AFP Conversations

According to a recent survey published in Forbes, data scientists spend nearly 80 percent of their time collecting and cleaning data, and only 20 percent actually using it.

Emily Huang, CEO and co-founder of fintech startup idaciti, thinks that 80:20 ratio has to flip, and she has a solution. In the latest edition of AFP Conversations, Huang discusses how idaciti parses public financial filings from the SEC every 10 minutes, so finance professionals can focus on analyzing and leveraging the data instead of collecting and cleaning it.

At AFP 2019, this October in Boston, finance professionals will find plenty of solutions on how to maximize their use of data. Visit www.afp2019.org/register to sign up and use discount code PODCASTAFP2019 at checkout to save $100.

Libor is going away in 2021 and treasury and finance executives are slowly making preparations. One item on their to-do list is fallback language. That's the wording to indicate the rate that corporates would… fall back on in the event a Libor-related loan is still around after Libor sunsets at the end of 2021.

Fortunately for finance executives, the Alternative Reference Rates Committee, which is overseeing the transition from Libor in the U.S., recently released its recommended Libor fallback language. Even so, implementing fallback language – and preparing for a world without Libor – is no slam dunk.

On this episode of AFP Conversations, Meredith Coffey provides insights on what financial professionals need to do to prepare. Coffey is Executive Vice President of the Loan Syndications and Trading Association where she runs the research department and co-heads the LSTA's regulatory efforts to help facilitate continued availability of credit and efficiency in the loan market.

She is also a member of the Alternative Reference Rates Committee, or ARRC, she co-chairs the ARRC's Business Loans Working Group, and she has testified several times before Congress about loan markets.

AFP 2019, this October in Boston, is where treasury and finance professionals separate the hype from the reality. Visit www.afp2019.org/register to sign up and use discount code PODCASTAFP2019 at checkout to save $100.

One reason why we find it so hard to focus is because we are so busy trying to be productive. Trying to squeeze as much out of the moment as possible. And there are so many things to do at any moment. So how do we prioritize?

Chris Bailey has been called a "productivity mastermind" by Fast Company. He is the international bestselling author of two books -- Hyperfocus and The Productivity Project -- and his productivity blog, A Life of Productivity, is read by more than 200,000 people worldwide each month. He is also scheduled to speak about productivity and focus at AFP 2019 this October in Boston.

In the latest edition of AFP Conversations, Bailey discusses the link between focusing and productivity. He looks at why people do so much today but accomplish so little, and even talks about a concept he calls strategic un-focusing.

AFP 2019, this October in Boston, is where treasury and finance professionals separate the hype from the reality. Visit www.afp2019.org/register to sign up and use discount code PODCASTAFP2019 at checkout to save $100.

Avi Goldfarb is the Rotman Chair in Artificial Intelligence and Healthcare and a Professor of Marketing at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. He is also Chief Data Scientist at the Creative Destruction Lab, Senior Editor at Marketing Science, a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and President of Goldfarb Analytics Corporation.

In his new book, "Prediction Machines," Goldfarb explains how artificial intelligence (AI) will affect business, public policy, and society in terms that work for decision makers in virtually all fields. Perhaps his most important role is coming up this October in Boston, when he will be the featured speaker at the FP&A Luncheon at AFP 2019.

Goldfarb recently joined us on the AFP Conversations podcast, and we discussed using AI to make predictions in all areas of life and business.

AFP 2019, this October in Boston, is where treasury and finance professionals separate the hype from the reality. Visit www.afp2019.org/register to sign up and use discount code PODCASTAFP2019 at checkout to save $100.

Bryan Lapidus, FP&A, is the Director of the FP&A practice at the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP). Lapidus has worked in financial planning and analysis for American Express and Fannie Mae. He's also worked in risk management which gives him a bit of a unique perspective on forecasting. Also a prolific author and blogger, his work can be found at AFPonline.org, The Digitalist, Oracle and LinkedIn. In this interview, Lapidus discusses AFP's recent FinNext conference, as well as the state of FP&A - where it's at, where it's headed, and more.

AFP 2019, this October in Boston, is where treasury and finance professionals separate the hype from the reality. Visit www.afp2019.org/register to sign up and use discount code PODCASTAFP2019 at checkout to save $100.

Libor, the world's most important number, is going away in 2021. But according to a recent Wall Street Journal article, banks and corporates have been slow to move away from the rate – even as regulators are uncharacteristically ahead of schedule in creating alternatives. So why are finance executives dragging their feet? Laurie Brignac has some thoughts.

Brignac is the chief investment officer and head of Invesco's Global Liquidity Business. She's a recognized industry expert on corporate investing who has presented at the AFP Annual Conference. Brignac has been in the investment business since 1989 and is on numerous industry committees both in the U.S. and globally. Brignac discussed the "what", the "when" and the "how" to be ready for the Libor transition.

Invesco assets under management are as of May 24, 2019.

The opinions expressed are those of Laurie Brignac are based on current market conditions and subject to change. Her opinion may differ from those of other Invesco investment professionals. Invesco Advisers, Inc. is an investment adviser. It provides investment advisory services and does not sell securities. Invesco Advisers is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Invesco Ltd. Invesco and its entities are not directly affiliated with the Association of Financial Professionals. NA5234

AFP 2019, this October in Boston, is where treasury and finance professionals separate the hype from the reality. Visit www.afp2019.org/register to sign up and use discount code PODCASTAFP2019 at checkout to save $100.

From 2004 to 2008, Fran Townsend served as Assistant to President George W. Bush for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, and she chaired the Homeland Security Council.

Townsend spent 13 years at the U.S. Department of Justice under the administrations of President George H. W. Bush, President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush.

Today, Townsend is a director on the board of three public companies, and she is a senior national security analyst for CBS News.

She regularly appears on network and cable television as a foreign policy, counterterrorism, national and homeland security expert.

Townsend is a featured speaker at AFP 2019 this October in Boston where she is expected to talk about strategic risk and crisis management – when bad news becomes good news. You can learn more at AFP2019.org.

AFP 2019, this October in Boston, is where treasury and finance professionals separate the hype from the reality. Visit www.afp2019.org/register to sign up and use discount code PODCASTAFP2019 at checkout to save $100.

Payments fraud reached a new high last year. Again.

According to the 2019 AFP Payments Fraud & Control Survey, 82 percent of organizations reported payments fraud incidents in 2018. That beat the previous high of 78 percent set in 2017.

As always, the AFP Payments Fraud & Control Survey is underwritten by J.P. Morgan.

You can download the entire report at AFPonline.org/paymentsfraud.

Why is payments fraud reaching new heights every year despite so much attention and millions of dollars spent on law enforcement, training and tech solutions? AFP Conversations host Ira Apfel talked to Magnus Carlsson to find out.

Carlsson is the manager of treasury and payments with AFP, and he's a former payments executive for Volvo. He's a recognized payments industry expert, and he's spoken about payments fraud at conferences around the world.

AFP 2019, this October in Boston, is where treasury and finance professionals separate the hype from the reality. Visit www.afp2019.org/register to sign up and use discount code PODCASTAFP2019 at checkout to save $100.

Has blockchain lost its mojo? Today's guests on AFP Conversations podcast disagree. Dr. Sean Stein Smith is an assistant professor at the City University of New York, certified public accountant, and a member of the advisory board of the Wall Street Blockchain Alliance. Roberto Cruz Jr., is a certified treasury professional and Treasury Director for the North American Parent Subsidiary of Suez North America.

Stein Smith and Cruz frequently collaborate on treasury and finance thought leadership. They explain the practical applications for blockchain that exist right now.

AFP 2019, this October in Boston, is where treasury and finance professionals separate the hype from the reality. Visit www.afp2019.org/register to sign up and use discount code PODCASTAFP2019 at checkout to save $100.

U.S. companies built their cash reserves at a much slower pace in the first quarter of the year than in the last quarter of 2018, according to the AFP Corporate Cash Indicators®. What does that mean for the domestic economy?

Kevin Kane, Managing Director with BMO, joins AFP Conversations host Ira Apfel to give his thoughts on the state of corporate cash.

The CCI is a quarterly survey of senior corporate treasury and finance executives conducted by AFP and underwritten by BMO.

Get the full results of the 2Q19 CCI at www.afponline.org/CCI.