Opinion
How CFOs Can Bridge the Integration Gap Between Cybersecurity and Enterprise Risk Management
APQC research shows that despite high awareness of cyber risk, most enterprises still keep it outside enterprise risk management (ERM), leading to insufficient risk visibility and slow decision-making. Based on data from 5,000 organizations globally, this article points out that only 41% have achieved meaningful integration, and 23% apply unified risk management to suppliers. CFOs can use four levers—governance embedding, financial articulation, process integration, and ecosystem extension—to make cyber risk an enterprise-wide responsibility and enhance organizational resilience.
A Financial Review of Super Bowl Ad Budgets: How CFOs Evaluate an $8 Million Investment for 30 Seconds
Every year before the Super Bowl, CFOs face an $8 million advertising budget request from CMOs. The author, Jason Hershman, breaks down the true cost of this investment from a financial perspective—beyond media purchases, there are production, celebrity, legal, and subsequent digital marketing expenses, with total investments often ranging from $15 million to $50 million. The article proposes four key questions, a three-step break-even calculation method, and discusses opportunity costs and measurement metrics to help financial decision-makers rationally evaluate the true return on Super Bowl advertising.
Several Things CFOs Must Get Right After an IPO
As the 2026 IPO window approaches, investors will remain 'picky.' From an advisor's perspective, this article points out that companies often focus on 'going public' while neglecting the challenges of 'being public.' The author highlights four key risk areas: choosing wise advisors over flashy brands, clearly understanding your own equity story, managing expectations with confidence, and stress-testing bearish arguments. CFOs need to prioritize long-term credibility over short-term appearances.
The Imperative of CFO Automation: Balancing Technology and Human Judgment
Amid the wave of automation, CFOs face a trade-off between efficiency and judgment. Diana Mugambi, Senior Manager of FP&A Operations at GE Vernova, points out that excessive automation may erode human accountability in financial decision-making and weaken the development of judgment in financial talent. She advocates embracing AI in low-impact processes while retaining human oversight for significant financial judgments.
2026: CFOs Who Dare to Say 'Yes' Will Win
This guest article by Dean Quiambao, a partner at Armanino, points out that the traditional conservative mindset of CFOs is outdated. By 2026, successful CFOs will be those willing to say 'yes' to visibility, new technologies, and broader leadership. The article emphasizes the shift from 'scorekeeper' to 'platform CFO,' noting that AI will not diminish the CFO role but rather highlight the importance of judgment and leadership, and that visibility and forward-thinking will become key differentiators.
College Football Welcomes a New Role: Chief Financial Officer
College football is undergoing a transformation from amateurism to professionalization, and athletic departments face challenges such as NIL compensation, tax risks, operational efficiency, external financing, and cost overruns. The CFO will be a key figure in building the financial framework and driving the independent operation of athletic departments.
Antitrust enforcers focus on earnings calls, CFO remarks risk rising
Antitrust enforcers are systematically reviewing executive remarks during corporate earnings calls. The EU has used automated tools to screen 350,000 transcripts and subsequently conducted dawn raids on a tire manufacturer. U.S. litigants are also attempting to follow suit, and CFOs face dual compliance challenges under securities law and antitrust law.
Five Drivers Reshaping the M&A Market in 2026
With financing conditions stabilizing, the M&A market enters a new landscape in 2026. Geopolitical and trade policy complexity is rising, but private equity holds over $2.5 trillion in dry powder, with deal volume reaching $3.1 trillion in the first 10 months of 2025. Divestitures grew by 31%, and AI adoption rose to 30%, yet only a few companies apply it across the full process. This article proposes five execution strategies to help dealmakers navigate the complex environment, accelerate AI integration, and achieve value reinvention.
Bridging the GAAP Gap: Why Every CFO Needs an EBITDA Bridge
Despite long-standing criticism over its non-GAAP nature and inconsistent definitions, EBITDA remains deeply embedded in corporate valuation, credit covenants, and incentive compensation systems. Michael Paull, President and CFO of The Ahola Corporation, argues that financial leaders should not shy away from the metric's flaws but instead build a bridge from EBITDA to cash flow, making explicit the balance sheet changes, non-cash items, and other factors that EBITDA overlooks. Such a bridge not only helps detect accounting errors, fraud, or working capital anomalies early but also serves as a lever in budget comparisons, bank reporting, and board presentations, ultimately transforming EBITDA from a vague earnings figure into a strategic tool for diagnosing operational quality and cash conversion efficiency.
What CFOs Investors and Boards Expect: A Practical Guide to Narrowing the Expectation Gap Between Capital Supply and Demand
This article is written by Diya Sagar, CFO of AWA Studios. Drawing on her experience as an investment banker, corporate strategy leader, and investor, she points out that there is a widespread expectation gap between capital providers (investors) and recipients (companies), and offers actionable communication and decision-making advice for financial leaders across three dimensions: "Do not make promises you cannot keep," "Make invested capital generate excess returns," and "Prioritize protecting capital in the face of risk."