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If your budget is technically accurate but disconnected from where your company is headed, you don’t have a numbers problem – you have an alignment problem. In this sponsored episode of the FEI Podcast, Ryan Langenbrunner, Worldwide Leader for Planning Analytics with IBM’s Chief Data Office; Bill Primerano, Worldwide CTO for AI Analytics at IBM; and Michael Bernaiche, Director of AI Analytics Software at Lodestar Solutions, draw on decades of experience on both sides of financial planning. They discuss how IBM moved from 120-slide control books and multiweek review cycles to a daily close, why a “single” budget that reached version 1.32 shows the limits of accuracy without timeliness, and why AI in finance should be treated as augmented intelligence with a human in the loop. The panel also explores who should govern AI spending and ROI, the cost of falling behind on planning technology, how to avoid being won over by a shiny demo, and why the best time to start writing your planning requirements is during this year’s budget cycle. `` This episode is sponsored by Lodestar Solutions. Host Heather Cole is the founder and owner of Lodestar Solutions. Special Guests: Bill Primerano, Mike Bernaiche, and Ryan Langenbrunner.

CFO and Member of FEI Dallas Mark Dendle joins the FEI Podcast to discuss the frameworks that have guided his career leading financial transformations across public companies, private equity-backed businesses, and family-owned enterprises. Dendle shares his approach to acquisition integration, his ABC method for prioritizing competing initiatives, why compensation must align with the outcomes an organization wants, and how AI tools like Claude are turning days of work into minutes for finance teams. He also discusses the responsibility financial leaders have to develop their people through periods of rapid technological change. Special Guest: Mark Dendle.

Recorded live at the FEI Financial Leaders Forum in San Antonio, this episode features Jill Nelson, CFO of Texas811, who went from call center representative to the C-suite. Nelson discusses how she blends art and finance through her Wander Workshop program, the neuroscience behind creative practice, and how clear vision and change management help teams move past fear, resistance, and manual work as the profession prepares for AI. Special Guest: Jill Nelson.

This episode explores the reaction tax, a concept describing the hidden costs businesses pay when decision windows close before leadership sees the warning signs. Thomas DeFabrizio, CFO of Impellam Group Americas, walks through the KPIs, shared definitions, and compensation strategies financial leaders can use to move from reactive firefighting to proactive, future-focused leadership, along with how AI and outcome-based business models are reshaping finance. Special Guest: Thomas DeFabrizio.

Dolly Lalvani, a CPA and FEI Central Pennsylvania Chapter Leader, joins the FEI Podcast to share how a promise to her father shaped her path to the CPA license, why she treats mentorship as a two-way commitment rather than a transaction, and what active involvement in FEI Chapters, state boards, and NASBA has taught her about belonging to a profession. The conversation closes with her perspective on staying grounded and building relationships as AI reshapes the way financial leaders work. Special Guest: Dolly Lalvani.

What if your AI strategy is already at risk, not because your team is behind on AI, but because finance is trying to run the future on systems built for the past? In this episode, Alex Curran, CEO of Aptitude Software, discusses why AI success in finance is an architecture issue, a data issue, and a leadership issue. Curran shares her SCALE framework for assessing whether a finance function is ready to support AI, explains the emerging finance ERP category, and offers guidance for financial leaders who feel they are running out of time to modernize. Special Guest: Alex Curran.

What happens when a CFO trades the structure of a traditional corporate finance career for the unpredictability of a startup? In this episode, recorded live at FEI's Financial Leaders Forum in San Antonio, host Heather Cole sits down with Chrissy O'Hara, CFO of SoftLedger, to talk about the real tradeoffs of entrepreneurial freedom: cash flow stress, family members who keep asking when the “real job” is coming, and the discipline it takes to keep pivoting when plans change. O'Hara also shares how she learned to let go of the perfectionism her CPA training instilled, how she and her team use AI tools like Claude and ChatGPT day to day, and why she believes more finance and accounting professionals need to step into entrepreneurship and be in the room shaping the next generation of tools, rather than waiting for someone else to make those decisions for them. Special Guest: Chrissy O'Hara.

What happens when a CFO realizes AI could replace her job, and decides to master it instead? In this episode, host Heather Cole sits down with Kevina Purmanund, CFO of the 1826 Group, live from the FEI Financial Leaders Forum in San Antonio. Purmanund shares how a single conversation with an investor sparked her AI journey, how she now runs ChatGPT, Claude, and Copilot side by side to compare results, and how a revenue-per-head report that used to take a week now takes 30 minutes. She also opens up about the mistakes AI has caused, the review process she built to catch them, and how she brought a skeptical accounting team along with weekly demos and hands-on projects. Along the way, they cover data security and compliance, what to look for in AI training, and why investing in coaching and peer networks has been just as important to her growth as any AI tool. Whether you are just starting to experiment or already building your own tools, this conversation offers a candid look at what it takes to lead through change. Special Guest: Kevina Purmanund.

What if the biggest AI challenge for CFOs is not the technology itself, but the culture and processes required to use it well? In this episode, host Heather Cole sits down with Jennifer Witts (Partner) and Kyle Vroegh (Director) of CohnReznick's Client Advisory Services Practice to unpack what separates financial leaders seeing real AI results from those spinning their wheels. They cover where CFOs should start with AI adoption, why layering automation on broken processes backfires, how to build a psychologically safe culture around experimentation, what governance and security questions to ask when evaluating outside firms, and how the role of the financial executive is shifting toward advisory and strategic work. Whether you are excited, overwhelmed, or somewhere in between, this episode offers a practical, no-hype path forward – one bite-sized use case at a time. Special Guests: Jennifer Witts and Kyle Vroegh.

In this episode of the FEI Podcast, Tom Alexander and Scott Peck of CrossCountry Consulting discuss findings from the Evolution of the Finance Function Report by Financial Education & Research Foundation (FERF). The conversation explores how the role of finance is expanding beyond reporting to include strategy, transformation, and enterprise leadership. It also highlights key challenges, including low confidence in AI, gaps in governance, and the need for stronger collaboration between finance and IT. Listeners will gain practical insights on how to build transformation capability, start with focused AI use cases, and position finance teams for long-term success in a rapidly changing environment. Special Guests: Scott Peck and Tom Alexander.

In this special Icons edition of the FEI Podcast, Brenda Zamzow, Chief Financial and Administrative Officer of Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles, discusses how financial leaders can stay relevant in a rapidly changing world. Drawing on decades of experience across public accounting, entrepreneurship, and nonprofit leadership, Zamzow shares how to transform finance from a gatekeeping function into a strategic partner, the importance of building meaningful professional relationships, and how resilience is developed through real-world challenges. This episode is part of FEI’s special Icons podcast series highlighting past speakers from the ICONS: Leaders in Finance virtual event. Join us on April 22, 2026 to hear from distinguished financial leaders shaping the future of finance. Learn more about the ICONS: Leaders in Finance event virtual replay here: https://www.financialexecutives.org/icons2026-virtual Special Guest: Brenda Zamzow.

In this FEI Podcast Icons episode, Dana Bober, retired EY partner and C-suite advisor, discusses how financial leaders can bridge the gap between strategy and execution, lead through influence, and adapt to the rapid rise of AI. Drawing on decades of global experience, she explores the importance of listening, stakeholder alignment, and building future-ready finance teams. This episode is part of FEI’s Icons series and supports the virtual replay of the ICONS: Leaders in Finance event on April 22, 2026. Learn more and register here: https://www.financialexecutives.org/icons2026-virtual Special Guest: Dana Bober.

In this special Icons edition of the FEI Podcast, Teri Reinseth, Senior Vice President, Corporate Controller, and Chief Accounting Officer at 3M discusses how financial leaders can keep pace with rapid change by simplifying processes, strengthening cross-functional alignment, and enabling finance teams to move faster without sacrificing accuracy or compliance. She also shares insights on preparing finance organizations for AI, building influence across the business, and developing the next generation of financial leadership. This episode is part of FEI’s special series featuring speakers from the upcoming ICONS: Leaders in Finance event on March 25, 2026, at The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel. Special Guest: Teri Reinseth.

In this special edition of the FEI Podcast leading up to Financial Executives International’s ICONS: Leaders in Finance event, Heather Cole interviews Alice Jolla, Chief Accounting Officer at Microsoft and Board Director at Rockwell Automation. Jolla reflects on her journey from counting cash for her father’s businesses as a child to leading finance at one of the world’s largest technology companies. Along the way, she shares lessons on saying yes to opportunities before you feel ready, understanding your professional value, scaling leadership through others, and building relationships that support long-term career success. This conversation offers actionable insights for today’s financial leaders navigating complex organizations and evolving leadership responsibilities. Special Guest: Alice Jolla.

In this special Icons edition of the FEI Podcast, Heather Cole interviews Catherine Hoovel, former SVP, Chief Accounting Officer, and Controller of McDonald’s Corporation. Hoovel shares insights from her nearly 30-year career, including how articulating long-term aspirations reshaped her leadership trajectory, why AI is redefining entry-level finance roles, and how financial leaders must rethink talent development in an automated world. She also provides a practical framework for retirement and transition planning – centered on continued growth, meaningful work, and paying it forward. This episode is part of FEI’s special Icons series promoting the 2026 ICONS: Leaders in Finance event on March 25, 2026 at The Ritz-Carlton, Laguna Niguel, CA. Learn more and register here: https://www.financialexecutives.org/icons2026 Special Guest: Catherine Hoovel.