AFP 2024 is headed to Nashville this October 20-23. To give us a preview of the city, we invited Heather Middleton, Chief Marketing Officer for the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp., onto the AFP Conversations podcast. During the podcast, Heather shared what makes Nashville such a popular destination, her must-visit spots within the city, and w…

Adam Kruis, Senior Vice President, Manager, Working Capital Consulting, at U.S. Bank, and Anu Somani, Head of Global Payables and Embedded Payments, at U.S. Bank, discuss why real-time payments are becoming important, common use cases for real-time payments, and how to stay current on developments in the real-time payments space. This episode is sp…

Erica Orange, speaker for the AFP 2023 MindShift Keynote, sponsored by Capital One, is the Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer of The Future Hunters, one of the world’s leading futurist consulting firms. She analyzes emerging sociocultural, technological, economic, geopolitical and environmental trends and identifies the strategic im…

Fotini Iconomopoulos, the speaker for the AFP 2023 Monday Executive Institute Keynote, sponsored by PNC, is an expert communicator with a passion for helping organizations and individuals get what they want. For over a decade, she has been helping Fortune 500 clients and their teams achieve their business goals, increase profitability, and create a…

Olivia Fox Cabane, the speaker for the AFP 2023 Tuesday Executive Institute Keynote, sponsored by PNC, is an expert in charisma and leadership. In addition to co-founding KindEarth.Tech, Olivia Fox Cabane has taught at Harvard, Yale, MIT and the United Nations and has spoken to countless leaders in Fortune 500 companies. Her best-selling books, The…

AFP 2023 Tuesday Keynote speaker Ian Bremmer is a political scientist who helps business leaders, policymakers and the general public make sense of the world around them. He is president and founder of Eurasia Group, the world’s leading political risk research and consulting firm, and GZERO Media, a company dedicated to providing intelligent and en…

The speed of business and disruption means that we need to do more than simply run our planning routines faster, we need to change how we deliver planning services. Pietro Castelli, Head of Product Marketing at Board, talks through his research paper on “Creating Value Through Planning” and offers five ways to improve finance processes and add agil…

Business school education is changing to keep up with the rapidly evolving finance profession. Jim Washam, Dean of the Neil Griffin College of Business at Arkansas State University, and DJ Masson, Clinical Professor of Finance at Indiana University's Kelly School of Business, discuss the state of business school education and how business schools a…

It’s not just about reporting on the data. CFOs who leverage data-driven insights are serving as strategic advisors by shaping business strategy and driving the organization forward. Bryan Hipsher, CFO of Dun & Bradstreet, explains data strategy, getting data right, and how his department transforms data into analytical insights, yielding smarter d…

Welcome to a special three-part series of AFP Conversations, The Road to Treasury Optimization, where we take a deep dive into how the treasury landscape is transforming in the Asia-Pacific region. What should you consider when you’re looking to enhance liquidity management? How has the pandemic accelerated finance and treasury transformation? And …

In this podcast we address how MUFG's clients are responding to a very complex operating environment. From Covid, to High Inflation, Interest Rate increases and Strained Supply chains, we discuss how companies can best operate their working capital to be resilient, maintain the course and help the company using a multitude of tools available. We al…

What do you do when you’re tasked with solving a big problem using only the resources you already have? Dr. Simone Ahuja makes the case that with a growth mindset and a simple toolkit of strategies you can generate high-value solutions. Dr. Ahuja is the founder of Blood Orange, a global innovation and strategy firm headquartered in Minneapolis, and…

Effective leaders need to be able to see the big picture. Chloe Demrovsky, president & CEO of Disaster Recovery Institute International, is a globally recognized thought leader. She has been a commentator for national news outlets, presented on global risk at events across five continents and conducted on-site briefings for government officials. Du…

An organization’s greatest asset is its people. Dr. Lisa Bélanger is an award-winning researcher who helps leaders and teams optimize performance, productivity, and innovation through leading-edge scientific research. With a PhD in behavioral medicine, Bélanger is the CEO of ConsciousWorks, a consulting firm that supports leaders and teams in maxim…

Stacey Vanek Smith is a longtime public radio reporter and host, highly regarded for her insight and journalism on work, business, and economics; I mentioned her Indicators podcast, she is also a correspondent and host for NPR’s Planet Money and Marketplace, and her work has appeared in Time Magazine, The New York Times, and People Magazine. Vanek …

We are experiencing a historic acceleration in the pace of change in our world. Artificial intelligence, digitization, robotics, 3D printing, and the rise of purpose-driven enterprises are reconfiguring how industries operate. These changes divide us into two camps: the “Disruptors” and the “Disrupted”. AFP CEO & President Jim Kaitz recently sat do…

In this episode of AFP Conversations, AFP President and CEO Jim Kaitz sits down with Laila Ali, an undefeated world champion boxer, entrepreneur TV, personality, author, and wellness advocate. Ali is also the Sunday Keynote at AFP 2022, October 23-26 in Philadelphia. As the youngest daughter of Muhammad Ali, Laila Ali has developed the values of ha…

What makes some companies succeed at creating an analytics hub within finance, while others fall short? Larry Maisel, President of DecisionVu, joins AFP's Director of FP&A Practice Bryan Lapidus to discuss how to navigate the challenge that digital transformation presents. They discuss the role of executives in project success and provide lightning…

In this episode, AFP President and CEO Jim Kaitz and AFP 2022 Keynote Speaker Adam Grant discuss how to change our thinking to evolve the way we work—both on the individual level and at the organizational level.

In this episode of AFP Conversations, AFP President and CEO Jim Kaitz chats with Shawn Kanungo, innovation strategist, on how financial professionals can be disruptors. Kanungo was the MindShift keynote speaker at AFP 2021.

In this episode of AFP Conversations, AFP’s Glenn Douglas chats with Brooke Lazizi, senior destination services manager for the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau. Ahead of AFP 2022, October 23-26 in Philadelphia, we wanted to hear about all the fun things to see and do in the city. Philadelphia is full of life—from the murals painting the…

The notion of creating digital payers out of B2B buyers can be intimidating to corporations. But as many companies learned the hard way during the pandemic, steering their B2B buyers away from paper checks and other outmoded payment methods, although challenging, is necessary for survival. In this episode of AFP Conversations, Tom Hunt, AFP’s direc…

Treasury departments grapple with RTP, or Real-time Payments, every day. How are your fellow treasury professionals dealing with RTP now, and what will the landscape look like in the future? In this episode of AFP Conversations, Tom Hunt, AFP’s director of Treasury and Payments Services, speaks with payments industry expert Steve Ledford from The C…

Kevin Belli thinks that great data is only great when it adds value, improves decision-making and resource prioritization, and enhances an organization’s financial health. The ability to promote the FP&A discipline and partner with internal customers are among a host of skills that are key to the development of that next finance rockstar. In this e…

LIBOR is set to be discontinued by the end of this year, and it’s important that corporates are ready for the transition. Libor is written into over 220 trillion dollars in contracts around the world. Most of those are set to mature before mid-2023. That being said, the Alternative Reference Rates Committee has estimated that about a third won't ma…

LIBOR has been at the forefront of our attention since 2012, when it was revealed that financial institutions were manipulating the rate for their own gain. The UK Financial Conduct Authority is set to discontinue LIBOR by the end of 2021, and it’s important we are ready for the transition. In this edition of the AFP Conversations Podcast, Tom Hunt…

Since March 2020, many of us have been operating in crisis mode, leading to quick pivots to embracing new policies and processes on the fly. In this special edition of the AFP Conversations Podcast, John Gibson, director of Education and Content Strategy at AFP, sat down with Jennifer Moss, who is speaking at the AFP 2021 Wellness Keynote, sponsore…

In order to be successful, every leader must develop a game plan that accounts for the politics and personalities of everyone involved. In this special edition of the AFP Conversations Podcast, Jim Kaitz, president and CEO of AFP, speaks with DeMaurice Smith, who will kick-off the AFP 2021 Executive Institute, sponsored by PNC. Smith has served as …

Being a “backable” person means you are able to rally others around a new idea in a way that inspires action, and great leaders invest in backability because it makes their people more adaptable to addressing complex problems. In this special edition of the AFP Conversations Podcast, Jim Kaitz, president and CEO of AFP, sits down with Suneel Gupta,…

A leader’s ability to manage difficult conversations can determine their success, whether its dealing with resource allocations, negotiating with a bank or disagreeing with a colleague. In this special edition of the AFP Conversations Podcast, Tom Hunt, CTP, director of Treasury Services at AFP, speaks with best-selling author Sheila Heen, who is o…

In order to position employees for career advancement and build a better workforce, organizations must invest in talent development strategies that capitalize on the strengths and abilities of employees. In this edition of the AFP Conversations Podcast, Jim Kaitz, president and CEO of AFP, speaks with Dennis Carey, vice chairman of Korn Ferry. Care…

In a fast-paced world driven by complex and diverse factors, the ability for finance professionals to connect the dots is often more important than developing the dots. In this special edition of the AFP Conversations Podcast, Bryan Lapidus, FPAC, director of FP&A Practice at AFP, speaks with Vikram Mansharamani, who will appear at AFP 2021 as the …

The importance of this question should be clear—the normal operating environment is full of volatility and uncertainty. CFOs and FP&A seem to have been on every corporate leader’s speed dial and phone favorites list as the need to know where we are now matters, and the need to know where we are going matters more. This is an opportunity for CFOs an…

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-developme…

In this special edition of the AFP Conversations Podcast, Jim Kaitz, President and CEO of AFP, speaks with Shawn Kanungo, who will appear at AFP 2021 as the MindShift Keynote speaker. Kanungo is a globally recognized innovation strategist who works closely with leaders to better plan for the opportunities and threats associated with disruptive inno…

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 g…

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 C…

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 Consu…

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 Convers…

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 …

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 Drive…

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 Thin…

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 c…

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…

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 h…

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 attrac…

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…