The Finance Observer

Podcasts · Editor's Picks

Essential Listening for Modern Finance

Hand-picked conversations on AI, automation, FP&A, accounting, treasury and the technologies reshaping the Office of the CFO.

Featured episodes

The CFO Playbook

Editor's Pick

The Operator CFO: Turning Growth Ambition Into Margin, Cash and Accountability

Benzinga CFO Robert Checchia, with host David McClelland, explains why finance leaders need to get closer to operations, give P&L owners clearer numbers and connect growth decisions to margin and cash generation — plus prioritization under private-equity ownership and AI experimentation with guardrails.

September 24, 202641 minFinance TransformationFP&A & Analytics

CFO Weekly

Editor's Pick

The Rise of AI-Driven Finance Teams

A forward-looking discussion on AI agents transforming accounts receivable, the shift from finance operators to finance architects, “headless finance,” and what the CFO function could look like in the next three to five years.

May 12, 202630 minAI & AutomationAR / Order-to-Cash

CFO Weekly

Editor's Pick

AI Adoption in Finance: What CFOs Get Wrong (And How to Do It Right)

A practical look at AI adoption across FP&A, treasury, tax and controllership, including high-ROI use cases, automation, organizational readiness, build-vs-buy decisions and change management.

May 5, 202631 minAI & AutomationFinance Transformation

CFO Thought Leader / Planning Aces

Editor's Pick

Finance Leaders Decode AI's Promise

Finance leaders explore AI agents for analytics, experimentation and order-to-cash checks, along with reconciliations, data readiness and opportunities to dramatically shorten finance cycle times.

August 31, 202538 minAI & AutomationFP&A & Analytics

More essential listening

TreasuryCast artwork

TreasuryCast

Bank Guarantees Are Still Stuck in Spreadsheets. Treasury Has a Visibility Problem.

Recorded at Treasury 360° Europe, host Eleanor Hill and Surecomp’s Head of Product Achraf Abourida on how fragmented bank portals and spreadsheets obscure guarantee obligations across entities. The guest represents Surecomp, a trade finance technology provider. TreasuryCast is published by TMI.

October 9, 202614 minTreasury & Cash

TreasuryCast artwork

TreasuryCast

Treasury Transformation Needs More Than a New Technology Stack

At Treasury 360° Europe, host Eleanor Hill and Zoetis assistant treasurer Michel Verholen on building foundations that let treasury keep evolving, the human cost of change and why smaller, deliberate steps may beat a fixed end-state. TreasuryCast is published by Treasury Management International.

October 8, 202610 minTreasury & Cash

CFO Weekly artwork

CFO Weekly

Why Accounting Judgment Still Matters When AI Does the Work

Host Megan Weis and Kerrie Jones, Financial Controller at Peak Living, on why following the correct process doesn’t guarantee a sensible outcome — and how controllers can teach accountants when to question the output, including AI’s. CFO Weekly is produced by Personiv.

October 6, 202621 minAccounting & CloseAI & Automation

TreasuryCast artwork

TreasuryCast

Tokenised Deposits Move From Banking Experiment to Treasury Operations

Host Eleanor Hill with Ant International’s Kelvin Li and HSBC’s Selene Chong and Lewis Sun on using HSBC’s Tokenised Deposit Service to move liquidity between group entities. The speakers represent the provider and its customer; operational benefits are their claims. TreasuryCast is published by TMI.

October 5, 202636 minTreasury & Cash

The CFO Show

How AI Is Reinventing Enterprise Finance

How large enterprise finance teams are approaching AI while dealing with legacy ERP systems, fragmented data, integration challenges, governance and the need for trusted financial data.

November 4, 202524 minFinance TransformationAI & Automation

The Accounting Podcast

Can ChatGPT Agent Mode Reconcile My Checking Account?

A hands-on experiment testing an AI agent on real accounting reconciliation work, including transaction matching, prepayments, bills and the practical limits of agentic accounting automation.

August 20, 202574 minAccounting & CloseAI & Automation

FP&A Today

Data Analytics and AI for FP&A Teams

A practical deep dive into predictive analytics, real-world AI workflows, data management, single-source-of-truth architecture, Copilots, security and measuring AI ROI in FP&A.

June 12, 202561 minFP&A & AnalyticsAI & Automation

The Accounting Podcast

Real Life Ways Accountants Use AI, How Sage Will Eliminate the Close

Real-world AI use cases in accounting and audit, Sage Intacct's AI roadmap and a provocative look at how automation could radically change the traditional financial close.

June 12, 202569 minAccounting & CloseAI & Automation

CFO Thought Leader / Planning Aces

Redefining Efficiency: The Three Dimensions of AI ROI

CFO perspectives on measuring AI through three lenses: operating cost reduction, risk mitigation and revenue generation, and how AI is changing planning and cross-functional decision-making.

June 6, 202544 minAI & AutomationFP&A & Analytics

The Accounting Podcast

Beyond the Hype: Real-World AI in Accounting and Finance

Concrete AI applications in expense management, policy-violation detection, SaaS subscription discovery, vendor consolidation and AI agents for employee policy compliance.

May 30, 202555 minAI & AutomationAccounting & Close

The CFO Show

The State of Strategic Finance 2025: AI Adoption, Collaboration and Technology Gaps

A data-driven look at how finance organizations are adopting AI and planning technology, closing technology gaps and evolving from reporting functions into strategic business partners.

May 6, 202528 minFinance Transformation

AFP Conversations

Smart Treasury: AI-Powered Cash Forecasting

How AI and Big Data can improve cash forecasting, liquidity decisions, working capital management, currency exposure and treasury automation.

Treasury & CashAI & Automation

AFP Conversations

AI, Machine Learning and Finance

Exploring practical uses of AI and machine learning for data cleansing, forecasting, categorization and driver-based financial planning.

Treasury & CashFP&A & Analytics

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