Although climate scientists are now able to identify climate change as a contributing factor in extreme weather events, and predict that hurricanes will continue to get more intense, property insurance underwriters don’t take climate change into account when setting catastrophe insurance premiums. In fact, insurers don’t like to talk about climate change much at all. CFO.com Deputy Editor David M. Katz interviews Deputy Editor David McCann about the insurance industry’s seeming foot-dragging on the climate issue. Why does underwriting assume, even thought the climate is changing, that past weather data predicts future weather patterns? Why are reinsurers a bit more forthcoming on the issue? And why does the typical 12-month term of property insurance policies present a problem?

Although a brave new world of corporate sharing of cyber threat information is arising, there are still concerns about government involvement. CFO.com Editor in Chief Vincent Ryan interviews Deputy Editor David M. Katz about the challenges that companies face in using the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015 to combat hackers, reduce network vulnerabilities, and detect malicious attacks. What kind of data will companies share with the Department of Homeland Security and each other? How will they avoid disclosing customers' personal data? And will the FBI's fight with Apple make companies averse to cooperate?

CFO Magazine Editor in Chief Edward Teach interviews Vincent Ryan of CFO.com about his February 2016 cover story, "Fast Money." Ryan discusses how bloated cost structures, deteriorating credit portfolios, and new regulatory burdens for banks in the wake of the financial crisis opened the door for online, "shadow" lenders like Kabbage, Lending Club, Funding Circle, and Avant.

The two editors also discuss why online lenders can make loans to small businesses when banks can't; how these lenders determine creditworthiness; and whether or not these lenders will survive an economic downturn and increasing regulatory pressures.

SAP’s Thack Brown is interviewed by CFO Publishing’s Chris Schmidt on the topic of The Innovative Finance Function in North America. Thack discusses the increasing influence of finance professionals, the broadening organizational scope of the finance function, and the biggest challenges facing finance executives in North America.

Thack also comments on business complexity and the rapid pace of change, the value of digitalization and automation, and steps that finance executives should take to prepare their teams for the future.

Richard McLean, SAP’s Regional CFO for Asia Pacific Japan, is interviewed by CFO Publishing’s Chris Schmidt on the topic of The Innovative Finance Function in Asia Pacific. Richard discusses the increasing influence of finance professionals, the broadening organizational scope of the finance function, and the biggest challenges facing finance executives in Asia Pacific.

Richard also comments on business complexity and the rapid pace of change, the value of digitalization and automation, and steps that finance executives should take to prepare their teams for the future.

SAP’s Fernando Lewis is interviewed by CFO Publishing’s Chris Schmidt on the topic of The Innovative Finance Function in Latin America. Fernando discusses the increasing influence of finance professionals, the broadening organizational scope of the finance function, and the biggest challenges facing finance executives in Latin America.

Fernando also comments on business complexity and the rapid pace of change, the value of digitalization and automation, and steps that finance executives should take to prepare their teams for the future.

SAP’s Henner Schliebs is interviewed by CFO Publishing’s Chris Schmidt on the topic of The Innovative Finance Function in Europe.

Henner discusses the increasing influence of finance professionals, the broadening organizational scope of the finance function, and the biggest challenges facing finance executives in Europe.

Henner also comments on business complexity and the rapid pace of change, the value of digitalization and automation, and steps that finance executives should take to prepare their teams for the future.

CFOs in the professional services space are being asked to expand their roles and responsibilities to include strategic planning, growth, risk management, regulatory compliance, technology infrastructure, human capital, and acquisition due diligence. Finance executives are being asked the question, “How do we grow, and how do we become more profitable?” Bill Daisy, a Managing Director at accounting firm CBIZ Tofias, joins Chris Schmidt on this CFO podcast to discuss six key trends affecting professional services CFOs.

With so many methods of automation at their fingertips, CFOs are interested in learning more about business-process management and workflow tools. Rebecca Wettemann, Vice President of Nucleus Research joined Mary Beth Findlay, Editorial Director with CFO Publishing to discuss the latest in automation technology.

Automation technology tools boast a variety of performance-boosting capabilities. Implementing automation software can increase productivity, customer and client satisfaction, and the ability for high-value employees to focus on tasks most suitable for their skill sets and capabilities. The newer, cloud-based workflow tools of today are often easily adaptable, quick to implement, and don’t require any additional IT resources.

CFOs interested in investing in automation technology should ask potential vendors for references and also for an estimated timeframe for deployment. Vendors should also be able to estimate the adaptability of their systems to ongoing changes. Some CFOs may be wary of automation technology due to past inefficiencies. While workflow tools have been around for a long time, the newer models are cloud-based tools that are generally easily configured to work with current systems and can streamline processes in a way that is overall much less costly than in previous iterations.

Wettemann does caution that the biggest mistake she sees CFOs make when purchasing automation technology tools is overpaying. So take care to shop around, and use industry peers as resources to better understand how to get the highest ROI from automation tools. Nearly 80% of tasks today can be automated; it could be well worth your time and money to invest in workflow systems.

Many CFOs find themselves contemplating how to best automate the financial reporting process. Concerned about data confidentiality? Interested in learning more about how automating the financial close can improve accuracy and efficiency? Andrew Hickey, Partner at Deloitte & Touche LLP joins Russ Banham on this CFO podcast to discuss the pros and cons of automating financial reporting.