2888: AI and the Shift to Strategic Decision-Making in Finance

[00:00:00] Our finance professionals ready to embrace the transformative power of artificial intelligence.

[00:00:07] Well in today's episode I'm going to sit down with Pam McIntyre, SVP and corporate controller

[00:00:14] at One Stream Software.

[00:00:16] And we're going to delve into that very question.

[00:00:20] And with decades of experience in senior finance roles, Pam brings a unique perspective

[00:00:25] on how AI is reshaping the finance sector.

[00:00:30] From addressing the acute shortage of skilled finance talent to enhancing strategic decision

[00:00:36] making, AI is no longer just a futuristic concept, it's a practical tool and I think that is

[00:00:43] the keyword, tool that is redefining every fabric of financial operations.

[00:00:50] Now One Stream Software is known for its corporate performance management platform and

[00:00:55] has been at the forefront of integrating AI to streamline finance tasks and empower professionals.

[00:01:02] So today I want to discuss what is the evolving role of finance professionals, what does that

[00:01:07] look like from record keepers to strategic business advisors?

[00:01:11] And I'm going to ask Pam to highlight how AI tools like One Stream not only provide

[00:01:16] real time insights for better decision making but also and I would possibly argue more

[00:01:22] most importantly, elevate the role of every single human being working in finance to be

[00:01:28] true partners in the overall business strategy.

[00:01:31] So buckle up and hold on tight as I beam your ears all the way to Detroit where Pam is

[00:01:36] waiting to join me.

[00:01:39] So a massive warm welcome to the show Pam.

[00:01:42] Can you tell everyone listening a little about who you are and what you do?

[00:01:46] Yeah, good morning Neil.

[00:01:48] Thank you for having me.

[00:01:49] So I am Pam McIntyre.

[00:01:51] I'm the senior vice president in finance and corporate controller at One Stream Software.

[00:01:55] So I oversee all of the finance function at One Stream and oversee all of our financial

[00:02:01] systems and processes and do a breadth of system work and do our normal reporting,

[00:02:06] a lot of different things here at One Stream including business partnership.

[00:02:11] I've been in finance for 20 years.

[00:02:13] I had graduated with accounting degree and a dual major with applied technology and business

[00:02:20] so naturally kind of led myself to working with systems.

[00:02:23] I started my career Ernst & Young where I was an auditor for several years and then

[00:02:27] left and joined the industry and worked in industry for the last really like 15

[00:02:32] to 18 years I've been in industry working with finance teams in corporate functions

[00:02:37] helping with finance transformation, doing reporting, doing financial systems, implementations.

[00:02:43] I've taken very similar roles across the finance breadth including systems and processes director,

[00:02:49] leading transformation, major manufacturer in the Metro Detroit area

[00:02:54] and have led several One Stream implementations as well.

[00:02:57] Then at One Stream for four years now so then internal at One Stream working on those

[00:03:01] same types of things as the company has grown a lot over the past few years

[00:03:06] and been doing that role here for four years now.

[00:03:09] Well it's a huge pleasure to have you join me on the podcast today

[00:03:12] and I would imagine 20 years in finance you've seen so many big changes

[00:03:16] you see the rise of FinTech and AI and so much else.

[00:03:20] So just to set the scene for today's conversation now because there's a lot of talk

[00:03:24] around AI and AI replacing jobs etc but can you actually provide an overview

[00:03:29] of the current talent shortage in the finance sector and some of the key

[00:03:34] factors contributing to this issue because we hear a lot about AI is taking

[00:03:38] the jobs but actually there's a there's actual shortage of jobs here isn't there?

[00:03:41] Yeah absolutely and I can share just the perspective from like myself when I'm

[00:03:46] seeing in the market from a recruiting standpoint it's definitely a tough

[00:03:49] market out there. At One Stream we've been growing a lot so we've actually had

[00:03:53] talent needs and it's very difficult to find people that are hungry here

[00:03:57] with the right skill set at the right time. So companies are searching for

[00:04:02] the talent that people want to learn more challenge themselves and not do

[00:04:07] kind of that more routine stuff that might have been the historical thought

[00:04:10] of what finance teams have done in our past. So there's been a lot of articles

[00:04:15] published. BCG has won that I was just reading a couple weeks ago and it was

[00:04:20] talking about the shift in talent really the high-demand finance talent

[00:04:24] today versus what we saw you know maybe 20 years ago which might have had more

[00:04:27] people entering finance that really just wanted a routine job that could

[00:04:31] they could come and go and to do like process oriented work and the

[00:04:36] talent shift is really people are more eager they want to learn they want to

[00:04:40] grow they want to continue developing and so there's a high demand for you know

[00:04:44] finance skill sets for financial analysis doing accounting, auditing, modeling

[00:04:50] working on more talent leadership development really more technical things

[00:04:55] and so that's where AI has started to kind of supplement more of those

[00:04:59] routine processing skills and we can start leveraging systems to allow

[00:05:04] people to have more challenging work more satisfying work that we can

[00:05:08] hopefully attract higher talent in the future into finance.

[00:05:12] And one of the things that put one stream on my radar is it's the only

[00:05:16] enterprise as far as I know the enterprise finance platform that

[00:05:19] unifies all of operational data embeds AI for better productivity and

[00:05:24] adapts to fit the needs of your customers there but in terms of

[00:05:29] things like recruitment how is AI being utilized at one stream software

[00:05:33] to address some of the challenges associated with the finance talent

[00:05:37] shortages are there any specific examples that you could share that would

[00:05:41] maybe just bring this to life a little.

[00:05:43] Yeah I can actually share how I actually got into the one stream

[00:05:47] community so about 15 years ago I was at a company that was really

[00:05:52] really at a you know pivotal moment for ourselves right we had

[00:05:57] multiple multiple disjointed solutions we really struggled as a

[00:06:01] business to talk about our business in a cohesive manner and run our

[00:06:06] operations efficiently so we had multiple different reporting sets

[00:06:10] and they never reconciled to each other we used we use type here in

[00:06:13] planning these other tools that really didn't speak to each other

[00:06:17] and I always talked to people about finance truly being a language

[00:06:21] accounting is a language to understand what's going on in your

[00:06:23] business.

[00:06:24] And one stream as you mentioned is one platform cohesive the

[00:06:28] language from operations to planning to your reporting and

[00:06:31] record keeping are all the same.

[00:06:33] And so we don't use that time anymore to have to reconcile and

[00:06:37] validate information because the system is doing that for us and

[00:06:40] that's even before integrating AI now adding on the layer of AI

[00:06:45] where we can actually help predict and see around the

[00:06:48] corners and have you know different models that help us

[00:06:53] be able to scale and understand what's going on more real

[00:06:57] time.

[00:06:58] That really started becoming a pressure in finance a little bit

[00:07:01] during the COVID era I would say really learning how to learn

[00:07:05] learning how to look around corners learning how to see what's

[00:07:07] coming in the business the last 10 years and finance have

[00:07:10] really really been transformational and we've seen

[00:07:14] the shift from a record keeper to a business partner to

[00:07:16] strategic advisor to the business and leveraging tools

[00:07:20] like AI is what makes us able to scale without growing our

[00:07:24] teams immensely.

[00:07:25] So we don't want to have to continue growing our organizations

[00:07:29] to have 20 more analysts to do the work that the company needs.

[00:07:32] It's really looking at the systems and tool sets that exist

[00:07:35] leveraging those and bringing more value to the organization

[00:07:39] and accounting and finance people really have a true skill

[00:07:43] set and niche for understanding those things and being

[00:07:46] able to almost transform them into a language for people to

[00:07:50] understand because not everybody understands what the numbers

[00:07:53] mean but accountants finance people.

[00:07:55] Their role is to explain it to the business to be a business

[00:07:57] partner to work with the business strategically.

[00:08:00] And we've mentioned the transformation of finance

[00:08:03] roles with technology.

[00:08:04] So again just to bring this to life how are you seeing AI

[00:08:08] helping in attracting new talent and also retaining

[00:08:11] experience stuff within those finance departments because

[00:08:14] not just like getting new people it's about retaining and

[00:08:17] and bringing people along for this AI journey too.

[00:08:20] Yeah, absolutely.

[00:08:21] I always talk to my team and other people about leveraging

[00:08:24] these technologies taking these projects as opportunities

[00:08:27] to grow yourself your brand and your company's experiences.

[00:08:31] So a good example of that is you know there's things that

[00:08:34] we use every day that you don't even realize that AI has

[00:08:37] been integrated with a good example of Microsoft 365.

[00:08:40] We've added efficiencies to our day without even realizing

[00:08:43] it recommendations on email timing meeting invites people

[00:08:47] to include forgetting an attachment.

[00:08:49] Those are all forms of AI that we all use every day and

[00:08:52] don't even think about anymore.

[00:08:54] It's fully integrated into our into our day and just kind

[00:08:58] of not even not even important anymore because it's just

[00:09:01] something that we're used to but looking at our systems

[00:09:04] automation utilization of one stream at one stream for

[00:09:07] example has helped us battle those talent shortages as

[00:09:11] much as we can challenge the systems to do we're doing

[00:09:13] we're looking at purpose built solutioning making sure

[00:09:16] that it's really intentional of why we're using the

[00:09:19] information we're using why we're building and using

[00:09:22] those opportunities to let the team actually be those

[00:09:25] initiatives has really helped us retain our talent.

[00:09:29] And I think will help people grow and help with the

[00:09:31] talent shortage in the future because if you can

[00:09:33] retain people you're not replacing them so you're

[00:09:35] not worrying about that constant cycle of replacing

[00:09:39] them. The other thing it's helping with talent

[00:09:41] it's just giving them more intriguing insightful

[00:09:43] jobs and challenges to think about.

[00:09:46] So not doing the status quo not getting bored in your

[00:09:49] day to day not having to look outside those are helping

[00:09:53] people continue seeing their future and their growth

[00:09:55] in the finance world rather than looking at other

[00:09:58] opportunities. So definitely something that we talk

[00:10:00] about with young students as well like especially

[00:10:03] with the role of finance and how it's transforming

[00:10:06] you're not thinking of finance and accounting being

[00:10:09] just a tax person or a person with a green

[00:10:12] advisor anymore. They're really truly integrated with

[00:10:15] the business and I always tell people once you learn

[00:10:18] that language you can go anywhere in business.

[00:10:20] So hopefully hopefully we'll see that increase over

[00:10:23] the next few years of people who are interested

[00:10:25] in growing in finance because there is so much

[00:10:27] opportunity for people to learn and grow using

[00:10:30] those skill sets.

[00:10:32] So many great examples there and I am the guy

[00:10:34] that always forgets the attachments so but in

[00:10:36] particular a great one and as the role of

[00:10:40] finance and CFOs though as they continue to evolve

[00:10:43] how crucial do you think real time data insights

[00:10:47] for decision making in today's market all right

[00:10:50] now and how is one stream helping to facilitate

[00:10:53] that shift too.

[00:10:55] Yeah I can't emphasize the importance of

[00:10:57] information real time these days.

[00:10:59] It just a good example for us even that we used

[00:11:02] a few years ago is we use one stream at one

[00:11:04] stream and one of the things that we do is

[00:11:07] we're loading data we're understanding what's

[00:11:09] going on in a daily weekly basis and I know

[00:11:11] our customers are doing the same we have retail

[00:11:14] retail customers that are loading to understand

[00:11:16] what's going in and going on in every one of

[00:11:18] their warehouses.

[00:11:19] But for us it's real like we see the data we

[00:11:22] can understand what's going on in the business

[00:11:24] and if a mistake is made we can catch it

[00:11:26] real time.

[00:11:27] Last year there was a system that was turned

[00:11:30] on when it wasn't ready to be turned on and

[00:11:32] it was a costly system and we recognize

[00:11:35] rate a second why is this costing us

[00:11:37] money and we shouldn't be using it until next

[00:11:39] month.

[00:11:39] So by seeing this data real time actually saved

[00:11:42] us real money by being able to identify it.

[00:11:46] Customers are doing the same thing they're

[00:11:47] understanding what's going on their business

[00:11:49] and a real time basis helping control inventories

[00:11:51] helping control staffing levels.

[00:11:54] These are all real money.

[00:11:56] The whole reason we're in these businesses is

[00:11:58] to make money and to control cost return value

[00:12:01] to shareholders.

[00:12:02] And one stream is a true cohesive platform

[00:12:05] and one source of the truth that can bring in

[00:12:07] the operational and financial data to tie

[00:12:10] the business together to actually drive

[00:12:12] results.

[00:12:13] Seeing around the corners understanding

[00:12:14] what's going on in the business is

[00:12:16] increasingly important.

[00:12:17] CEOs are looking to finance to do that work

[00:12:20] not to operations to do that work these

[00:12:22] days where 10 20 years ago it was

[00:12:25] constantly the CEO CEO having

[00:12:28] conversations now it's really more of a

[00:12:30] trifecta.

[00:12:31] The CFO is in those daily operational

[00:12:33] touch points to understand what the

[00:12:35] consequences are in business and that's

[00:12:38] where we can actually add even more value

[00:12:40] using a product like one stream.

[00:12:43] And at the beginning of our conversation

[00:12:45] we talked briefly about having spent 20

[00:12:47] years in this space and I'm curious

[00:12:49] from your extensive experience in the

[00:12:51] world of finance have you personally seen

[00:12:53] the role of technology change the daily

[00:12:56] responsibilities and indeed the

[00:12:58] strategic importance of finance teams

[00:13:00] to really just being involved in the

[00:13:03] conversation and being a trusted partner

[00:13:05] before I first started my career in

[00:13:07] finance you saw the CFO sit on one side

[00:13:09] of the building and the CEO said on the

[00:13:11] other their roles were very disjointed

[00:13:13] they had conversations when it came to

[00:13:14] getting ready for board meetings or

[00:13:16] understanding what was going on in the

[00:13:18] business today they sit side by side

[00:13:21] they have to understand how to drive

[00:13:22] the business and business results

[00:13:24] together when we actually have

[00:13:26] operational data the output is truly

[00:13:29] what the impact is to the financial

[00:13:30] performance of the business so on time

[00:13:33] delivery ends up being money so it's

[00:13:36] all of those things being a more

[00:13:38] cohesive partnership and we've seen

[00:13:40] that evolution because of the trust

[00:13:43] in the CEO and the finance departments

[00:13:46] because they have the data at the end

[00:13:48] of the day that's truly what you're

[00:13:49] reporting on and understanding the

[00:13:51] value of those skills and skill sets

[00:13:53] are truly innovating what a CFO

[00:13:56] org can bring to companies these

[00:13:58] days.

[00:13:59] And if we zoom out from a look at the

[00:14:01] broader industry are there any particular

[00:14:04] trends that you're noticing right now

[00:14:06] and how companies are beginning to

[00:14:08] integrate AI to enhance their financial

[00:14:10] operations because I think last year

[00:14:12] there was a lot of nervousness a lot

[00:14:14] of people taking a step back some

[00:14:15] people or some organizations completely

[00:14:17] banning it from their employees from

[00:14:19] using it but I think that's changing

[00:14:21] now so what are you seeing.

[00:14:23] It is that is actually the first

[00:14:25] thing I thought when when you asked

[00:14:26] the question was the first thing that

[00:14:28] people did was exactly that they got

[00:14:30] nervous they're anxious about it people

[00:14:32] don't trust new technologies they have

[00:14:34] to earn the trust of that technology

[00:14:36] and you're seeing that being earned

[00:14:38] in the market today by making things

[00:14:41] more transparent audible and

[00:14:43] transformational.

[00:14:45] I've been at many CFO events where

[00:14:47] the question that is constantly asked

[00:14:49] is where do I start.

[00:14:50] My recommendation is always start

[00:14:52] where you already have trust look

[00:14:53] at the systems like your partners

[00:14:55] look at the things that you have in

[00:14:57] house today and look at those

[00:14:58] opportunities to leverage AI within

[00:15:01] those platforms because a lot of our

[00:15:03] existing products are already working

[00:15:05] on AI innovation.

[00:15:07] So on one stream for example

[00:15:10] the AI integration with our sensible

[00:15:11] machine learning we've already earned

[00:15:13] the trust and audit ability and

[00:15:15] transformation and transparency to

[00:15:18] the results or finance and CFOs

[00:15:21] so leveraging that technology and

[00:15:23] leveraging that skill the same

[00:15:24] controls the same workflows the same

[00:15:26] data but using it in a different

[00:15:28] way to actually drive the business

[00:15:30] and see what's going to go on and

[00:15:32] predict that's that trust that was

[00:15:34] already developed that you can kind

[00:15:35] of step one step forward instead of

[00:15:37] jumping over an entire bridge and

[00:15:39] trying to earn the trust of some

[00:15:41] new product that you may or may not

[00:15:43] know. So that's always my

[00:15:44] recommendation look at things in

[00:15:45] house look at what you can do first

[00:15:47] in your own house and then start

[00:15:50] kind of inching forward and learning

[00:15:51] and growing and making sure you're

[00:15:53] controlling it because you don't

[00:15:54] want to get out of control because

[00:15:55] that's not not a good thing but

[00:15:57] making sure that you are utilizing

[00:15:59] those technologies challenging your

[00:16:01] teams is a goal for them to

[00:16:03] look at ways that they can leverage

[00:16:05] it to make their teams more

[00:16:06] efficient. Those are all

[00:16:08] tremendous things that we can do to

[00:16:10] add value.

[00:16:11] And I'd also add that although the

[00:16:13] businesses and business leaders are

[00:16:15] now getting over that anxiousness

[00:16:17] and the nervousness of what this

[00:16:18] technology will do there will be a

[00:16:20] lot of employees and workers out

[00:16:22] there listening that are equally

[00:16:24] nervous and anxious because some of

[00:16:25] those traditional financial

[00:16:27] functions that become automated

[00:16:29] and we've got the rise of AI in

[00:16:31] finance. So on behalf of every

[00:16:33] worker in this industry, what

[00:16:35] new skills should finance

[00:16:36] professionals be focusing on

[00:16:38] acquiring to remain relevant

[00:16:41] and highly effective in their

[00:16:42] role? Yeah, really just

[00:16:44] analytical skills. Analytical

[00:16:45] skills are very important really

[00:16:47] professional skepticism as well

[00:16:49] because all of these things will

[00:16:51] get automated over time to remove

[00:16:53] the manual labor. It's no

[00:16:55] different than if you look at the

[00:16:56] manufacturing processes years

[00:16:57] ago. The jobs didn't get

[00:16:59] eliminated they got changed.

[00:17:01] They changed to be more quality

[00:17:02] control. They changed to be more

[00:17:05] business process oriented, but

[00:17:07] the manufacturing processes got

[00:17:09] automated. That's the same when

[00:17:11] you're talking about systems.

[00:17:13] Systems as they become automated

[00:17:14] you have to understand how to

[00:17:16] identify errors like it trusts.

[00:17:18] Another great example is when

[00:17:20] you take your car to the

[00:17:21] dealership today, they don't have

[00:17:23] to tear up or your engine to

[00:17:24] diagnostic. There's already a

[00:17:26] diagnostic tool on your car

[00:17:28] that's exactly what we're doing

[00:17:30] in business. Things like sensible

[00:17:32] machine learning are designed

[00:17:34] to be purpose built to help with

[00:17:36] that diagnosis instead of

[00:17:38] people doing that work that we

[00:17:39] used to. So I don't think

[00:17:40] people should fear the change

[00:17:42] in the world because the world

[00:17:43] will continuously change and it's

[00:17:45] a way to continue growing and

[00:17:46] learning and doing new things

[00:17:48] without being stuck in the

[00:17:50] mud and being stuck doing the

[00:17:51] same routine tasks on a day to

[00:17:52] day basis. So that skill set is

[00:17:54] really continue challenging

[00:17:56] yourself, challenge yourself to

[00:17:57] learn and grow. And those

[00:17:59] analytical skills will be super

[00:18:01] important into the future with

[00:18:02] learning how to be skeptical

[00:18:04] about the results, understanding

[00:18:05] the data, understanding the

[00:18:06] trends will continue being

[00:18:08] more important for people.

[00:18:11] And someone that has seen many

[00:18:12] changes, I mean being a leader

[00:18:14] in finance for many years now

[00:18:16] what future advancements in AI

[00:18:19] and indeed other tech trends

[00:18:21] excite you most what makes you

[00:18:22] want to jump out of bed in the

[00:18:23] morning. And how do you foresee

[00:18:25] these impacting the finance

[00:18:27] sector for the good we read a lot

[00:18:29] about the bad stuff but not

[00:18:30] about the good enough so what

[00:18:32] excites you?

[00:18:34] What's super exciting to me is

[00:18:35] like the anomaly detection, the

[00:18:37] things that we can do that

[00:18:38] automate reviews. Those will

[00:18:40] be super valuable to us because

[00:18:42] we won't have to trust in the

[00:18:43] future that somebody did

[00:18:45] something to try to find

[00:18:46] errors or to try to find data

[00:18:48] or to try to help with

[00:18:49] developing trends or looking at

[00:18:50] all of these outside factors.

[00:18:52] We're going to learn, grow and

[00:18:54] refine over time.

[00:18:55] That's super exciting for me

[00:18:56] because as somebody who's

[00:18:57] signing off on financial

[00:18:58] statements, having those

[00:19:01] having those processes in the

[00:19:03] background where we can trust

[00:19:04] what's going on and know that

[00:19:05] there's a system looking for

[00:19:07] anomalies, that will be

[00:19:09] super helpful. That makes me

[00:19:10] super excited.

[00:19:11] It's also exciting that the

[00:19:12] team hopefully someday will

[00:19:14] be able to get out of doing

[00:19:16] mundane tasks and be more

[00:19:18] excited about doing analysis,

[00:19:20] being excited about being a

[00:19:21] contributor to the business.

[00:19:23] My team, I always tell them,

[00:19:25] if you're doing something more

[00:19:26] than once, think about a way to

[00:19:27] get out of it.

[00:19:28] Try to find a way to stop

[00:19:30] doing those routine tasks.

[00:19:31] There are certain jobs that

[00:19:32] will always have routine

[00:19:33] mess in their processes.

[00:19:35] But as much as possible, try

[00:19:37] to figure out how to get out

[00:19:38] of it because I never want

[00:19:38] to do the same thing twice

[00:19:40] myself and always challenge

[00:19:41] my team to do the same

[00:19:42] thing.

[00:19:43] I love that.

[00:19:44] And I kind of thank you enough

[00:19:45] for sharing a unique story

[00:19:47] around the AI narrative and

[00:19:49] actually discussing the role of

[00:19:50] AI and finance and how it's

[00:19:52] actually quelling the

[00:19:53] accounting talent shortage that

[00:19:55] we're seeing out there right

[00:19:56] now.

[00:19:57] We started the podcast talking

[00:19:58] about your origin story, how

[00:20:00] you got where you are.

[00:20:01] But if I was to ask you,

[00:20:02] I was to ask you to look back

[00:20:03] now throughout your career,

[00:20:05] I would say that none of us

[00:20:07] are able to achieve any degree

[00:20:08] of success without a little

[00:20:09] help along the way.

[00:20:10] So is there a particular

[00:20:12] person that you're grateful

[00:20:13] towards?

[00:20:14] Maybe they helped you get

[00:20:15] you where you are?

[00:20:16] Maybe they just saw something

[00:20:17] in you and invested a little

[00:20:19] time in you.

[00:20:19] Who would that person be?

[00:20:21] And maybe we can give them a

[00:20:22] little shout out today.

[00:20:23] Yeah, actually, I have two

[00:20:24] people that come to mind.

[00:20:25] My first mentor Debbie Cook,

[00:20:27] she was one of my first real

[00:20:28] managers.

[00:20:29] And when I moved from public

[00:20:31] accounting into industry, she

[00:20:33] really allowed me to take

[00:20:34] ownership of her projects to

[00:20:35] lead and learn.

[00:20:36] She was a fantastic mentor

[00:20:38] who helped me learn and

[00:20:38] challenge myself,

[00:20:40] learn to challenge myself.

[00:20:42] And she taught me that

[00:20:43] faring is a part of learning

[00:20:44] and growing.

[00:20:45] And she never shied away from

[00:20:46] it. She was actually the first

[00:20:48] person that advocated and I

[00:20:49] worked with her multiple

[00:20:50] companies to look at new

[00:20:52] products.

[00:20:53] So she was actually the person

[00:20:54] that said, go look at one

[00:20:56] stream.

[00:20:56] And when I brought it up as a

[00:20:57] topic.

[00:20:58] So, you know, that was quite

[00:20:59] awhile ago, like I mentioned

[00:21:00] 15 years ago was my first

[00:21:02] interaction with one stream.

[00:21:03] And I've been with it with

[00:21:05] the company in different

[00:21:05] form since and multiple

[00:21:07] customers.

[00:21:07] So it's been like a

[00:21:08] fantastic experience to be

[00:21:10] able to take that

[00:21:11] opportunity, lead it, learn

[00:21:13] and grow from it and be

[00:21:14] challenged.

[00:21:15] And the other person I think of

[00:21:16] as a CFO that supported me

[00:21:18] during that, during that time,

[00:21:20] he was super supportive.

[00:21:22] I actually moved with him to

[00:21:23] several companies as well.

[00:21:24] And he encouraged me and my

[00:21:26] team to try new things and

[00:21:28] not accept status quo.

[00:21:29] So really like being

[00:21:30] supportive and having

[00:21:33] that support of me, the team

[00:21:35] and and being a support

[00:21:37] function to the rest of the

[00:21:38] organization of where finance

[00:21:40] could add value versus just

[00:21:41] being the record keeper.

[00:21:43] He was the first person that

[00:21:44] actually truly was behind me

[00:21:46] and in a really big supporter to

[00:21:48] push for it.

[00:21:49] Wow, what a great answer.

[00:21:51] One of the reasons I always ask

[00:21:52] that podcast, always ask that

[00:21:53] question at the end of a

[00:21:54] podcast is I think for the most

[00:21:56] part, these people that you've

[00:21:57] mentioned now are probably

[00:21:59] blissfully unaware just how

[00:22:00] much they've impacted you and

[00:22:02] and driven you in your career

[00:22:04] and how much you appreciate it.

[00:22:05] So a quick shout out to both

[00:22:07] of those.

[00:22:07] And for anyone listening just

[00:22:09] wanting to find out more

[00:22:10] information about one stream

[00:22:12] software, maybe they want to

[00:22:14] find out more details, explore

[00:22:15] it a little bit more or even

[00:22:16] connect with you or your team.

[00:22:18] What's the best starting point?

[00:22:20] We are at one stream dot com.

[00:22:22] That's the best way to find out

[00:22:23] more about one stream in the

[00:22:25] team and I'm always on LinkedIn.

[00:22:27] So feel free to reach out if

[00:22:28] you want to learn more about

[00:22:29] one stream, the team or this

[00:22:31] this innovation in AI and how

[00:22:33] it's being transformative to

[00:22:34] finance.

[00:22:36] Well, thank you so much again for

[00:22:38] joining me today.

[00:22:39] They have talked about so much

[00:22:41] there from the evolving role of

[00:22:42] finance and the CFO,

[00:22:44] how finance pairs real time data

[00:22:46] insights with data decision

[00:22:48] making to steer a business in

[00:22:50] today's dynamic market, but also

[00:22:52] a hugely positive AI story

[00:22:54] here, how AI and technology at

[00:22:56] large are transforming finance

[00:22:58] and helping to stop the talent

[00:23:00] crunch and attracting emerging

[00:23:02] talent and retaining employees

[00:23:04] to so much gold in our

[00:23:06] conversation today.

[00:23:07] But just thank you for taking

[00:23:08] the time to sit down and share

[00:23:10] it with me tonight.

[00:23:11] Absolutely. Thank you, Neil.

[00:23:12] Have a great day.

[00:23:13] So as we wrap up today's

[00:23:15] conversation with Pam, I think

[00:23:16] it's clear that the future of

[00:23:17] finance is intrinsically

[00:23:19] linked with AI

[00:23:21] and with AI taking over routine

[00:23:23] tasks, finance professionals

[00:23:25] are freed up to focus on

[00:23:27] strategic initiatives, making

[00:23:29] their roles more fulfilling

[00:23:31] and impactful across the

[00:23:32] entire business.

[00:23:34] What are your thoughts on the

[00:23:35] evolution of finance roles

[00:23:37] and the integration of AI?

[00:23:39] How do you see these changes

[00:23:40] impacting your work or your

[00:23:42] industry?

[00:23:43] And I want to hear the good,

[00:23:44] the bad, the ugly and everything

[00:23:46] in between.

[00:23:48] So email me techblogwriteroutlook.com,

[00:23:50] Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram,

[00:23:52] just at Neil Seacuse.

[00:23:54] I value your unique

[00:23:56] insights and experiences.

[00:23:57] So please share your thoughts.

[00:23:59] Let me know directly if you want

[00:24:01] to come on here and have a

[00:24:02] conversation at a completely

[00:24:04] different angle.

[00:24:05] That option is there for you too.

[00:24:07] So let's keep this conversation

[00:24:08] going. Thank you for listening,

[00:24:10] as always and until next

[00:24:12] time.

[00:24:13] Don't be a stranger.