Financial Executives International

🎧 Listen to the full FEI Podcast episode » Chrissy O'Hara built her career the traditional way: audit at EY, a financial reporting role at Fannie Mae, time at the hedge fund Citadel, and an MBA earned at night. Then she helped build the accounting software she and her husband wished existed, and stepped into life as a startup CFO.

Every business-to-business payment involves conflicting incentives. The payer wants to hold cash as long as possible, preserving working capital and the value of float. The payee wants the cash as soon as possible for the same reason. Both are trying to do the same thing: optimize their own cash and working capital, from opposite perspectives. When the payment is made, the tension is resolved. This resolution is rarely reached on merit.

The efficiency case for AI in finance has been made, and in many organizations, the decision has already been made along with it. AI is now embedded in journal entry processing, financial close workflows, variance analysis, and more. The conversation has moved from whether to adopt these tools to how to govern them – and for financial leaders responsible for the integrity of their organizations' financial reporting, that’s where the real work begins.

🎧 Listen to the full FEI Podcast episode » The biggest AI challenge facing CFOs today may not be the technology. It is the organizational culture, process readiness, and governance required to use it well. In a recent episode of the FEI Podcast, host Heather Cole, executive advisor and FEI Member, sits down with Jennifer Witts, Partner at CohnReznick's Client Advisory Services Practice, and Kyle Vroegh, Director at CohnReznick's Client Advisory Services Practice.

The pressure on financial leaders to develop a point of view on artificial intelligence has been relentless. Boards want AI strategies. Leadership teams want ROI frameworks. Auditors want governance controls. And while the expectations around AI continue to stack up, a separate – and equally consequential – wave of technology challenges has been building in the background. The reality for financial leaders in 2026 is not just that AI is transforming their function.

Finance and accounting functions are being reshaped by converging pressures – shifting talent landscapes, advancing technology, and growing organizational complexity. To document this transformation at a national scale, the Financial Education & Research Foundation (FERF), in partnership with Randstad USA, has launched the 2026 Finance Architecture Report – a comprehensive research initiative examining the talent challenges and structural evolution facing today's finance and accounting leaders.

Financial leaders across the profession are facing a familiar tension: the need for strong leadership bench strength alongside growing operational complexity, talent constraints, and succession risk. While the conversation around the finance talent pipeline often focuses on hiring and technical capability, the more pressing issue is whether organizations are actively preparing their people to step into leadership roles when the business needs them most.

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by Adam Travaglione & Sara Ayres Technology transformation is the top strategic priority for many U.S. business leaders, according to the C-Suite Barometer: Executive Leadership Insights in the US report from Forvis Mazars.1 And more of them are acting rather than waiting, with real financial consequences. Most U.S. leaders indicated they expected an increase in revenue this year, only slightly down from what they forecast for 2025 and 2024.

🎧 Listen to the full FEI Podcast episode » Today’s financial leaders are no longer measured by how quickly they report numbers. They are expected to shape strategy, drive transformation, and guide enterprise-wide decision-making. Yet, a significant gap remains. While CFOs are expected to lead strategy, many still spend limited time doing so. The report reveals that 68% of CFOs spend 40% or less of their time on strategic activities, underscoring a disconnect between expectations and execution.