Finance in 15

In this Women in Finance special episode of the Finance in 15 podcast, guest host Jill Satre sits down with Jana Mosley, President of ENMAX Power, and Preet Dhindsa, Executive Vice-president and Chief Financial Officer of ENMAX Corp., to discuss their roles in building an effective partnership between the finance function and other lines of the business. Preet and Jana share how they’ve created alignment across their teams by building trust and encouraging collaboration as they look for the best ways to move the business forward.

• 00:00- Jill’’s introduction to Women in Finance and guests Jana Mosley, President of ENMAX Power, and Preet Dhindsa, Executive Vice-president and Chief Financial Officer of ENMAX Corp
• 00:58-  Jana and Preet provide additional background on their roles at ENMAX
• 01:58- Jana and Preet explain how they work together and align their teams to move the business forward
• 03:14- Jana and Preet talk about how they build trust with the business within their roles
• 05:13- Jana and Preet discuss the programmes Enmax has  put in place to support employee well-being
• 08:20- Jana explains the importance of mentorship and sponsorship in career progression
• 09:54- Preet discusses ways to seek out mentors and development opportunities
• 10:55- Jana and Preet share three pieces of advice for those pursuing careers in business and finance
• 13: 30- Jill shares her closing thoughts and conclusions

Dans cet épisode, l’animatrice invitée Dominique Fortier, directrice principale des services aux clients chez PwC Canada, continue d’explorer le leadership féminin au sein de la fonction finance. L’épisode met en lumière Maarika Paul, première vice-présidente et cheffe des opérations et de la direction financière de la Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, ainsi que Lisa To, cheffe de gestion financière et performance du Groupe Finance de la Banque de développement du Canada (BDC), afin d’imaginer ce que l'avenir réserve aux futurs leaders en finances. Quels sont les acquis nécessaires? Quelles sont les transformations à prévoir? Comment s’y prendre pour pallier à la pénurie de talents? 

• 00:00- Dominique présente les invitées Maarika Paul et Lisa To
• 00:55- Maarika et Lisa parlent respectivement de leurs rôles à la CDPQ et à la BDC.
• 02:38- Les invitées traitent des acquis nécessaires pour être un bon leader en finance et l’évolution de la fonction.
• 05:45- Maarika et Lisa proposent de rendre la fonction Finance indispensable aux processus décisionnels des hauts dirigeants d’affaires. 
• 08:45- Maarika et Lisa expliquent de quelle manière les chefs des finances devraient gérer la pénurie de talents actuelle.
• 11:59- Maarika décrit les deux types de leaders du futur. 
• 13 :40- Dominique pose quelques questions en rafale afin de mieux connaître les deux invitées.

In this episode guest host Marino Fremis sits down with Darren Millman, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Centerra Gold. Darren discusses Centerra Gold's recent technology & finance transformation journey as part of the company's efforts to streamline and consolidate their data. They also talk about how a single source of truth can help generate key insights about performance on environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters as well as how finance leaders can demonstrate clear return on investment from these projects.

• 00:00- Marino’s introduction to Finance in 15 and guest Darren Millman, CFO at Centerra Gold
• 00:57- Darren provides additional background on his role at Centerra Gold
• 01:47- Darren explains the company’s recent technology transformation journey
• 03:55- Darren discusses risk management during the transformation process
• 05:03- Darren explains what informed decision making means to him and Centerra
• 06:50- Darren explains the importance of making ESG-informed decisions 
• 11:02- Darren discusses strategies for overcoming the challenge of understanding ROI in transformation journeys
• 12:40- Darren summarizes the top three key learnings from the transformation journey
• 15:00- Marino shares his closing thoughts and conclusions

In this episode, guest host Alaina Tennison, CFO at PwC Canada, kicks off a special series that explores leadership within the finance function. Featuring perspectives from some of today’s well respected female finance leaders, the special series explores strategies for navigating the ever-changing business landscape. To launch the series, Alaina sits down with Vanessa Kanu, CFO of TELUS International, to discuss her journey to becoming CFO at a global digital customer experience (CX) innovator and her advice for the next generation of finance leaders.

In this episode, host Adam Boutros sits down with Louis Marcotte, EVP and CFO at Intact Financial Corporation, to discuss an area that's an ongoing opportunity and challenge for many CFOs, acquisitions and successful integration post-acquisition. They explore key strategies for approaching the M&A process, the importance of due diligence and planning, and other ways finance teams can support an organization's growth and value creation.

• 00:00- Adam’s introduction to Finance in 15 and guest Louis Marcotte, CFO of Intact Financial
• 01:05- Louis provides more context about Intact Financial and his role at the company
• 02:16- Louis shares a brief synopsis of his recent deal activities, and how he typically begins the acquisition process
• 04:10- Louis expands on the importance of discipline and due diligence throughout the process
• 06:53- Louis shares his perspective on the integration of people and culture once a company has been acquired
• 08:32- Louis discusses the role of technology and data analytics during the acquisition process
• 10:57- Louis offers his tips for ensuring increasing speed and efficiency
• 13:21- Louis shares his advice and key focus areas for CFOs during the acquisition cycle
• 14:30- Adam shares his closing thoughts and conclusions

In this episode, host Adam Boutros sits down with France-Anne Fortin, PwC Canada Partner, Risk Assurance Services, and Shawn Reain, PwC Tax Partner and Compliance Transformed leader. Shawn and France-Anne discuss how key trends in the regulatory space are impacting the CFO approach to risk management. They explore some of the compliance solutions that can help CFOs accelerate their transformation journeys and ways to ensure they’re agile enough to adapt to the ever-increasing reporting demands.

• 00:00- Adam’s introduction to Finance in 15 and guests Shawn Reain and France-Anne Fortin
• 01:46- France-Anne explains where compliance fits into the finance transformation journey 
• 03:37- Shawn and France-Anne share tips to help finance companies meet the ever-increasing reporting demands
• 06:01- France-Anne offers advice to help finance leaders stay agile enough to keep up with regulatory changes
• 07:29- France-Anne and Shawn share their perspectives on automation in the compliance process
• 08:44- Shawn and France-Anne offer tips to help finance leaders establish compliance priorities for their teams
• 11:56- France-Anne and Shawn share their thoughts on the top few areas companies should be focusing on when responding to compliance risk challenges overall 
• 13:33- Adam shares his closing thoughts and conclusions

In this episode, host Adam Boutros sits down with Jean McClellan, PwC Canada’s People and Transformation Leader. During their discussion, Jean offers insights into the evolving skills required by finance, including upskilling tips to retain and attract top finance talent. Jean also shares her perspectives on the future of hybrid work, as well as tangible recommendations for prioritizing well-being in a virtual work environment.
 

00:00- Adam’s introduction to Finance in 15 and guest Jean McClellan

01:33- Jean shares her thoughts on the recent Canadian CFO insights report and the importance of remaining agile in this rapidly changing environment

02:48- Jean discusses successful upskilling practices she’s seen clients implement and the role of the CFO in upskilling

07:28- Jean shares her perspective on the concept of a hybrid work environment

10:58- Jeans offers tips for prioritizing well-being in a virtual work environment

12:25- Jean outlines the top three areas companies should be focusing on in response to workforce challenges

14:14- Adam shares his closing thoughts and conclusions

In this episode, host Adam Boutros sits down with Sarah Marsh, partner at PwC Canada, ESG & reporting and Arlind Sulaj, a director with PwC Canada’s finance transformation practice. They discuss why ESG reporting has become imperative for finance teams and CFOs, how companies can modernize their finance functions and get 'data ready' for ESG reporting with the insights needed to execute on their strategy, and much more.

00:00- Adam’s introduction to Finance in 15 and guests Sarah Marsh and Arlind Sulaj

01:50- Sarah explains the growing intersection between financial performance and sustainability

03:07- Sarah discusses the future of ESG reporting

04:32- Arlind discusses ESG reporting from the perspective of the CFO role

06:01- Sarah explains how CFOs can know which ESG reporting framework is right for their organization

07:19- Sarah explains the roadmap for ESG reporting beyond the first report

09:07- Sarah discusses the type of data companies are reporting on currently

10:08- Arlind explains current trends in data reporting overall

12:14- Sarah explains the role of comp in communicating a company’s ESG priorities

13:21- Arlind discusses new developments in reporting automation

15:01- Sarah discusses current trends in data collection and reporting

17:14- Arlind shares his recommended approach for building robust reporting models

19:00- Sarah offers tips for companies developing their ESG data strategies

19:49- Arlind offers tips for companies developing their ESG data strategies

20:22- Adam shares his closing thoughts and conclusions

In the last episode of 2021, host Adam Boutros sits down with the CFO of PwC Canada, Alaina Tennison, on the Finance in 15 podcast. During the episode, Alaina provides listeners with an overview of her CFO role at PwC, her playbook for leadership, and the future of the finance function. In advance of the release of PwC’s CFO Insights this coming January 2022, Alaina shares her perspectives for CFOs, emphasizing the importance of staying in close communication with finance teams, importance of data and analytics, how ESG is entering the CFO mandate and valuing people above all else. 

Show Notes: 

• 00:00- Adam’s introduction to Finance in 15 and Alaina Tennison
• 01:13- Alaina provides an overview of her role as CFO
• 03:30- Alaina discusses the challenges she and her team have navigated during the pandemic
• 04:57- Alaina discusses her leadership strategy and tips for staying in close contact with her team
• 06:15- Alaina outlines the changes that have occurred within her team during the pandemic
• 08:33- Alaina discusses the increase in productivity she’s seen within her team
• 10:32- Alaina discusses ESG data and reporting
• 14:06- Alaina shares her top tips for finance leaders
• 16:08- Adam shares his closing thoughts and conclusions

To kick off season two of Finance in 15, host Adam Boutros sits down with PwC Partner Marino Fremis and Helen Brand, the chief executive of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the global body for professional accountants. During the episode, Marino and Helen share their perspectives on some of the findings from the 2021 CFO survey conducted by the ACCA and PwC. They also share their insights about the importance of ESG investing moving forward, and what we can expect to see in the future with regards to the typical finance function and CFO role.

00:00- Adam’s introduction to Finance in 15 and Marino Fremis

01:51- Helen introduces herself and her role at the ACCA

03:05- Helen discusses the work she has been doing with CFOs in particular

05:04- Helen discusses some of the findings from the 2021 CFO survey

06:42- Marino shares his take on the survey findings

10:02- Helen discusses the role of ESGs in the future of finance

13:05- Helen shares her perspective on the future of the finance function and how she sees the CFO role evolving overtime

16:15- Helen and Marino share their final key takeaways from the survey

17:27- Adam’s closing thoughts and conclusions