FinPod

In this episode of What’s New at CFI, Meeyeon Park speaks with Joseph Yeates about the refreshed SQL Fundamentals course and what has changed in the updated version. They discuss who the course is designed for, what learners will focus on in the new version, and why SQL remains a practical skill for finance, business intelligence, and data analytics professionals. Joseph explains how the course ha...

What should a company do with billions in cash? Reinvest in growth, pay down debt, or return it to shareholders? In this episode of Corporate Finance Explained on FinPod, we break down one of the most important decisions in corporate finance: dividend strategy. Using real-world case studies and corporate finance frameworks, we explore how companies decide whether to pay dividends and what that dec...

Are you solving the right problem or just solving it quickly? In today’s fast-moving world of AI, shifting markets, and constant complexity, the biggest risk in finance and business isn’t slow decision-making. It’s solving the wrong problem entirely. In this episode of What’s New at CFI, Meeyeon sits down with Timothy Tiryaki, co-author of CFI’s new course Strategic Problem Solving, to unpack how...

What happens when a company can’t access its own cash? In March 2023, billion-dollar startups suddenly found themselves unable to make payroll. Not because their business failed, but because their money was trapped inside a single banking relationship. In this episode, we break down the hidden infrastructure behind corporate finance: the banking and treasury systems that quietly determine whether...

In this episode of What’s New at CFI, we introduce our latest practice lab: AI Prompting for Financial Analysis, designed to help finance professionals use AI tools like ChatGPT more effectively, accurately, and responsibly. Hosted by Meeyeon (VP of Content & Training) and featuring Ryan Spendelow (VP of Content & Curriculum at CFI), this episode explores how AI is transforming finance wor...

In this episode of Corporate Finance Explained on FinPod, we break down corporate governance and why the structure of a company’s board can determine whether shareholder value compounds for years or collapses almost overnight. From the outside, governance can look like a compliance formality: board seats, committee charters, proxy statements, and routine oversight. But in practice, governance is t...

In this episode of CFI Member Spotlight on FinPod, we sit down with Albert Lee, CPA, an FP&A leader, Chicago Booth MBA candidate, and founder of Axiom FP&A Partners, where he works at the intersection of finance and AI. This conversation follows Albert’s journey from PwC audit into regional FP&A leadership across APAC, and now into entrepreneurship. Albert shares how his early foundati...

In this episode of Corporate Finance Explained on FinPod, we discuss the reality behind one of the most dramatic events in corporate strategy: mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Every year, headlines announce massive multi-billion-dollar acquisitions, complete with executive handshakes and promises of transformative growth. But behind the press releases lies a far more complex story. In corporate...

In this episode of Corporate Finance Explained on FinPod, we break down one of the most debated topics in modern business: ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance). Is it simply corporate branding, or does it actually affect financial performance? You’ve likely seen ESG everywhere. It dominates earnings calls, investor presentations, and corporate annual reports. But behind the sustainability m...

In this episode of Corporate Finance Explained on FinPod, we examine how financial targets shape behavior inside organizations and why targets are never just neutral planning tools. Revenue goals, margin thresholds, return targets, and quarterly quotas may look like objective numbers on a spreadsheet, but in practice they influence hiring, investment, risk-taking, and the day-to-day decisions that...

In this episode of What’s New at CFI on FinPod, we introduce a brand new course designed to help professionals tackle one of the most overlooked skills in business: Strategic Problem Solving. Meeyeon, VP of Content and Training at Corporate Finance Institute, sits down with Jeroen Kraaijenbrink, strategy expert and co-founder of Strategy Inc., to discuss the thinking frameworks behind the new Stra...

In this episode of Corporate Finance Explained on FinPod, we break down one of the most dramatic and misunderstood areas of corporate strategy: mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Every quarter, headlines celebrate billion-dollar deals as bold strategic wins. CEOs shake hands, stock tickers flash, and press releases promise “transformational synergies.” But beneath the hype lies a far less glamoro...

In this episode of Corporate Finance Explained on FinPod, we dive into the invisible number that decides whether growth creates value or destroys it: cost of capital. Headlines love expansion, acquisitions, and moonshot investments, but the real line between “big growth story” and “value trap” is the price of money itself. We unpack WACC (weighted average cost of capital), why it acts like a compa...

Forecasting is supposed to be the corporate crystal ball. In reality, it’s the nervous system of the organization, and it’s almost always wrong. In this episode of Corporate Finance Explained, we break down why even the most sophisticated companies, with PhDs, AI, and expensive ERP systems, still miss their forecasts and how those misses can cascade into hiring mistakes, inventory blowups, margin...

In this episode of CFI’s Member Spotlight, we sit down with Alex Murray, a UK-based financial analyst whose path into finance started far outside the typical “cookie-cutter” route. This conversation traces how Alex moved from studying History (with a deep interest in the Renaissance and the evolution of double-entry bookkeeping) to building a career in finance through curiosity, disciplined self-l...

In this episode of Corporate Finance Explained on FinPod, we break down competitive moats and the financial mechanics that allow a small subset of companies to sustain outsized profitability for decades, while most competitors see margins eroded. A moat is a structural advantage that interrupts the normal economics of competition, where excess returns attract entrants and pricing power erodes over...

In this episode of Corporate Finance Explained on FinPod, we examine dynamic pricing and why pricing is one of the most powerful and misunderstood levers in corporate finance. While often viewed as a marketing tactic, pricing decisions sit at the core of margin protection, cash flow management, and capital discipline. This episode breaks down why pricing is frequently the fastest lever available t...

In this episode of Corporate Finance Explained on FinPod, we examine economies of scale, why growth strengthens some businesses while destroying value for others, and how cost structure ultimately determines whether scale becomes an advantage or a liability. Economies of scale are often treated as a vague benefit of getting bigger, but this episode breaks the concept down to its financial mechanic...

In this episode of Corporate Finance Explained on FinPod, we examine corporate scenario planning and why it has become a core capability for finance teams operating in volatile and uncertain environments. As interest rates, input costs, and demand conditions shift faster than traditional planning cycles can absorb, single-point forecasts increasingly fail to support effective decision-making. This...

Everyone talks about visionary products and relentless hustle, but what really sets industry giants apart?  In this episode of Corporate Finance Explained on FinPod, we uncover the often-overlooked force behind the biggest business wins (and failures): capital allocation. From Amazon’s bold reinvestment bets to Berkshire Hathaway’s legendary patience, from Apple’s perfectly balanced strategy to GE...

In this episode of Corporate Finance Explained on FinPod, we break down project finance and explain how companies fund massive infrastructure projects without putting their entire balance sheet at risk. From wind farms and data centers to toll roads and power plants, project finance is the financial structure that makes the physical world possible. Building billion-dollar assets comes with enormou...

In this episode of Corporate Finance Explained on FinPod, we break down how company culture affects financial performance and why culture should be treated as a real asset or a serious liability. This episode shows how work culture directly shapes forecasting accuracy, capital allocation, risk management, and long-term value creation. Culture is not what a company says in its mission statement. It...

In this episode of Careers in Finance on FinPod, we sit down with Nirav Shah, founder and partner at Versor Investments, to unpack his path from software engineering to quantitative finance and building a global systematic investment firm. Nirav shares what drove his pivot, how he built deep technical and market expertise, and what it takes to develop an edge in a field where your process is teste...

In this episode of Corporate Finance Explained on FinPod, we break down cash flow forecasting, why profitable companies still fail, and how liquidity, not earnings, determines whether a business survives. This episode explains how companies can look strong on the income statement while quietly heading toward a cash crisis. Many businesses don’t collapse because they’re unprofitable. They fail beca...

In most companies, budget season is a predictable exercise in "incrementalism," taking last year’s numbers and adding a 5% bump. But what happens when leadership drops a bomb and says, "This year, we start from zero"? In this episode of Corporate Finance Explained on FinPod, we explore Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB), a high-stakes financial framework in which every dollar must earn its right to exist....