The Pre-Read

The M&A market is heating up, and AI is compressing deal timelines from weeks to days. In this episode of The Pre-Read, guest host Josh Gertsch and Troy Hooper of Mergermarket provide a capital markets update that touches on the SpaceX IPO, the quiet M&A surge, and why quality assets with resilient cash flows are winning. Then, guest host Esther Toth talks with Latitude Financial Services...

Sustainability reporting and financial reporting are converging fast. But the controller who treats them as the same thing could get burned. In this episode, Dr. Lee Hui Mien of Singtel and Jonathan Gregory of The Hershey Company offer their views on one urgent question: what does it actually mean to bring sustainability reporting under the finance umbrella, and where does that process break down?...

Boards are under pressure to govern AI responsibly, but most directors still lack the knowledge to ask the right questions, let alone hold management accountable. Two leaders explain what it actually takes. Dr. Chong Yoke Sin chairs Singapore’s SCS AI Ethics and Governance Council and sits on financial services, property, and healthcare boards. Heather Holding is Chief Risk Officer at Best Egg and...

Climate mandates, GRC strategy, and a bike metaphor that'll change how you think about controls.
 In this episode, Alyssa Zucker speaks with sustainability expert Mark Mellen on California's SB 253 soft launch—and why companies treating this year as a free pass will be blindsided in 2027. Then 25-year GRC veteran Graeme Fleming explains why governance-first programs help organizations move faster....

"I think risk factors have become more of an area where companies are trying to reduce their exposure to litigation, and it's not really viewed as being a meaningful section to most readers of financial statements." — Chelsea Hall  In this episode, we tackle SEC updates and the high-stakes world of IPO readiness. Market dynamics are shifting from rigid quantitative thresholds to a new era of profe...

A visit to Blockbuster Video used to be the ultimate Friday night trip, but today, that blue and yellow ticket is a legal battleground for intangible assets. In this episode of The Pre-Read, we unearth the true drivers of company valuation, from nostalgic trademarks to proprietary AI.  "The question isn't whether Blockbuster was famous. It's whether it's famous enough now for trademark law to care...

Don't let the political noise fool you: Green hushing is real, but green quitting is a myth. In this episode, we sit down with Grant Harrison, VP at Trellis Group, to bridge the narrative reality gap. We explore how the office of the CFO is taking the lead, shifting sustainability from a values-driven initiative to a finance-led sustainability strategy anchored in financial materiality. Learn how...

Is your reporting strategy ready for a six-month silence? #podcast The traditional quarterly cycle is under the microscope. We explore the potential shift to semi-annual reporting and why "less" disclosure often results in more work for finance, legal, and IR. What we cover: » The Capital Gap: Will investors penalize companies that choose to say less? » The 8-K Surge: Why voluntary filings might b...

Workforce reimagination is here. In 2026, the office of the CFO is moving from AI as a tool to a coworker. Recorded in Davos, this episode digs into the human side of transformation. We sit down with global leaders to unpack why the human in the loop is being rewritten and why change management has become a core executive capability. Mandi McReynolds talks with Costi Perricos, Global GenAI Busines...

Traditional finance models are hitting a wall. This episode highlights a panel at Davos that gets straight to the engine room of the enterprise.  Jatin Dalal, Chief Financial Officer, Cognizant; Mike Rost, Chief Strategy Officer, Workiva; Jonathan Zanger, Chief Technology Officer, Check Point; and Jennifer Steinmann, Global Sustainability Business Leader, Deloitte gathered to talk about:  The ROI...

Misinformation, amplified by AI, has climbed to the top of the global risk landscape. What does that mean for the office of the CFO? We kick off a Davos miniseries with Workiva CSO Mandi McReynolds, bringing perspectives straight from the World Economic Forum in Davos. Mandi sits down with Ami Badani, CMO of Arm, Rob Fisher, Global Head of Advisory at KPMG, and Robin Hodess, CEO of Global Reportin...

Is your organization ready for the SOX journey of sustainability data? In this episode of The Pre-Read, we sit down with Lori Defnet, ESG Controller at The Hershey Company, to define the core remit of this emerging role. While traditional controllers guard the known, ESG controllers manage ambiguity. Lori shares how she navigates moving targets in the regulatory landscape and why curiosity and ada...

How do leaders turn messy data into something they can trust? Global C-suite executive Amina Razvi joins us to explain why decision-grade data is the foundation of modern CFO risk management. She breaks down how integrating financial and non-financial data changes how companies manage volatility, price risk, and build long-term resilience. In this conversation, we cover: Why waiting for perfect da...

Is your team ready for foreign private issuer (FPI) Section 16 reporting? Congress recently passed the Holding Foreign Insiders Accountable Act, which fundamentally changes how international insiders must disclose their trades. Alan Wilson and Chelsea Hall join the conversation to break down these new FPI director and officer reporting obligations and why the SEC has a tight deadline of March 18 t...

https://www.workiva.com/What does leadership look like when volatility becomes the norm? Workiva CEO Julie Iskow joins Steve Soder and Alyssa Zucker to unpack what 2025 taught executives and how to prepare for 2026. This conversation goes beyond headlines to explore how leaders can stay grounded while moving faster, make data a strategic asset, and meet rising board expectations with confidence. I...

Steve and Alyssa are taking a well-earned break, but the challenges facing the office of the CFO are not slowing down. In this short episode, producer Mike Gravagno looks back on a year where AI moved from pilot programs to expectation and sustainability became more than a side conversation. Looking ahead to 2026,  The Pre-Read will return with sharper conversations on data trust, AI governance, r...

Semiannual Reporting: Will doing "less" actually create more work? Finance and accounting leaders are split on whether moving from quarterly to semiannual SEC reporting will simplify processes or compound risk. In this episode, industry expert Tom Schneiders joins to unpack what a reduced cadence would really mean for teams, investors, and market stability. We cover: The hidden risk of doubling th...

Jacob Andra, CEO of Talbot West, joins to discuss the urgent imperative for companies to move beyond siloed, ad hoc growth and embrace an integrated, tech-forward future. What you will learn in this episode: Why "total organizational intelligence" is a survival imperative for the modern enterprise How orchestrating your data across the organization is a huge unlock for immediate revenue opportunit...

Could U.S. public companies shift from quarterly to semiannual reporting? Jonathan Johnson, former chairman and CEO of Overstock and current member of various boards, joins the show to unpack one of the most debated proposals to SEC reporting. They explore whether fewer formal filings would help management teams stay focused on long-term enterprise value instead of reacting to quarterly earnings s...

The Texas Stock Exchange (TXSE) is challenging long-held assumptions about what it means to go public in the U.S. Jeff Karcher joins The Pre-Read to share how the TXSE is rethinking the public company experience—reducing friction, lowering reporting and legal costs, and creating an environment where management can focus on running the business, not navigating lawsuits. In this episode, we explore:...

Financial data has its challenges—but non-financial data is a different scale of complexity. It cuts vertically up and down the value chain, and now requires the same level of confidence as financials, with board sign-off and external assurance becoming the norm. In this episode of The Pre-Read, we break down how finance and sustainability leaders are aligning around programs like sustainability-l...

The chief sustainability officer (CSO) is moving from a siloed function to a strategic, finance-aligned partner. In this episode of The Pre-Read, Workiva Chief Sustainability Officer Mandi McReynolds sits down with Serena Oppenheim, co-founder of Fin-Erth, to discuss the need for a tighter integration between the CFO and the CSO, framing sustainability as enterprise risk management. Serena Oppenhe...

AI has completely changed the rules of marketing, and finance can't afford to play catch-up. Workiva's VP of Revenue Marketing, Joel Capperella, joins Steve Soter to unpack how AI is reshaping data, trust, and decision-making across the business. As progression analysis evolves and web traffic declines, traditional forecasting and investment models are losing their edge. This episode breaks down w...

AI is revolutionizing finance, but the hardest part isn't coding or controls—it's fear. In this episode of The Pre-Read, recorded live at Amplify 2025 in Washington, D.C., finance and accounting leaders share unfiltered takes on how AI is changing the way teams think, work, and lead. You'll learn: Why fear of losing data lineage and control slows AI adoption How AI is driving teams to strengthen d...

AI isn't perfect and sometimes it makes us worse at our jobs. Jen Stave of the Digital, Data, and Design Institute at Harvard joins The Pre-Read to explore why even top experts can become less effective with AI, what "cognitive offloading" really means, and why the future of AI success depends on human culture, not just code. Watch to learn: How the "jagged frontier" changes AI's reliability Why s...