FP&A Today

In this masterclass Shifra Isaacs, developer Relations Advocate at Ascend.io, delves into her experience as data scientist, technical writer, and support lead providing fresh insights for FP&A and finance professionals. In this episode: * Data science vs business analytics  * Pulling data not yet able to be modeled  * Python for Excel  * The right models for risk scoring, variance analysis and forecasting  * Replicating a process with a new tool using AI * How can we survive in an AI first world Connect with Shifra Isaacs on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shifra-isaacs/

Taylor Otstot, Vice President Finance,  Dashlane joined GoDaddy (now a $30billion valued) domain registry, domain registrar and web hosting company before their IP. In 8 years he climbed to senior Director of Finance running an FP&A team of 14. From this experience and as VP Finance at DashLane he says he hires for 3 things: curiosity, ambition, and finance leaders who are service-oriented. “If you bring those three things to the table, you're able to wade through a lot of the ambiguity that comes with those decision making processes.” Also in this episode:  * Finance and FP&A as antidote to the machine of Big 4 * 3- 4 years in audit as the “perfect amount” * Getting to strategy in FP&A * Partnership vs accountability as a false choice for FP&A * Improv comedy having its moment in finance  * The Tarantino approach to finance presentations  Connect with Taylor on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylorotstot/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylorotstot/] Subscribe to CFO Frameworks newsletter on Substack: https://www.cfoframeworks.com/ [https://www.cfoframeworks.com/]

Dave Sackett is Co-Founder and CFO of ecommerce company, AIOne,  and former CFO of  semiconductor company, ULVAC Technologies. He is a vocal advocate for blockchain and AI and finance, bringing a blend of tech savvy, operational rigor, and a  focus on “servant leadership" - that is putting the needs of the employees first and helping people develop and perform as highly as possible. He's a frequent keynote speaker, a Forbes contributor, and an active member of Financial Executives International. * Cost accountant to CFO and AI leader  * How I practice servant leadership mindset as a CFO  * Being an introvert CFO leader and overcoming the challenges * Costly failures of traditional forecasting in FP&A * Where FP&A Software is going to be in 5 years  * Finance AI use cases  * FP&A as custodians of financial truth in AI age  Connect with Dave Sackett on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davesackett/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/davesackett/]

Derek Paulson is Director of Finance and Performing Marketing at Rad Power Bikes, a Seattle-based e-bike company changing transportation. In this episode he talks about his approach to  navigating tariffs (“There  no, no word in the English language more scary to a finance professional than the word uncertainty” says Paulson as he discusses required “efficiency” and “flexibility” in their supply chains). He also reveals his approach to the finance transformation required to shift Rad Power from a direct-to-consumer to an e-commerce and retail focused model, that is “starting   with a blank Excel sheet to do the modeling for Rad Power Bikes”. In this episode: * How Honeywell and PepsiCo are top training grounds for finance leaders * Efficiency vs flexibility in supply chains  * Is an MBA worth it in finance? * Data privacy, AI, and finance  * Making the case for SUMIFs Connect with Derek Paulson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derekpaulson/

“The Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) is a non-for-profit with a really simple mission, which makes it really easy for me to wake up and know what I’m doing every day,” says Bryan Lapidus, Director, FP&A Practice at the Association for Financial Professionals. “We exist for the success of the corporate finance and treasury professionals. FPAC, our certified corporate FP&A certification has been in the market for about 11 years now and 5,000 people have earned it in more than 80 countries.” Returning guest Lapidus joins Glenn Hopper  as they discuss the climate for FP&A including: * Evolution of FP&A  and AI  * Certificates vs Certification  * Why business school doesn’t prepare you for FP&A roles * The impact of Sarbanes-Oxley on changing the CFO role  * Why you need different CFOs at various stages of a company lifecycle  * Why FP&A professionals are so hirable and promotable * How to become CFO from an FP&A role