinking. This episode will further examine the principles and practice behind the transformation of a global finance department into an analytics business partner, and the resulting return in investment in terms of dollars, job security and career advancement. Sorensen will be speaking at AFP FinNext 2021 Virtual alongside Larry Mizel for the

In this episode of AFP Conversations, Jim Kaitz, President and CEO of AFP, is joined by Erica Dhawan, globally recognized leadership expert and AFP FinNext 2021 Virtual Closing Keynote, to preview her keynote: “Leading Digitally: Foster Human Engagement at Work.” As the founder and CEO of Cotential and co-author of the bestselling book Get Big Things Done: The Power of Connectional Intelligence, Dhawan teaches leaders 21st century collaboration skills and behaviors and is the world’s leading authority on Connectional Intelligence. While remote collaboration and digital learning can be successful in the COVID-19 era, it can also be challenging to understand tone, body language and other non-verbal cues that provide meaningful context to communication. In this episode, Dhawan deep dives into new rules, tactics and nuances for effective digital body language to create intellectual and emotional connections – no matter the distance. To learn more about digital body language, check out Dhawan’s best practice tool

In this episode of AFP Conversations, Jim Kaitz, CEO of AFP, is joined by author, lecturer, and AFP FinNext Virtual Conference Opening Keynote, Hal Gregersen to preview his keynote: "Navigating Uncertainty Through the Power of Inquiry." Ranked as one of the world’s 25 most influential management thinkers by Thinkers50, Gregersen has dedicated his career to finding out what kind of skills, corporate culture and practices produce innovative powerhouses.  Gregersen is the Opening Keynote at FinNext Virtual 2021, taking place March 23 - 25. Click here to register for the event.

In this special episode of AFP Conversations, best-selling author and journalist Eric Weiner joins AFP President and CEO Jim Kaitz speaks with to discuss his latest book, "The Socrates Express: In Search of Life Lessons from Dead Philosophers." Kaitz and Weiner attempt to gauge how some of the greatest philosophers throughout history would approach the challenges of today. Although we currently face a monumental crisis, some of history's greatest minds would likely advise us to focus on the things we can change, and accept the ones we can't. AFP would like to thank Eric Weiner for joining us in this special episode. If you would like to learn more about Eric or his latest book, please visit ericweinerbooks.com.

This episode of AFP Conversations explores the insights covered in the 2020 AFP Asia-Pacific (APAC) Treasury Management Handbook, sponsored by Kyriba. Released by AFP in collaboration with China National Association of Finance Companies, the Association of Corporate Treasurers Singapore, and the Japan Association for Chief Financial Officers, the handbook provides an overview of the elements of treasury management and includes guidance on the core tasks of a regional treasury center. Dory Malouf, Senior Principal Value Engineer for Kyriba, joins the podcast to discuss the themes explored in the handbook.  

In this episode of AFP Conversations, financial influencer, speaker, author and podcast host, Sheri Fitts of ShoeFitts Marketing will be discussing personal branding. With more than 25 years in the financial services industry, she is an expert in leveraging marketing, branding and a fine-tuned digital strategy to help financial professionals attract the right clients, increase revenue, retain relationships, and navigate the online world. At AFP 2020, Fitts will be leading the session, Surviving in the Overwired World, in which she'll discuss how financial professionals can stay focused and productive amid so many electronic distractions. This podcast is part of the new AFP Career Hub series. The Career Hub features career coaches, resume services, our job board and more to help you take the next step in your career.

This episode of AFP Conversations focuses on how financial professionals manage change, which is something they’ve had to do a lot of lately. With entire workforces operating remotely, there’s never been a better time to adopt a new mindset. And there’s no one better to help you develop that new mindset than AFP 2020 FP&A Keynote Amy Vetter, CEO of the B3 Method Institute and DRISHTIQ Yoga. This is Amy’s second time joining the podcast. In this episode, she provides a preview of her upcoming session.

To be successful, chief financial officers and treasurers need to be true leaders who invest in the professional development of their teams. That requires seeking out exceptional talent and helping those individuals grow their skillsets so that they can make the organization more resilient. In this episode of AFP Conversations, Jim Kaitz, President and CEO of AFP, discusses professional development with Mark McGivney, Chief Financial Officer of Marsh and McLennan Companies. McGivney has held a number of senior financial management positions since joining the company in 2007. This interview covers the skills that finance professionals will need to continue to be competitive, as well as the short and long-term impact of COVID-19 on finance organizations. Visit the Career Hub to learn more about how you can take the next step in your career.

If you’ve attended a career development session at an AFP Conference over the past few years, you’ve probably heard Nicole Meyer speak before. She is Founder and Managing Partner of The Meyer Partnership, a search and advisory firm for Global Financial Services. A former transaction banker, hiring manager and talent recruiter, Meyer created a search firm founded on the principle of bringing the world’s most successful banks and companies together with the very best and relevant candidates. She’s speaking again this year at AFP 2020. In this episode of AFP Conversations, she discusses how financial professionals can interview in the current environment. This podcast is part of the new AFP Career Hub series. Visit the Career Hub to learn more about how you can take the next step in your career.

Over the past several months, financial professionals have experienced upheaval in their professional and personal lives. Many have been working from home, adapting their daily schedules to that environment. When you’re handling so many things at once, it can be difficult to manage your time properly. In this podcast, AFP President and CEO Jim Kaitz discusses the importance of perfect timing with AFP 2020 keynote Daniel Pink. Pink is a New York Times Bestselling author, whose books have won multiple awards and have sold more than 3 million copies worldwide. His latest book, “When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing,” could be an instruction manual for how financial professionals can operate in today’s hectic, work-from-home environment. It delves into the science of timing, which can help us make better decisions and increase our productivity. Pink will be discussing some his findings at the AFP 2020 Virtual Experience in October.

Alphabet, Google's parent company, is a rapidly growing and dynamic business. To support this growth, Alphabet recognized the need to re-engineer its treasury function. Partnering with SAP, Alphabet launched Project Emerald—a state-of-the-art, non-custom solution that migrated treasury’s processes to the company’s SAP treasury workstation. The success of this in-house solution has paved the way for Alphabet to implement SAP as a single global ERP system for not just treasury, but all corporate functions. Project Emerald was such a success that Alphabet was named a finalist for the AFP 2020 Pinnacle Awards. The Awards, sponsored by MUFG, recognize excellence in treasury and finance. In this episode of AFP Conversations, John Clarke, Assistant Treasurer for Google, discusses Project Emerald. This year the treasury and finance community gets to select the winner of the Pinnacle Awards, sponsored by MUFG. Our three finalists will be voted on and one Grand Prize Winner will be selected. That Grand Prize Winner wil

Drager is a leading manufacturer for medical and safety technology products, employing more than 15,000 people worldwide. The company generates revenues of around 2.8 billion Euros, 55% of it in foreign currencies. Drager's portfolio of foreign currencies requires reliable data processing in a highly automated, cost-effective and flexible manner. Until the end of 2019, FX exposures were computed in a highly manual and time-consuming, spreadsheet-based process. To improve data availability and reliability, Drager automated data processing and the calculation of exposures. Additionally, Drager automated the exposure planning process and created a cost-efficient hedging portfolio. The project was so successful that Drager is one of the finalists for the AFP 2020 Pinnacle Award. In this episode of AFP Conversations, Frank Freitag, Controller of FX Risk Management for Drager, discusses his company's groundbreaking solution.  This year the treasury and finance community gets to select the winner of the Pinnacle Awa

By now, we all know about Peloton. It is the largest interactive fitness platform in the world, with a loyal community of more than 2 million members. Maybe you're a member yourself. But what you might not realize is how quickly Peloton exploded onto the fitness scene. And because of its meteoric rise, Peloton initially lacked a formalized treasury operation. In this episode of AFP Conversations, we speak with Dana Laidhold, treasurer for Peloton. She discusses how she joined Peloton in 2018, in the midst of its transformation from a small fitness technology company to a global phenomenon. Laidhold was tasked with quickly building a treasury team that could support the Peloton's rapid growth. It was such a success that Peloton's treasury department is now a finalist for the AFP 2020 Pinnacle Award. The Pinnacle Awards, sponsored by MUFG, recognize excellence in treasury and finance. The grand prize will be announced at AFP 2020 in October. This year the treasury and finance community gets to select the winner