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In this episode of FP&A Unlocked, host Paul Barnhurst and co-host Glenn Snyder sit down with Valerie Martin to discuss how AI is changing FP&A, leadership, and business partnering. They explore why greater efficiency does not automatically create greater value and how finance teams can use AI without losing judgment, context, or trust with the business.
Valerie Martin is a Finance Executive specializing in FP&A and strategic finance, with experience across GTM, SaaS, AI, and value creation. A former Autodesk finance leader and San Francisco FP&A Board Ambassador, Valerie brings extensive experience in business partnering, finance transformation, and helping organizations make better strategic decisions.
Expect to Learn:
Here are a few relevant quotes from the episode:
Valerie explains that AI can automate variance analysis, reporting, data cleanup, and other repetitive work, but faster production is only useful if teams turn that saved time into greater business value. As AI takes on more technical work, FP&A professionals need to strengthen their judgment, curiosity, business acumen, and communication skills.
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Disclosure: Portions of this episode (such as the introduction or promotional segments) use AI-generated voice narration produced under human editorial review.
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Earn Your CPE Credit
For CPE credit, please go to earmarkcpe.com, listen to the episode, download the app, answer a few questions, and earn your CPE certification. To earn education credits for the FPAC Certificate, take the quiz on earmark and contact Paul Barnhurst for further details.
In Today’s Episode:[00:00] -Trailer
[01:17] - Hard-Coded Opinion
[04:54] - How AI Is Changing FP&A Skills
[06:16] - Where AI Adds the Most Value
[13:51] - When AI Efficiency Doesn't Create Value
[15:03] - Judgment, Context & Accountability
[19:46] - Redesigning FP&A Work for AI
[20:51] - Why Communication Still Matters
[27:35] - Turning Saved Time Into Greater Value
[34:20] - What Differentiates Finance in the AI Era
[41:22] - How FP&A Professionals Stay Valuable
[46:27] - Closing & CPE Information
In this episode of FP&A Unlocked, host Paul Barnhurst sits down with Chithra Rajagopalan, Head of Finance at Obsidian Security, to discuss what great FP&A looks like in high-growth companies, why strong data foundations matter, and how finance teams can become more strategic business partners. Chithra shares lessons from scaling finance teams, supporting hypergrowth companies, and using data to influence better decisions.
Chithra Rajagopalan is a finance leader with experience across high-growth SaaS and AI security companies. She currently serves as Head of Finance at Obsidian Security, where she oversees financial strategy and operations. Her previous roles include finance leadership positions at Glue, ClickUp, and People.ai, following earlier experience at Deloitte and Ernst & Young.
Expect to Learn:
Here are a few relevant quotes from the episode:
Chithra explains that strong FP&A starts with reliable data, business understanding, communication, and the ability to prioritize what actually moves the business forward. For finance professionals, the growing use of AI also means shifting from task execution toward an orchestration mindset, where teams understand systems, workflows, automation, and business strategy rather than simply producing reports.
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Disclosure: Portions of this episode (such as the introduction or promotional segments) use AI-generated voice narration produced under human editorial review.
Earn Your CPE Credit
For CPE credit, please go to earmarkcpe.com, listen to the episode, download the app, answer a few questions, and earn your CPE certification. To earn education credits for the FPAC Certificate, take the quiz on earmark and contact Paul Barnhurst for further details.
In Today’s Episode:[00:00] - Trailer
[05:07] - What Great FP&A Looks Like
[11:16] - Building Finance During Hypergrowth
[15:19] - Creating a Culture of Data
[17:52] - Three Foundations of Strong FP&A Teams
[29:31] - Inside Obsidian Security
[34:38] - AI, Finance & Cybersecurity
[39:42] - Moving Beyond AI Hype
[44:43] - Why Finance Needs AI Guardrails
[47:24] - The Skills FP&A Professionals Need
[50:01] - The Future of Finance Teams
[57:08] - Why Startup Chaos Builds Better Leaders
[59:15] - Closing Thoughts
In this episode of FP&A Unlocked, Paul Barnhurst speaks with Eric Alexander about building effective FP&A functions, developing business acumen, and preparing finance professionals for leadership. Eric explains why finance teams need to look beyond the numbers, understand the business, communicate effectively, and develop the leadership skills needed to create greater impact.
Eric Alexander is the President of Six Arrows Consulting and an advisor, speaker, and author with nearly 40 years of financial management experience, including 20 years in CFO roles. He served as CFO of Happy State Bank and now provides leadership development, strategic planning, finance function, and advisory services to community banks and mid-market companies. He is also the author of Stewardship Leadership for Stinking Accountants: Serving as the CFO.
Expect to Learn:
Here are a few relevant quotes from the episode:
Eric emphasizes that strong finance professionals need more than technical expertise. They must understand the business behind the numbers, communicate their insights, collaborate across functions, and help leaders make better decisions. As professionals move toward CFO roles, leadership, strategy, communication, and stewardship become increasingly important
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Disclosure: Portions of this episode (such as the introduction or promotional segments) use AI-generated voice narration produced under human editorial review.
Earn Your CPE Credit
For CPE credit, please go to earmarkcpe.com, listen to the episode, download the app, answer a few questions, and earn your CPE certification. To earn education credits for the FPAC Certificate, take the quiz on earmark and contact Paul Barnhurst for further details.
In Today's Episode:
[00:00] - Trailer
[03:55] - What Great FP&A Looks Like
[04:47] - Building a Strong FP&A Function
[07:43] - Understanding the Business Behind the Numbers
[09:23] - Building Business Acumen
[13:39] - Moving From Accounting to FP&A
[16:19] - The Path to CFO
[20:31] - Leadership & Constructive Disagreement
[26:06] - Pre-Mortems & Better Decisions
[30:03] - Point Estimates vs. Ranges
[38:10] - Stewardship Leadership & The CFO Role
[43:57] - Technical & Human Skills for FP&A
[46:19] - Personal Questions & Closing Thoughts
In this episode of FP&A Unlocked, Paul Barnhurst speaks with Soufyan Hamid about financial storytelling, finance business partnering, and how finance professionals can move from reporting numbers to influencing business decisions. Soufyan explains why numbers need context, how finance teams can systematize storytelling, and why communication, business acumen, and empathy are essential skills for creating strategic impact.
Soufyan Hamid is a finance professional, corporate trainer, EMBA lecturer, and keynote speaker who specializes in systematizing storytelling for finance teams. He helps finance professionals strengthen their communication and financial storytelling skills.
Expect to Learn:
Here are a few relevant quotes from the episode:
Soufyan explains that effective financial storytelling is about more than presenting numbers. Finance professionals need to understand their audience, prioritize what matters, provide context, and help the business make better decisions.
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Disclosure: Portions of this episode (such as the introduction or promotional segments) use AI-generated voice narration produced under human editorial review.
Earn Your CPE Credit
For CPE credit, please go to earmarkcpe.com, listen to the episode, download the app, answer a few questions, and earn your CPE certification. To earn education credits for the FPAC Certificate, take the quiz on earmark and contact Paul Barnhurst for further details.
In Today's Episode:
[00:00] - Trailer
[03:13] - What Great FP&A Looks Like
[05:46] - Why Finance Needs Storytelling
[12:28] - Making Financial Storytelling Useful
[16:02] - Why Numbers Need Context
[19:57] - Systematizing Storytelling & the FP&A Maturity Model
[29:38] - Storytelling, Business Partnering & Influence
[34:21] - Common Finance Presentation Mistakes
[40:13] - Complexity Is a Failure of Empathy
[46:05] - Technical & Human Skills for FP&A
[49:53] - The Mindset Shift: Learning to Prioritize
[56:15] - Building Better Finance Teams & Closing Thoughts
In this episode of FP&A Unlocked, Paul Barnhurst speaks with Asif Masani about his new book, The Precision Trap, and why finance teams can focus too much on accuracy and miss the decision window. Asif explains how FP&A professionals can deliver timely analysis, influence business decisions, and become stronger business partners.
Asif Masani is a Director at FP&A Professionals Institute and FP&A Jobs, an author, and Udemy instructor focused on helping finance professionals develop their FP&A skills. He is the author of All About FP&A, From Accounting to FP&A, and Data Storytelling Playbook.
Expect to Learn:
Here are a few relevant quotes from the episode:
The key to avoiding the precision trap is understanding what decision the analysis needs to support, who needs it, and when they need it. Asif explains why finance professionals should focus on delivering useful analysis at the right time and earning a place in important business decisions.
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Disclosure: Portions of this episode (such as the introduction or promotional segments) use AI-generated voice narration produced under human editorial review.
Earn Your CPE Credit
For CPE credit, please go to earmarkcpe.com, listen to the episode, download the app, answer a few questions, and earn your CPE certification. To earn education credits for the FPAC Certificate, take the quiz on earmark and contact Paul Barnhurst for further details.
In Today's Episode:
[00:00] - Trailer
[04:58] - What Great FP&A Looks Like
[10:30] - Building the FP&A Professionals Institute
[18:33] - Understanding the Precision Trap
[20:35] - Why Timely Analysis Matters
[29:44] - Spotting the Precision Trap in Organizations
[35:16] - Essential FP&A Skills
[38:04] - The DERP Framework
[39:54] - Getting to Know Asif
[44:56] - Final Advice for Finance Professionals
In this episode of FP&A Unlocked, host Paul Barnhurst is joined by Zach Rial and Chris Ortega, alongside co-host Glenn Snyder, to discuss budgeting and forecasting best practices. The conversation explores how finance teams should think about the purpose of budgeting, balancing control with agility, involving the business in the planning process, and using forecasting as a tool for better decision-making.
Zach Rial is a finance leader at AskElephant, a startup focused on revenue and conversation intelligence. He brings experience as an operator who uses finance, FP&A, and business insights to help companies grow and improve decision-making. Chris Ortega is the CEO of Fresh FP&A, a global fractional CFO and advisory firm supporting small and medium-sized businesses. Chris has over 20 years of experience in accounting, finance, and leadership roles, helping organizations build, scale, and prepare for growth.
Expect to Learn:
Here are a few relevant quotes from the episode:
Effective budgeting is not about predicting the future perfectly, it is about creating alignment, understanding business drivers, and enabling better decisions. The strongest FP&A teams use budgets and forecasts as tools to guide the business, build trust, and help leaders navigate uncertainty.
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Disclosure: Portions of this episode (such as the introduction or promotional segments) use AI-generated voice narration produced under human editorial review.
Earn Your CPE Credit
For CPE credit, please go to earmarkcpe.com, listen to the episode, download the app, answer a few questions, and earn your CPE certification. To earn education credits for the FPAC Certificate, take the quiz on earmark and contact Paul Barnhurst for further details.
In Today's Episode:
[00:00] - Introduction
[06:20] - The Purpose of Budgeting
[12:26] - Making Budgeting a Business Process
[17:24] - Building a Better Planning Approach
[26:51] - Practical Budgeting and Forecasting Tips
[37:44] - Building Trust With Business Partners
[44:35] - Managing AI Costs and Governance
[54:18] - Balancing Budget Control and Agility
[58:35] - Final Advice
In this episode of FP&A Unlocked, host Paul Barnhurst is joined by Brock Beyer and Natalia Kudinova to discuss how vibe coding is changing the way finance professionals automate work and build practical tools. They explore real-world use cases, AI token costs, security and maintenance concerns, and why finance teams should start with simple, repetitive processes rather than business-critical systems.
Brock Beyer is the CPA Controller at Jump, where he has used vibe coding to build internal productivity tools. Natalia Kudinova is a Senior Director at ABBYY with experience across finance leadership, treasury, tax, reporting, transformation, and process improvement.
Expect to Learn:
Here are a few relevant quotes from the episode:
Vibe coding is giving finance professionals new ways to automate repetitive work and build practical tools without traditional coding expertise. The key is to start small, focus on well-defined processes, and keep humans involved in reviewing results. As AI adoption grows, security, cost, and maintainability will remain critical considerations.
Follow Natalia:
Follow Brock:
Disclosure: Portions of this episode (such as the introduction or promotional segments) use AI-generated voice narration produced under human editorial review.
Earn Your CPE Credit
For CPE credit, please go to earmarkcpe.com, listen to the episode, download the app, answer a few questions, and earn your CPE certification. To earn education credits for the FPAC Certificate, take the quiz on earmark and contact Paul Barnhurst for further details.
In Today's Episode:
[00:00] - Trailer
[03:12] - What Great FP&A Looks Like
[04:59] - What Is Vibe Coding?
[09:36] - Getting Started With Vibe Coding
[16:02] - Where Vibe Coding Makes Sense
[20:21] - AI Token Costs and ROI
[34:12] - Best Finance Processes to Automate
[41:53] - What You Shouldn't Vibe Code
[46:17] - Maintenance and Security
[54:17] - Final Advice
In this episode of FP&A Unlocked, host Paul Barnhurst is joined by Nitesh Mukhi, Rohit Menon, and Sweta Jhalani to discuss how AI is transforming the FP&A profession and changing the way finance teams work. The guests share their experiences with the AI FP&A Programme, exploring practical AI applications, automation, financial analysis, and the skills finance professionals need to stay ahead. They also discuss why domain expertise, human judgment, and business understanding remain essential in an AI-driven finance world.
Nitesh Mukhi is the Finance Director at Presight AI, an AI analytics and big data analytics company in Abu Dhabi, with over two decades of experience across auditing, financial analysis, treasury, and FP&A roles at companies including Schlumberger, FedEx, and KPMG. Rohit Menon is a Regional Finance professional at Bioltec with more than 19 years of experience across multinational companies, focusing on finance transformation and developing FP&A capabilities. Sweta Jhalani is a Chartered Accountant and FP&A Manager based in India who transitioned from audit into FP&A, building experience in financial planning, analysis, and business partnering
Expect to Learn:
Here are a few relevant quotes from the episode:
AI is changing the way finance professionals approach their work, but the fundamentals of finance remain important. The ability to understand business needs, interpret data, communicate insights, and apply human judgment will continue to separate great FP&A professionals from the rest.
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Follow Sweta:
Disclosure: Portions of this episode (such as the introduction or promotional segments) uses AI-generated voice narration produced under human editorial review.
Earn Your CPE Credit
For CPE credit, please go to earmarkcpe.com, listen to the episode, download the app, answer a few questions, and earn your CPE certification. To earn education credits for the FPAC Certificate, take the quiz on earmark and contact Paul Barnhurst for further details.
In Today's Episode:
[00:00] - Introduction
[01:21] - Guest Introductions
[04:09] - What Great FP&A Looks Like
[07:17] - Why They Joined the AI FP&A Programme
[12:06] - Inside the AI FP&A Programme
[14:35] - Real-World AI Use Cases
[17:15] - Key Lessons From the Programme
[22:11] - The Reality of AI in Finance
[30:14] - AI Projects and Applications
[34:03] - Advice for Finance Professionals
[36:50] - The Future of AI in FP&A
[40:21] - Essential FP&A Skills
[43:34] - Skills Needed for AI Success
[46:36] - Quick-Fire Questions
[52:20] - Final Thoughts and Advice
In this episode of FP&A Unlocked, host Paul Barnhurst is joined by AI Finance Club members Eve Reiter, Jurgen Lang, and Bukie Faforiji for a discussion on how artificial intelligence is reshaping the future of FP&A. The panel shares how AI has changed the way they approach financial modeling, forecasting, automation, business partnering, and software development. From replacing repetitive Excel work with AI-powered workflows to building production-ready finance applications, they explore the practical skills finance professionals need to stay relevant in an AI-first world.
Eve Reiter is a global procurement leader and AI advocate with experience at Amazon, American Express, and State Street. Jurgen Lang is a Hamburg-based fractional CFO specializing in SaaS, sports, hospitality, and technology, with more than 15 years of finance experience. Bukie Faforiji is an FP&A professional and creator of CFO Intel, an AI-powered platform that delivers transparent and auditable financial insights.
Expect to Learn:
Here are a few relevant quotes from the episode:
AI is reshaping FP&A by reducing manual work, accelerating analysis, and helping finance professionals build more powerful workflows and tools. However, domain expertise, critical thinking, governance, and human judgement remain essential for producing reliable, defensible results. Finance professionals who actively develop these skills will be better prepared for an AI-driven future.
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Learn More About the AI Finance Club:
Join the AI Finance Club
The top global finance community with over 3,500 members. Advance your AI and FP&A skills through exclusive training, expert-led sessions, and a global network of finance professionals. Visit the AI Finance Club – Nicolas Boucher | Advance Your Finance Skills Today. The FP&A Guy and use code YNVTUWKG to get $100 OFF your membership.
Earn Your CPE Credit
For CPE credit, please go to earmarkcpe.com, listen to the episode, download the app, answer a few questions, and earn your CPE certification. To earn education credits for the FPAC Certificate, take the quiz on earmark and contact Paul Barnhurst for further details.
In Today’s Episode:
[00:00] - Trailer
[06:43] - What Great FP&A Looks Like
[11:01] - Inside the AI Finance Club Community
[13:41] - Why the Guests Joined the AI Finance Club
[19:08] - Moving from Excel to AI-Powered Workflows
[23:24] - The Most Impactful AI Projects They Have Built
[32:19] - How to Get More Value from AI Communities
[42:27] - The Opportunities and Risks of AI in Finance
[52:18] - The Essential Skills Every FP&A Professional Needs
[01:01:33] - Quick-Fire Questions and Final Advice
In this episode of FP&A Unlocked, hosts Paul Barnhurst and Glenn Snyder sit down with Josette Ferrer to discuss one of the most overlooked skills in finance: networking. While many finance professionals focus on technical expertise, Josette explains why building genuine relationships is essential for career growth, leadership development, mentorship, and long-term success.
Josette Ferrer is the Founder and Managing Director of Clairent Advisors, a valuation and business advisory firm specializing in business and intellectual property valuations. She also serves as President of the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of Financial Executives International (FEI) and is actively involved with organizations including How Women Lead, ProVisors, the American Society of Appraisers, and several executive leadership communities.
Expect to Learn:
Here are a few relevant quotes from the episode:
Networking is a crucial skill for FP&A professionals, enabling stronger relationships, mentorship, and career growth. Starting early and engaging genuinely helps build trust and opportunities over time. Remember, networking is about giving and adding value, not just seeking benefits for yourself.
Follow Josette Ferrer:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josetteferrer/
Follow Glenn Snyder:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/glennsnyder/
Earn Your CPE Credit
For CPE credit, please go to earmarkcpe.com, listen to the episode, download the app, answer a few questions, and earn your CPE certification. To earn education credits for the FPAC Certificate, take the quiz on earmark and contact Paul Barnhurst for further details.
In Today's Episode:[00:00] – Trailer
[04:22] – What Great FP&A Looks Like
[12:36] – Choosing the Right Networking Group
[21:23] – Why You Should Start Networking Early
[27:39] – Building and Maintaining Your Professional Network
[33:18] – Networking Strategies for Introverts
[41:21] – The Power of Mentorship
[52:05] – Final Networking Advice for Finance Professionals
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