So what's the solution to that? How do we start that catch-up process?

Yeah, so I'll drill into some of the aspects of the transformation that CFOs are undertaking within their function, not just to transform their function, but also to transform their people.

And everyone actually runs to technology first to address the gap, and that's fine.

The first port of call is, let's get our technology right.

But it's those that really address the competencies of their teams and really equipping them with the right mindsets and skillsets are the ones that will truly be able to transform.

And so The transformation is, again, when you look at the four major areas of operation for a CFO, finance is best at going and getting the right information, the relevant information.

taking that information analyzing it producing insights and then using those insights to create influence and then really have a strategic impact on the business and create value so that's kind of the overarching cycle that each cfo is engaged in most finance functions spend a lot of time in information and insight and don't have as much time to spend on influencing and impacting and creating value.

What do those look

We want to talk about opportunities, risks, and then suggestions for finance professionals.

So Eric, coming out of COVID, we heard about a world that we were entering and even before COVID, and we all termed it VUCA, the V-U-C-A, volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world.

And as if that wasn't enough, we have continued down this road of fast-paced changes, things that are predictable are not predictable anymore.

And if you think about two accesses, one with certainty, you know, highly certain on the bottom and very uncertain on the top, and agreement on the bottom, this is the Stacey's matrix.

We are far from agreement and far from certainty.

And we are in a really complex world, which is now We are calling it a Barney world, brittle, anxious, non-linear and incomprehensible.

So we've moved even further up the complexity chain.

But if we scroll that forward 10 years or 20 years where that person is now retired and the system has been doing the easy bank recons all the time, how do we retain that human knowledge that will enable us to be good stewards supervising the machine?

talked about stewardship it resonated with me and I pulled some of that content into the book why the stewardship role is right at the heart of what it means to be a finance leader that's a long ramble to get you set up

No, that's absolutely valid.

And it helps me launch into the discussion about starting with first principles, like you said, purpose.

If we think about the purpose of the finance function and we think about the purpose of a CFO and a finance leader, there are two fundamental purposes that a CFO and the finance office serves to a business.

One is around business guidance and the other is business governance.

And both guidance and the governance, both of those aspects are deeply rooted in stewardship, trust and ethics.

The business guidance is around business decision making.

And the GMAP spoke my language, and so I'm so glad you're here to help us unpack it a little bit.