In this deep-dive conversation, Isaac Heller (CEO, Trullion) and Shlomo Agishtein (Director of AI, Trullion) share how AI is reshaping the future of finance and accounting. From their origin stories to the development of Trulli, Trullion’s domain-specific AI, they break down what AI agents can really do, and what’s just hype.

You’ll learn:

• How Trullion evolved AI specifically for accounting workflows
• What separates Trulli from generic large language models
• Real-world use cases of AI agents in daily financial operations
• The future of AI in audit, compliance, and reporting
• Why accountants will lead, not lose, in an AI-driven industry

This episode offers finance professionals a clear-eyed look at what AI means for your role today and where it's heading next.

Matt Waters unpacks the key insights from the 2025 Lease Accounting Outlook report, offering expert predictions on the future of compliance, technology, and regulatory change. Listen to Matt's podcast The Lease Report.

Special Guest: Matt Waters.

ICONS: Women of Note 2025 speaker Dr. Sarah Skidmore shares insights on the key differences between leadership and management, the importance of intentional time management, and how finance professionals can develop their leadership voice beyond operational oversight.

Special Guest: Dr. Sarah Skidmore.

The new year may start with a bang for lenders, but not in a good way.

On the heels of the federal eviction moratorium expiration for most states that takes place in January, lenders may see a rise in commercial foreclosures—both on properties that had been in default before COVID-19 took hold and properties that were vacated over 2021.

In this episode the podcast we speak with Brendan Arnott, Senior Vice President at Chubb insurance about what risks lenders and other financial institutions need to keep in mind when taking ownership of a growing vacant property portfolio.

Thanks to SAP for sponsoring this episode. To learn more about SAP use the link below

https://www.sap.com/products/erp-financial-management.html

Special Guest: Brendan Arnott.

At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, government-mandated shutdowns placed live, cultural activity companies in jeopardy. Dance crews and entertainment studios known for being creative in their mediums turned to financial teams for their creative, sustainable solutions. Brian Parisi, Chief Financial Officer at Break the Floor, the nation’s prominent live entertainment company will share how live entertainment companies landed during the pandemic, and where they go from here.

Special Guest: Brian Parisi.

Government mandated stay-at-home orders significantly contributed to the growth of the streaming culture. The quarantine mandates also resulted in a mass shutdown of content productions. For media and entertainment companies that rely on production revenues, the impact was grave. Join us as we speak with Viacom EVP, Controller and CAO Katherine Gill-Charest about their transfer of non-core assets to support the growth of streaming, and how they deal with production halts.

Special Guest: Katherine Gill-Charest.

Patricio is an industry veteran with 25 years of public company finance experience. He would be able to provide insight on a Latin American company successfully going public in the U.S. and also the company’s record third quarter 2021 financial results.
In this episode of the podcast we speak about how he was able to navigate through a SPAC transition and keeping his team focused in the middle of a pandemic.

Thanks to episode sponsor SAP. To learn more about SAP's work with financial executives click on the link below.

www.SAP.com/finance

Special Guest: Patricio Vargas.

Chris Mitchell has been with Crowe for six years, serving as a consulting principal within the technology, media, and telecommunications services group prior to this appointment at the firm’s first Chief Diversity Officer. As CDO, Mitchell is responsible for driving a programmatic agenda to support a culture of inclusion in line with the firm’s vision and strategy.
In this conversation, we talk with Chris about his experiences moving up in the accounting/audit/consulting industry and his hopes for making sure diversity is represented in its ranks.

**_The information in this podcast is not – and is not intended to be – audit, tax, accounting, advisory, risk, performance, consulting, business, financial, investment, legal, or other professional advice. The information is general in nature, based on existing authorities, and is subject to change. The information is not a substitute for professional advice or services, and you should consult a qualified professional adviser before taking any action based on the information. Crowe is not responsible for any loss incurred by any person who relies on the information discussed in this document.
_

Special Guest: Chris Mitchell .

Real inflation-- where prices jump and spending is pummeled -- and is not something that businesses in the United States have had to deal with in decades. In this episode we speak with Dr. Elizabeth Gordon, Professor and Chair of the Department of Accounting at the Fox School of Business at Temple University in Philadelphia about how inflation will need to change financial disclosures.

Become a member of FEI.

Special Guest: Elizabeth Gordon.

When it comes to public company disclosures, the statement of cash flows does not receive a great amount of attention. Seemingly a straightforward accounting of a company’s cash position, many preparers and investors spend more time debating the makeup of the balance sheet or income statement.

But for Counterpoint Global’s Michael Mauboussin, anyone that treats the cash flow statement as an “afterthought” is making a mistake. In his new research piece titled “Categorizing for Clarity”, he argues that the cash flow statement needs to be completely overhauled to keep pace with the ways that companies absorb and pay out their cash positions.

In this episode we speak to Mr. Mauboubissin about his proposals (which can be found in the episode’s show notes) and the issues that a confused cash flow statement brings up for both prepares and investors.

Categorizing for Clarity
Join FEI

Special Guest: Michael J. Mauboussin.

CECL continues to remain at the top of mind for Financial Executives in the banking industry and in this episode of the podcast we speak to two professionals from the American Bankers Association that are at the forefront of those adoption efforts: Michael L. Gullette, Senior Vice President of Tax & Accounting and Joshua Stein, Vice President, Accounting and Financial Management

Special Guests: Joshua Stein and Michael L. Gullette.

Like many news and publishing houses, Guardian News & Media faced unsustainable annual losses as a result of the pandemic. Join the conversation with Regina Buckley, Chief Operating Officer, President and Former Chief Financial Officer, to learn about how amongst many challenges faced by the publishing industry (primarily digitization), she pivoted and adapted to keep their business models afloat.

Special Guest: Regina Buckley.

Financial executives in the US are waiting for a new set of rules focused on sustainability reporting that’s expected to come from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission before the end of the year. That could mean a great deal of resources and time for the preparer community to adapt to any new standards.

But sustainability reporting doesn’t necessarily need to be laden with new rules and a lot can be accomplished within the existing frameworks. That’s the argument of David Pitt Watson, one of the leaders of the Climate Accounting Project: an informal group of finance and investment executives attempting to advance the ESG accounting and reporting dialogue out of the UK.

In this episode of the podcast we speak with Mr. Pitt Watson about his hopes for ESG reporting in the US, the usefulness of existing rules and the challenges of accounting and reporting carbon emissions.

Learn more about becoming an FEI member.

Special Guest: David Pitt-Watson.

With ongoing changes in Washington, D.C.—including shifts in staffing and resources at some of the largest government agencies—financial executives are particularly focused on the future of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB).

However, unlike other agencies, the new administration has yet to reveal any plans for change.

Still, we can take stock of where the PCAOB has been, particularly in terms of audit enforcement actions. Late last month, Cornerstone Research—a consulting firm specializing in economic and financial analysis for complex legal and regulatory matters—released its report on PCAOB enforcement activity in 2024, showing the highest level of enforcement since 2017.

In this episode of the podcast, we speak with Cornerstone’s Jean-Philippe Poissant and Russell Molter about the report and whether past enforcement trends truly reflect a new regulatory and political reality.

Cornerstone's report

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Special Guests: Jean-Philippe Poissant and Russell Molter.

Special Guest: Christopher Karachale.

Financial executives have been at the center of fighting financial and accounting fraud, adapting as both the players and the schemes have changed with circumstances. But the COVID-19 pandemic unleashed a combination of forces that will take combating fraud to a new level, whether its remote workforces, changes in global supply chain security or hundreds of billions in government assistance pouring into corporate coffers.

Special Guests: Margo Cella and Pam Verick.

With trillions of dollars at stake, government comptrollers are at the tip of the spear in making sure taxpayers’ money is spent wisely and the right private sector partners are working within the system.

The Financial Education and Research Foundation (FERF), in cooperation with Robert Half | Protiviti, held a series of interviews featuring live, in-depth Q&A discussions with government controllers on the ways they are leading the state and federal government out of the pandemic.

Special Guests: Carol Beaumier and David Araldi.

As part of our ongoing ForwardThinking series, FEI’s Shivani Somaiya speaks with Phialelphia’s controller Rebecca Rhynhart about how the city of brotherly love is fighinto to come back from the crisis.

Special Guest: Rebecca Rhynhart.

Over the past year as the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has risen institutions have started to take a serious look at digital currencies not only for customer transactions, but also as an asset class to hold on the balance sheet within treasury accounts.

It should no surprise that an ecosystem of providers is cropping up to assist companies in the transition into digital currencies..

Special Guest: Luke Sully.

With the passage of the $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package the US federal government will have a monumental task of accounting for how and where the money is spent. As head of the Government Accountability Office, Comptroller General Gene Dodaro will be responsible for overseeing how taxpayer dollars are spent and provide objective, non-partisan, fact-based analysis.

Special Guest: Gene Dodaro .

Special-purpose acquisition companies,or SPACs, have become the latest rage in corporate finance, allowing private companies to go public by first being acquired by a blank check company. According to the latest figures, there are over 400 SPACs now in the market that are seeking private firms to acquire and take public.

In this episode of Financial Executive Podcast we speak with Mandi Simpson, a partner with Crowe accounting advisory, and Bill Watts, a principal also with Crowe accounting advisory, about how financial executives involved with a SPAC transaction should plan and think about these unique transactions.

_The information in this podcast is not – and is not intended to be – audit, tax, accounting, advisory, risk, performance, consulting, business, financial, investment, legal, or other professional advice. The information is general in nature, based on existing authorities, and is subject to change. The information is not a substitute for professional advice or services, and you should consult a qualified professional adviser before taking any action based on the information. Crowe is not responsible for any loss incurred by any person who relies on the information discussed in this document.
_

Special Guests: Mandi Simpson and William Watts.

Like many states, California had their economy turned upside down by the pandemic. Betty Yee - the second woman in California’s history to serve as the state’s elected controller and the daughter of Chinese immigrants – is now tasked with helping lead the state out of the crisis.

Join the Financial Education and Research Foundation (FERF), in cooperation with Robert Half | Protiviti, for the Q2 sessions of a year-long series featuring live, in-depth Q&A discussions with government controllers on the ways they are leading the state and federal government out of the pandemic.

Special Guest: Betty Yee.

In the episode of the Financial Executive Podcast we partnered with Accenture to bring you the top lessons learned from their most recent global CFO research “CFO Now: Breakthrough speed for breakout value” survey with an interview with Annie Peabody, Managing Director of Accenture Strategy & Consulting, and co-author of the research.

Special Guest: Annie Peabody.

One of the big challenges for companies, as well as investors, when it comes to ESG is wrangling the data points that are important to every stakeholder and a relevant to the issue of sustainability.

In this episode of the podcast we speak with Rebeca Minguela, Founder and CEO of Clarity AI. Clarity AI uses big data and machine learning to tracks a broad universe of companies to measure sustainability metrics. In January BlackRock purchased a minority stake in the company and plans to integrate Clarity AI into its investment analytics platform.

We discuss the importance of disclosures, the challenges to standardized ESG data and why there is no turning back when it comes to sustainability reporting.

Thanks to the episode's sponsor, Deloitte.

Special Guest: Rebeca Minguela.

As FEI prepares for its annual ICONS: Women of Note conference next month, the podcast revisits one of its most popular episodes featuring Moody's Caroline Sullivan, who discusses how networking took her career to the next level.

Join ICONS: Women of Note 2025 (Hybrid Event).

Special Guest: Caroline Sullivan.

The Q1 sessions of FowardThinking talks with leaders on the ways in which organizations are charting a new course on how and where they work.

Special Guests: Christopher Wright and Paul McDonald.

Sustainability reporting is something that both financial statement preparers and investors have been discussing for years, and it’s expected to become even more of a hot button issue in the US as a new administration focused on climate change takes charge of capital markets oversight.

It’s fair to say that in Europe, the debate regarding ESG reporting practices is more evolved. There is already a movement to adopt a practice known as “extinction accounting” where companies report on the impact they have in biodiversity.

Intertested in FEI membersip? Click here.

Special Guest: Jill Atkins.

Given all that internal controls encompass, it’s not surprising that they are labor and time intensive and that financial executives continually seek ways to make sure they work in the most efficient way.

Where Are We Now? The Story of ICFR at Large Public Companies as Told by Financial Executives

Special Guests: Devin William, Jeff Wilks, Jeffrey Pickerd, and Mark Kissman.

In this episode of the Financial Executive Podcast we speak with Eric Goldman, Professor of Law at Santa Clara University and co-director of the High Tech Law Institute.

Special Guest: Eric Goldman.

The current expected credit losses standard, or CECL, had been hotly debated in banking and accounting circles long before COVID-19 surfaced earlier this year. While the resulting market and economic disruptions caused by the pandemic delayed a full rollout of CECL, many financial institutions that had begun the hard work of incorporating the standard into their models are living through a real-life stress test of CECL’s approach to accounting for credit losses.

In this episode of the Financial Executive Podcast we speak with Amnon Levy, managing director and head of Moody’s Analytics Portfolio and Balance Sheet Research group regarding what the current financial crisis reveals about financial credit models and the unintended consequences of CECL.

Links:

Incorporating Emerging Risks within Credit Models: Lessons from Sociological Reactions to COVID-19

Nonbank players are ready for CECL — are banks?

Earnings Volatility, Share Price Performance, and Credit Portfolio Management Under CECL and IFRS 9

Special Guest: Amnon Levy.

The US government's Paycheck Protection Program was a lifeline for many public and private companies during the early dark days of the COVID-19 pandemic. But as financial executives begin a new year, and look to close their 2020 financials, several questions remain regarding the accounting and financial reporting of government assistance.

In today’s podcast we speak with Sean Prince, a senior manager in Crowe’s Assurance Professional Practice, regarding how financial leaders can navigate both lingering and developing government assistance issues.

The information in this podcast is not – and is not intended to be – audit, tax, accounting, advisory, risk, performance, consulting, business, financial, investment, legal, or other professional advice. The information is general in nature, based on existing authorities, and is subject to change. The information is not a substitute for professional advice or services, and you should consult a qualified professional adviser before taking any action based on the information. Crowe is not responsible for any loss incurred by any person who relies on the information discussed in this document.

Special Guest: Sean Prince.

As part of our FEI Forward Thinking series, we're speaking with 4 different senior-level financial executives about navigating such challenging times.
We discuss how remote work has helped Calvin gain the trust of his team and how we can turn this time of increased attention to racial injustice into a movement, not just a moment.

Special Guest: Calvin Harris.

The Financial Education and Research Foundation (FERF), in cooperation with Robert Half | Protiviti, will hold live, in-depth Q&A discussions with four FEI members that have seen their industries and world upended overnight, and they’ll share how they plan to navigate the unclear road ahead.

Special Guest: Dennis Dahlen.

The Financial Education and Research Foundation (FERF), in cooperation with Robert Half | Protiviti, will hold live, in-depth Q&A discussions with four FEI members that have seen their industries and world upended overnight, and they’ll share how they plan to navigate the unclear road ahead.

Special Guest: Dan Crumb.

The Financial Education and Research Foundation (FERF), in cooperation with Robert Half | Protiviti, held live, in-depth Q&A discussions with four FEI members that have seen their industries and world upended overnight, and they’ll share how they plan to navigate the unclear road ahead.

Special Guest: Teri Reinseth.

After a four-year hiatus, this report returns to offer a comprehensive overview of the evolving priorities, challenges, and strategies shaping the global and U.S. finance and accounting landscape for 2025.. This year’s survey data offers a rare opportunity for comparative analysis, linking the last pandemic-era survey conducted at the beginning of 2021 with the realities of today’s post-inflationary and geopolitically complex environment. This comparison sheds light on the significant trends and challenges that financial leaders now face.

Get this year's survey

Special Guests: Anthony Reggiannini, Chris Brown, and Julie Girard.

The COVID-19 public health crisis has forced businesses across all industries to rapidly adapt their thinking and adoption of new digital technologies and working models in order to sustain business processes. This rapid shift has introduced new security risks and challenges.

Special Guest: Troy La Huis.

In this series we spoke with

• Teri Reinseth, Corporate Controller & CAO, 3M Company
• Calvin Harris Jr., SVP, Finance and CFO, National Urban League
• Dennis Dahlen, CFO, Mayo Clinic
• Daniel Crumb, CFO, Kansas City Chiefs Football Club

In this episode of the Financial Executive Podcast we speak with Paul McDonald, senior executive director of Robert Half and Christopher Wright, managing director of Protiviti, in order to break down and understand some of the challenges these leaders discussed.

Special Guests: Christopher Wright and Paul McDonald.

The Financial Executive Podcast speaks with John A. Grivetti III, partner with Crowe’s advisory services group about how senior-level financial executives can keep cash on the books even as little is coming through the door.

The information in this podcast is not – and is not intended to be – audit, tax, accounting, advisory, risk, performance, consulting, business, financial, investment, legal, or other professional advice. The information is general in nature, based on existing authorities, and is subject to change. The information is not a substitute for professional advice or services, and you should consult a qualified professional adviser before taking any action based on the information. Crowe is not responsible for any loss incurred by any person who relies on the information discussed in this document.

Special Guest: John A. Grivetti III.

There are a myriad of tax and financial reporting changes, in addition to liquidity options, for companies that are impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The chainges are complex, and will add to an already heavy burden for senior-level financial executives navigating the crisis.

The Financial Executive podcast spoke with two professionals from Crowe LLP about those changes -- Matthew Schell, a partner in Crowe's assurance professonal practice and Howard Wagner, a partner with Crowe’s national tax office, to review some of the most developments and the issues that financial leaders need to consider during implementation.

Disclaimer:
The information in this podcast is not – and is not intended to be – audit, tax, accounting, advisory, risk, performance, consulting, business, financial, investment, legal, or other professional advice. The information is general in nature, based on existing authorities, and is subject to change. The information is not a substitute for professional advice or services, and you should consult a qualified professional adviser before taking any action based on the information. Crowe is not responsible for any loss incurred by any person who relies on the information discussed in this document.

Special Guests: Howard Wagner and Matthew Schell.

There is a push for more holistic measures of value than what sits on a company's bottom line. These efforts -- combined with increased concerns stemming from corporate scandals, climate change and social justice movements -- have increased the demand for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting. FEI Daily sat down with two professionals focused on ESG reporting, Jeffrey Hales, chair of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and professor of accounting at the University of Texas at Austin, and Gregg Anderson, managing director at Crowe and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' Sustainability Task Force.

Special Guests: Gregg Anderson and Jeffrey Hales, PhD.

How and when audit fees rise and fall is something that has been of intense interest to senior-level financial executives and academics. In anticipation of the annual audit fee survey from the Financial Education and Research Foundation (FERF) and Workiva coming out this November, FERF's Dillon Papenfuss speaks with Professor W. Robert Knechel, Ph.D. -- the Frederick E. Fisher Eminent Scholar and Director of the International Accounting and Auditing Center at the University of Florida -- discuss the long and short-term drivers of audit fees.

Special Guest: Robert Knechel.

Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez details the competencies required to transform and thrive in the new digital and project-driven economy.

Special Guest: Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez.

Technologies and techniques such as robotics, machine learning, natural language processing, and blockchain present a defining opportunity for the finance function. However, companies that have not adequately invested in data will find their digital transformation efforts frustrated.
The Financial Education & Research Foundation is working on a report with EY to help senior-level financial executives better understand data strategy and quality needed for their digital transformation.
As part of that effort we speak with Professor Dave Waterman, an adjunct lecturer at Georgetown University and a data scientist at U.Group.

Special Guest: Professor Dave Waterman.

In this episode of the Financial Executive Podcast, Dillon Papenfuss, Research Analyst for the Financial Education & Research Foundation (FERF), spoke with Brigham Young University (BYU) School of Accountancy Associate Teaching Professor Troy Lewis about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) winners and losers and how executives can prepare for future uncertainties and surprises. Professor Lewis is the past chair of the tax executive committee of the American Institute of CPAs in Washington DC. In this role, he has testified six times before the United States Senate Finance Committee and the House Committee on Small Business.

Special Guest: Troy Lewis.

FEI’s Committee on Corporate Reporting (CCR) recently release two ICFR: Insights, Issues, and Practices documents that address internal control considerations for preparers’ adoption of both the new leases standard and the new current expected credit loss (CECL) standard.

FEI’s Managing Editor of FEI Daily Olivia Berkman spoke with Laura Phillips, Google - Director, Finance Compliance; CCR ICFR Working Group Leader, Matt Janzaruk, Procter & Gamble - Director, Finance & Accounting; CCR ICFR Leases Pilot Team Leader, and Craig Schmidt, Wells Fargo - Governance and Oversight Leader; CCR ICFR CECL Pilot Team Leader about what preparers can learn from these documents and their biggest takeaways from the experience.

Special Guests: Craig Schmidt, Laura Phillips, and Matt Janzaruk.

In this episode of the new year, we have Christina Ho, a board member of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. Board member Ho brings a wealth of experience from her journey across public and private sectors, academia, and even technology consulting.

She shares her insights on the challenges and opportunities in auditing as we head into 2025. From navigating new regulations and technological innovations to addressing talent shortages in the accounting profession, Board member Ho offers a fresh perspective on balancing regulation with practicality and fostering trust in our markets.

Special Guest: Christina Ho.

Rapid advances in technology are quickly disrupting the auditing, accounting and financial reporting industry at a pace not seen in decades. As soon as one leap forward is adopted, such as cloud technology, another waits in the wings, such as blockchain.
The Financial Executives Research and Education Foundation is working on a report looking to help senior-level financial executives better understand how to consider and prioritize changes in financial technology.
As part of that effort we speak with Dr. Ryan Teeter, clinical assistant professor of accounting information systems at the University of Pittsburgh regarding his work on the area of technology changes in the financial reporting industry.

Special Guest: Ryan Teeter, Ph.D..

FEI Daily Managing Editor Olivia Berkman speaks with Samuel Dergel, a search consultant assisting companies with their C-suite and executive talent needs across the United States and Canada

Dergel will discuss trends he sees as companies search for CFOs, controllers, and CAOs in addition to how members looking to transition into board seats can best position their resumes.

Special Guest: Samuel Dergel .

This summer the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission adopted a new rule that requires the use of “Inline XBRL” in the financial reporting process. Inline XBRL allows the user to embed data directly into a filing so that it is both human-readable and machine-readable.

In this episode of the Financial Executive Podcast we will speak with SEC and XBRL industry professionals regarding the impact of the new requirement, the benefits and challenges of implementation and how preparers can get ready for the transition.

Special Guests: Emily Huang, Mike Starr, and Mike Willis.