AFP Conversations

In this episode of AFP Conversations Tom Klein asks, "Where are all the quick wins for blockchain?"

Treasury and finance professionals increasingly are asking this question as well.

Klein argues that companies are not asking a simple question: What benefit can blockchain bring in the next 3-6 months? Klein is the founder of Business Block, which helps companies implement blockchain.

Stephanie Uhl is assistant treasurer of Forest City Realty Trust, a NYSE-listed company with nearly $1 billion in annual revenue. But Uhl didn't start there 13 years ago as a treasury associate. Actually, she was hired as a part-time receptionist.

"This was just an entry-level position to get me through college," she says. "And then it leads to a wildly different career. It's pretty amazing, don't you think?"

Uhl discusses her improbable career path and has some advice -- especially for women.

When you think about who conducts cutting-edge treasury and finance, global Fortune 500 businesses probably come to mind. To that group, you should add World Vision International.

World Vision is a humanitarian, relief and advocacy organization with more than $1 billion in annual revenue operating in approximately 70 developing nations across the globe. And yes, World Vision International is definitely on the cutting edge of treasury and finance -- so much so that last year World Vision became the first nonprofit to win the AFP Pinnacle Grand Prize for Excellence in Treasury and Finance.

Leon Tompkins and Jamie Wiersma of World Vision explained their award-winning program and what all treasury and finance teams can learn from them.

Today's guest, Geetanjali Tandon, has a lot to say -- about FP&A, IT, women in finance, cooking ... even Lego. She's a well-known presence on finance social media, constantly blogging, tweeting and authoring articles.

Geetanjali, who is Global IT Finance Lead for Monsanto, talked to AFP Conversations about her current role and the challenges she faces, why she's so active on social media, her interest in promoting women in finance, and her position as a Lego coach. That's right, Lego coach.

A new study from the Association for Financial Professionals found that more than half of treasury and finance professionals believe robotic process automation will have a moderate or significant impact on their work. Yet only 14 percent said they are confident their organizations are ready for risks that come with RPA. You can download the full report at AFPonline.org/RiskSurvey.

Today's guest, Sarah Schaus, is ready for RPA. In fact, her treasury team has embraced it, successfully implementing robotic process automation. Schaus is assistant treasurer at Allianz Life.

Everybody is concerned about payments fraud: Consumers. Law enforcement. And treasury and finance professionals. Yet, a new survey by the Association for Financial Professionals and underwritten by JP Morgan found that payments fraud is at its highest recorded level on record.

Why is payments fraud reaching new heights every year despite universal concern and millions of dollars spent on law enforcement, training and tech solutions?

Ripple is arguably the leading blockchain-based payments platform today. And it is growing: It has a new partnership to enter the payments market in China, and it is collaborating with multiple financial services companies, including American Express.

Marcus Treacher, Ripple's SVP of Customer Success, spoke to AFP Conversations about why Ripple has taken the lead in an extremely competitive market, and he discusses the company's plans for the future. Treacher has over 30 years' experience in banking and payment.

Download more AFP Conversations at AFPOnline.org/Conversations.

When John Drzik was last on the podcast talking about global risk, the world was a very different place. There was a great deal of political uncertainty in the United States and concerns over the global economy.

Drzik is back to discuss the state of global risk in 2018 and the World Economic Forum's Global Risks Report 2018, for which his organization is a strategic partner. Drzik is president of Marsh Global Risk and Digital and chairman of Marsh & McLennan Companies' Global Risk Center.

Treasurers, CFOs and other senior finance and risk executives are gathering in May to discuss global risk and more at BreakThrough Treasury and Finance. Learn more.

What was happening in July 2016? Brexit. ISIS. And Pokemon Go, for that matter. Here's what else occurred in July 2016: AFP Conversations published its first episode -- and today we taped our 100th episode!

To celebrate, the first guest from Episode No. 1 returns: Anthony Scaglione, executive vice president and chief financial officer of ABM Industries, a publicly-traded, Fortune 500 company. We'll get his perspective on what's changed since then.

(Spoiler alert: Plenty!)

There's no question that fintech will disrupt treasury and finance, right? According to Eric Rosenbach, there are three significant challenges that need to be overcome before mass adoption does occur. A former Pentagon Chief of Staff and Assistant Secretary of Defense, for six years Rosenbach led the Department of Defense on cyber issues, including during high-profile attacks on the United States by Iran and North Korea. He's also a former Army intelligence officer and commander of a telecommunications intelligence unit, serving in Bosnia and Kosovo.

Rosenbach will be the keynote speaker at Breakthrough Treasury and Finance this May in Nashville. Learn more at AFPonline.org/Breakthrough.