Irena Teneva, an associate technical director at the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, joins the FM podcast to share insights gathered from a new AICPA and CIMA report, Future Ready Finance: Productivity at the Human-Technology Crossroads.

Teneva illustrates the types of tasks experiencing clear efficiency gains from artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, where finance leaders are more cautious about implementation, and steps those leaders are taking to expand how tools can be used.

Teneva also highlights why productivity still hinges on finance talent, priority areas for skills development, and how finance leaders are collaborating across business functions.

What you'll learn from this episode:

• Process and people priorities for finance leaders in 2026.
• Where AI implementation is leading to time savings for companies.
• Some steps leaders are taking to optimise and expand AI use.
• Why productivity is still a "people game".
• How finance leaders are approaching cross-business collaboration.
• Three key steps to improving efficiency, according to leaders.

Claire DuRose, lead manager–UK Student Recruitment for the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, and Vince Mayne, CEO of England Touch rugby, joined the FM podcast to explain the benefits of participating in team sport for students, specifically how team sport can grow skills and increase employability for finance graduates.

They discuss the ways team sport can prepare management accounting students for challenging environments at work, build deeper professional relationships, and help them through the interview process.

DuRose and Mayne also highlight what participating in team sport can give young professionals that academic and other extracurricular frameworks can't.

What you'll learn from this episode:

• The project goals for CIMA's collaboration with England Touch rugby.
• The soft skills that touch rugby can help finance students build.
• "Super skills" that can help students prepare for interviews and work.
• The value of team sport in building deeper bonds in the workplace.
• How participation in team sport can grow leaders' perspectives.

The latest Future of Finance research from the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants reveals several key focus areas for finance and business leaders.

Rebecca McCaffry, FCMA, CGMA, the Association's associate technical director, joined the FM podcast to discuss survey results, highlighting leaders' top transformation strategies, barriers facing organisations looking to upskill talent, and notable areas of progress in finance teams since a previous survey on the topic six years earlier.

McCaffry also explains the interplay between people and process and one key preference that signals a "significant shift away" from organisations' workforce strategies in 2019.

What you'll learn from this episode:

• Finance and business leaders' top priorities for transformation.
• Consistencies and shifts in focus from 2019 to 2025.
• The interplay between process and people priorities.
• Skills gap challenges and what risks they pose for organisations.
• Two points of progress since 2019.
• One key strategic area gaining traction and investment.

Anthony Boateng, FCMA, CGMA, Npontu Technologies' chair, explores why retirement planning is about much more than saving money and illustrates the nonfinancial ways that professionals can invest in themselves to prepare for and maintain a sustainable and fulfilling retirement.

Boateng introduces his model for retirement planning, including four main areas he considers essential for growth and relevance into retirement years.

He also suggests several strategies for optimising networking and building deeper relationships, and he explains why a sharp mind matters the closer we get to retirement.

"At 50 and beyond ... you are no longer just working for today," Boateng said. "You are building the intellectual foundation for the next 20, 30, or 40 years."

What you'll learn from this episode:

• Why preparing for retirement is about more than saving money.
• One critical question for reframing our approach to retirement planning.
• Four pillars that can help steer a fulfilling, purposeful retirement.
• The interplay between relationships and wellbeing.
• Three approaches for authentic, meaningful networking.
• Why intellectual growth matters more as we age.

FM editor-in-chief Oliver Rowe details the content in the April digital edition of FM. He begins with an article on setting up an AI governance policy and another on the mistakes companies make related to AI policies.

This episode also summarises articles on how to use salary benchmarking sites and other resources to determine what you're worth and on ensuring a board's capability meets the organisation's business needs.

The conversation closes with an explanation of how members can access the April digital edition as well as the issue library.

What you'll learn from this episode:

• Details on two articles related to AI policies.
• A preview of a CIMA member's article on taking a strategic look at a board's makeup to suit business needs.
• Other highlighted topics from the April digital edition.
• How CGMA professionals can access digital editions of FM.

Leadership coach and diversity, equity, and inclusion professional Sophie Turner returns to the FM podcast to explain the intricacies of imposter syndrome, ways it can manifest itself at work, and the internal and external systems that can help professionals manage self-doubt.

Turner shares individual and cultural strategies that professionals and leaders can adopt to combat negative self-talk, broaden perspectives, and lean into a people-centric approach that emphasises learning and development.

"As managers, it's really important we embrace the learning curve and support our colleagues to do that because actually what can happen is, when we make a mistake, that feeds into our imposter syndrome," Turner said.

What you'll learn from this episode:

• One tip for reframing how we see ourselves.
• Five types of imposter syndrome.
• Societal and familial factors rooted in imposter syndrome.
• Techniques for improving the feedback process.
• How leaders can help shift the focus from mistakes to learning opportunities.
• Daily rituals for improving our mindset and self-concept.

Leena Dattani, FCMA, CGMA, discusses how limiting beliefs affected her professional growth, the small steps she takes to overcome them, and the realisation that changed her idea of what it means to be a leader.

"I had a vision that in order to be a great leader, you have to be loud," Dattani said. "I think because I felt that that needed to be the case, I was almost imitating what I thought a leader should be rather than being myself."

Dattani also discusses how one organisation achieved the buy-in to improve gender equity, some ways women can start to back themselves professionally, and what International Women's Day means to her.

What you'll learn from this episode:

• Small steps for overcoming poor self-confidence.
• The importance of building a supportive network.
• One realisation that helped Dattani become her own leader.
• How one organisation created a business case for gender equity.
• One trick for challenging limiting beliefs.
• What International Women's Day means for Dattani.

This episode of the FM podcast is the continuation of an occasional series on the show called Beyond the Code.

That means taking a detailed look at part of the CIMA Code of Ethics.

Xose Lumor, manager–Advocacy and Professional Ethics, discusses legal challenges finance and accounting professionals can face when using social media with Jenny Higgins, a legal director for London firm Kingsley Napley.

Related resources for this conversation include:

• The CIMA Code of Ethics home page
• Kingsley Napley's regulatory-focused Linkedin page

What you'll learn from this episode:

• Why it can be beneficial but not foolproof to keep separate personal and professional social media accounts.
• How supposedly "private" online activity can have an effect on a finance professional's reputation and the profession.
• What regulators consider when deciding whether online comments bring a profession into disrepute.
• Why social media posts can carry serious consequences — including disciplinary action — for professionals.
• Why Higgins said a discussion about social media and its potential is not all "doom and gloom".

In this podcast episode, FM editor-in-chief Oliver Rowe summarises the content in the February digital edition of FM. He begins with an article on use cases for finance teams using AI and automation to improve efficiency, from predicting late customer payments to accelerating complex data transformation projects.

This episode also previews articles on practical guidance for strengthening your LinkedIn presence, responding to a rival organisation's recruiting pitch, and understanding more about the fractional CFO model.

The conversation closes with an explanation of how members can access the February digital edition as well as the issue library.

What you'll learn from this episode:

• Details on the article about how finance teams can apply AI and automation.
• A short sound clip from Mohit Sharma, ACMA, CGMA, one of the experts quoted in the article on AI and automation use cases.
• A preview of the article on strengthening your LinkedIn presence.
• Other highlighted topics from the February digital edition.
• How CGMA professionals can access digital editions of FM.

Workplace culture and human resources consultant Natalie Lewis explains why an organisation's culture can make or break the long-term business strategy.

"[You] can have the best strategy in the world. You could have a solid five-year plan, and everything looks bulletproof on paper. The numbers all add up, and everything is solid." Lewis said. "But if the culture of your team doesn't support that strategy, then it'll never get delivered."

Lewis explains how to ensure that employees are a good culture fit and offers strategies to better communicate company expectations to employees.

Lewis also sets out some of the expectations that can make middle manager's roles more challenging, what it means to be a self-aware leader, and simple steps for improving feedback processes.

What you'll learn from this episode:

• Traits that separate high-performing teams from poor-performing ones.
• A fast-track route for culture-fit hiring.
• Why leaders need to build an intentional culture early.
• Some ways that psychological safety can be destroyed at work.
• Expectations that can make managers' roles more challenging.
• Tips for becoming a better communicator.