A letter from our CEO

Nothing reinforces the increasing speed of business and technology change quite like the trajectory of generative AI over the last few months. I’ve asked every client and partner I’ve met about the impact they think it will have on Finance and the unanimous response has been HUGE. I can’t wait to see the many ways teams will take advantage of the constantly changing and evolving possibilities, whether its spotting anomalies, self-service reporting, predictive forecasting or something completely new. We are prototyping modules here at Aptitude already so watch this space!

I do think fully capitalizing on the promise of AI will take a technology ecosystem and that’s one of the reasons I was thrilled to speak with Georg Glantschnig, VP, Dynamics 365 at Microsoft. Yes, Microsoft have made a $10 Billion investment in Chat GPT, but they’ve also built out the ultimate ecosystems through their Microsoft AppSource and Azure Marketplace sites as well as their ISV Connect Partner program which we were thrilled to join last year. In our interview, we discuss the many ways he sees the finance function changing and the role Microsoft and their ecosystem will play in that evolution. I especially liked his three A’s of finance innovationAutomation, Analytics and AI!

We also have an excellent piece, authored by Carlinde Kallianiotis, co-founder and CEO of Ginger Leadership Communications US, on the increasingly important role of storytelling for CFOs looking to bring data alive to the various audiences they serve. For CFOs, it’s no longer just about the numbers.

Additional articles include perspectives from Kate Dishman, CFO Consulting Partner and Suzanne Chatley, CFO Consulting Senior Manager at EY on ESG reporting challenges, a view on best practices in revenue automation from David Lopez, Director, Accounting Advisory Practice at CFGI and more.

A sincere thank you to all our contributors and I hope you enjoy the issue. Happy reading,

Jeremy Suddards CEO, Aptitude Software

Changing the game

Jeremy Suddards speaks with Microsoft’s, Georg Glantschnig, on the changes he’s seeing in the finance function, the transformative role of AI and the power of a technology ecosystem.

Finding the narrative in the numbers

For CFOs to assume the role of change agent they must embrace financial storytelling and communicate the why behind the numbers.

Are you ready for ESG reporting?

So, your company has set ESG targets and more requirements are becoming mandatory – are you ready for ESG reporting?

Matt Trager, Managing Director, Finance Data and Product Management at SVB, discusses how smaller Financial Services organizations can meet the regulatory challenges of tomorrow.

Beyond revenue recognition

For organizations that get revenue automation right, it can equate to big cost savings and productivity gains. CFGI’s, David Lopez, shares some best practices for full revenue automation.

Empowering finance with user-centered design

A dynamic user experience isn’t typically the first thing that comes to mind when you think of software solutions for finance teams but it’s critical to empowering teams to provide strategic guidance to the business, backed by trusted data and analytics.

Regulatory reporting transformation on a budget Five Minutes with...

Going beyond the business to get to know Olivier Homps, President & Chairman of the board at FIIT Consulting.