FinPod

In this episode, Logan Burchett, co-founder and COO of Forecaster, shares his unexpected career path—from aspiring lawyer to finance professional to entrepreneur. Initially set on law, he discovered a passion for economics and finance in college, which led him to work as a financial analyst and later at a pension fund. His time at Venture First sparked an interest in venture capital, ultimately in...

In this episode of What’s New at CFI, Ryan is joined by Jeff Schmidt to introduce CFI’s latest course, Accounting for Inventory. They discuss the importance of inventory accounting across industries, covering key methods such as Weighted Average, FIFO (First In, First Out), and LIFO (Last In, First Out).  Jeff explains how different inventory accounting choices impact financial statements, profita...

In this episode of CFI's Member Spotlight, Nigel Rayford shares his inspiring journey into the finance world, detailing his educational background, career progression, and the impact of COVID-19 on his professional life. He discusses his experiences at Nationwide and Goldman Sachs, his current role at Texas Capital Bank, and the importance of mentorship and representation in the finance industry....

In this episode, Meeyeon, Jeff, and Duncan discuss the newly launched specialization in Investment Banking and Private Equity (IB and PE) at CFI.  Join us as we explore the reasons behind the popularity of these fields, the misconceptions surrounding private equity, and the essential skills required for success in both areas.

In this episode of Careers in Finance, we learn that sometimes it takes a little bit of grit. Susanne Swaniker, Group Financial Controller at De Beers, takes us through her career journey that started with asking for a meeting with a Deloitte Partner and asking for what she wanted: an auditing job.  Her career journey is equal parts organic and purposeful pursuit. Susanne is the epitome of a conti...

In this episode of What's New at CFI, we sit down with Ryan Spendelow to discuss the newly launched Risk Management specialization. We explore the essential types of financial and non-financial risks covered in the courses, the relevance of emerging topics like ESG and cybersecurity, and how completing the specialization can enhance job performance and open up career opportunities in finance. Over...

In this episode of CFI's FinPod podcast, we sit down with Dang Duong, a young finance enthusiast from Singapore. Join us as we talk about Dang's journey into finance, his education at Polytechnic, and his self-driven learning through CFI courses. Dang shares insights from his internship at Julius Baer and outlines his aspirations in investment banking and quantitative finance. The conversation hig...

In today's Member Spotlight, I get to sit down with someone who can't sit still in the absolute best of ways. Antowan has done a little bit of everything, and it's all been driven by his curious nature and love of economics. It only takes a few minutes to understand what the power of curiosity and a genuine desire to learn can do for someone's career. From an apprenticeship as an electrician to tr...

In this episode of Careers in Finance on FinPod, we chat with Chris Stanley, an experienced finance professional turned successful business founder, about his journey to where he is today. During this episode, Chris shares how he has found that leaning into the network you have at an early age, no matter how big or small, is the best way to scale your career. He studied Economics at Yale Universit...

In this episode of Careers in Finance, we have an insightful conversation with Bill Dillmeier, exploring his unique career journey in finance. Bill shares his intentional path into finance, starting from a young age, influenced by his entrepreneurial grandfather. He discusses his educational background, early entrepreneurial ventures, and the pivotal role of mentorship in shaping his career.  The...

In this episode of What’s New at CFI, we are talking about a course that is going to help make everyone's job a little bit easier. The course itself may be in the context of financial statement analysis, but in today's world, everything is data-driven, and in turn, so is almost every job. Spend some time with Glenn as he talks about what AI can do, what it is best at, and how we can interact with...

In this episode of Careers in Finance, we sit down with Ben Murray, known as the SaaS CFO, who shares his unique career journey from customer service in a mutual fund company to becoming a fractional CFO and entrepreneur. Ben discusses his early experiences in finance, the transition from traditional industries like airlines and healthcare tech to the SaaS model, and the importance of understandin...

In this episode of What's New at CFI, you have the whole gang: Ryan Spendelow, Duncan McKeen, Jeff Schmidt, and Sebastian Taylor. We all took part in creating this course that deeply resonates with a major reason why people come to CFI: to learn about career paths in finance and banking and the skills required.  This course is different - it does not talk about roles in isolation but rather places...

In today's episode of What's New at CFI, join us as we talk about the G in ESG. Our latest ESG offering is a mini module of three courses with a module dedicated to each of environmental, social and governance issues and financial materiality. Today, we focus on governance issues – which are arguably the most important. Why? without proper governance, how could anything be actioned?

In today's episode of What's New at CFI, join us as we talk all about the S in ESG. Our latest ESG offering is a mini module of three courses with a module dedicated to each of environmental, social and governance issues and financial materiality.  Today we focus on what social issues are and how they can pose potential risks and opportunities for investors and business operators alike.

In today's episode of What's New at CFI, join us as we talk all about the E in ESG. Our latest ESG offering is a mini module of three courses with a module dedicated to each of environmental, social and governance issues and financial materiality.  Today we kick things off by talking about environmental issues, which are often the most tangible and readily understood amongst ESG topics. In our dis...

In this episode of Careers in Finance on FinPod, we sit down with Eric Mason, CFO of the City of Quincy, to explore his journey into municipal finance. Eric shares how his background as an economist, economic advisor, and chief analyst prepared him to take on the CFO role during the pandemic, leading his team through uncertainty with resilience and innovation. His story is a testament to the power...

In today's episode of What's New at CFI, we are talking about one of your favorite topics: Mergers and Acquisitions, or better known as, M&A! We're so excited to be bringing you a more bite-sized course on the topic so join us as we talk about how we've tailored this course and what you can expect to learn.

In this episode of CFI Member Spotlight on FinPod, we speak with CFI member Devrhoid Davis, who shares how following his passion and pursuing what made him curious led him from medical radiation physics to finance.  During the episode, Devrhoid shares his unconventional path into finance and how he finds himself in a full-circle moment today as he aspires to find a business in robotic prosthetics....

It's not about the extraordinary, it's about making it ordinary. In this episode we talk about our Normalizing Income Statements course where we spotlight the importance of making company income statements reflect their true underlying profitability by adjusting for any one-off or non-recurring events that make profits look more volatile than they really are.

In this episode of Careers in Finance, we sit down with Co-Founder of CFI, Scott Powell. If you are familiar with CFI, then you will know Scott as an instructor and coach. But today, he's showing you a different side as he shares his personal career journey.  Join us as Scott shares how finding his passion was a process of elimination, and how his full circle career roots his deep passion for ment...

Data analysis has had some immense benefits with the introduction of ChatGPT. A great deal of the 'heavy lifting' can be done with ChatGPT, but it takes a bit of getting used to in order to take advantage of it. Try it out with our course on how to use ChatGPT for data analysis.

In this episode of Careers in Finance on FinPod, we welcome back Ashok Manthena, founder of Chatfin.ai and finance analytics expert. Ashok shares insights on how generative AI is impacting finance—from FP&A to tax and treasury—by automating tasks like reconciliation and variance analysis. We discuss how AI is improving data access, enhancing forecasting accuracy, and enabling real-time analysi...

In this episode of What’s New at CFI on FinPod,  we discuss operational risk management in banks, breaking down its four main dimensions: people, processes, systems, and external events. Operational risk stands apart from other risks like credit or market risk, affecting banks uniquely due to strict regulatory standards, particularly those outlined in the Basel Accord. We discuss why these risks a...

In this episode of the Careers in Finance on FinPod, James M. Binsfeld shares his story as a leader at the Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund, where he manages U.S. equities and private credit. With a background at Wells Fargo, Bank of America, NASDAQ, and WestPath Investment Management, James brings a wealth of knowledge from across the finance world and a hands-on understanding of how large funds wo...