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The finance team loves spreadsheets, so we didn't build a spreadsheet-heavy workflow. They built them because the systems they paid millions of dollars to buy couldn't answer the questions they needed answered. Over the past 20 years, corporate finance software has gotten very good at storing data. ERP, billing systems, financial planning platforms, and financial infrastructure tools serve as systems of record for nearly all financial transactions within a company. But much of the real work in finance is done elsewhere. When executives ask why revenue fell short of expectations, which customers caused churn, why margins were compressed, and whether…

Zane Rowe knows a thing or two about change. After a career in the airline industry, ultimately serving as the CFO of United Airlines, he not only switched industries, but roles entirely, taking on a sales leadership role at Apple. “A lot of people thought I was crazy, quite frankly,” says Rowe. “It goes back to getting outside your comfort zone and taking opportunities.” Now the CFO of Workday, Rowe is at the forefront of SaaS, staring down a new major opportunity: AI. In conversation with host Jack McCullough, Rowe shares how he’s approaching this new chapter of technology, how…

Leadership has always been a lonely endeavor, but in the AI era, that loneliness is at risk of getting worse—and when it does, the negative impact on CEOs and leaders jeopardizes the future of their organization. Leadership isolation degrades the product of leadership itself: the quality of decisions, the coherence of strategy, the ability to execute at scale. It takes much more than a wellness initiative to address it, requiring a careful strategic approach from the top—for the betterment of individual leaders, and the organizations, products and people depending on them. More than half of CEOs report experiencing isolation, and…

CEO turnover is increasing at an unprecedented pace. In the first four months of 2025 alone, 1,028 CEOs left the company, an increase of 19% year-on-year and a record high. Annual succession rates in the S&P 500 are projected to reach 10% to 13% in 2024, with external hires now accounting for nearly one-third of all appointments. Boards are making more leadership decisions under greater pressure than at any point in recent history. Systems that move this quickly often require a change in leadership. The problem is that decision-making is not improving. More and more patterns are starting to emerge.…

Regulatory Updates Audit Committees Need to Know Now – Board Members Skip to content Three developments every audit committee should pay attention to. Several proposals from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and a change in new leadership at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) could meaningfully reshape audit committee oversight and financial reporting standards in the coming years. I recently led a board briefing hosted by CBM Network with Tony Anderson, audit committee chair at Marsh and former vice chairman and Midwest area managing partner at Ernst & Young, and identified three developments that every audit…

In the fast-paced environment of financial reporting, determining current priorities and forward-looking strategies can be difficult. Insights from audit partners at leading companies can help audit committees identify challenges and understand trends in public companies, particularly in emerging areas such as artificial intelligence. Our audit partners have a unique perspective on the U.S. business environment given their broad perspectives and involvement in a variety of industries. CAQ's biannual Audit Partner Pulse survey provides insights from audit partners on everyday topics like the health of the U.S. economy and timely issues like investments in AI and governance structures. The Spring 2026…

Too many CFOs treat variance as something to explain rather than something to interrogate. And that instinct obscures where execution actually fails. Louie Damasceno, CEO of Brooks International, a global professional services firm based in West Palm Beach, Florida, spoke to CFO Leadership about why variance is often misread, why predictability is an outcome of operating model design, and three questions finance leaders should ask their CEOs before the next strategy cycle. CFOs often first discover execution issues through variances. What do they actually see and where do they tend to make mistakes? They capture the real signal, but the…

Jessica McClain, CFO of the American Staffing Association, had an inkling since childhood that she would work in accounting. But after over a decade as a Big Four public accountant, she knew it was time for a shift. “I knew I wanted to do work that was more than just worried about the bottom line,” says McClain. “I’m all about business. I’m all about making a profit. I understand that’s important, but I wanted to have another piece of that and have some purpose in the work that I was doing.” From that moment on, she has worked in what…

Usually it's not a data issue. In fact, most executives don't miss the data. Often, they act on incomplete strategic decisions that they believe are already resolved. Costs are rarely shown in strategy sessions. It shows up months later in execution, resource allocation, organizational alignment, and ultimately performance. We've all experienced strategic priorities being announced. Efforts for change begin. Growth goals are set. The leadership team leaves the room believing they are on the same page. But beneath that apparent agreement, important questions remain unresolved, such as the trade-offs needed to support the strategy, the priorities at which resources must…

For 40 years, I have supported leadership transitions in organizations, first as a senior manager and then as an advisor. I've worked with hundreds of CEOs, board members, and CHROs, and I've seen transitions go smoothly in some cases, and others that nearly wipe out the organizations they've spent decades building. Succession was rarely the key element. In most cases, it was the outgoing CEO who determined whether the transition would succeed or fail. CEOs who manage succession well are not necessarily diligent or disciplined. They are just as competitive and selfless as their peers. What sets them apart is…