Technology
Real-World DeFi Use Cases Are Reshaping the B2B Payments Landscape
Decentralized finance (DeFi) is moving from abstract concepts to mainstream adoption, bringing tangible changes to B2B payments for mid-sized enterprises. Based on insights from Sergio Almaguer, Chief Product Officer at Paystand, this article examines three use cases—smart contracts, decentralized working capital, and stablecoin settlement—and demonstrates how they optimize cash flow, streamline financing processes, and reduce cross-border settlement costs.
AlphaSense's New CFO Invests at Least 10 Hours Weekly in Enhancing AI Skills
AlphaSense's new CFO Samantha Greenberg stated that she dedicates at least 10 hours weekly to learning AI skills, including workshops, research, and hands-on technical practice. She believes the CFO role has transformed significantly in the AI era and emphasized that finance teams must continuously upskill to support the company's rapid growth.
Beyond the Numbers: The Evolving Role of FP&A in Strategic Drivers
Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) is undergoing rapid transformation, driven primarily by data, automation, and AI-enabled analytics. Its competitive advantage no longer lies in the models themselves, but in the ability to provide timely, decision-ready scenario analysis that enables leaders to take action. In this model, FP&A shifts from answering "what happened" to "what to do next," stress-testing product launches, investments, and M&A through market, risk, and macroeconomic scenarios. As enterprise data becomes increasingly real-time, predictive, and actionable, FP&A helps CFOs and executive teams make faster trade-offs with a clearer view of value. This transformation relies on a data foundation that is both governed and accessible, including common definitions, controls, and security measures, while providing self-service access to avoid multiple "versions of the truth." FP&A is progressively building three strategic roles: integrated insight leader, organic growth driver, and strategic catalyst, thereby enhancing efficiency, optimizing capital allocation, and driving sustainable growth.
Checkr's New CFO: Betting Big on AI and Core Technology, Targeting a $40 Billion Verification Market
In an interview with CFO Dive, Checkr's new CFO Tim Yarbrough said that AI investment is a 'non-negotiable' area, and the company is targeting a $40 billion market opportunity, planning to expand from employment verification to tenant and mortgage verification. He emphasized the double-edged sword effect of AI and revealed plans to prioritize strengthening financial foundations, optimizing capital allocation, and advancing the development of continuous verification products.
Global Payroll Management Is a Strategic Challenge, and AI Is Solving It
Global payroll management has long been viewed as an operational burden, but AI-driven zero-touch infrastructure is changing this landscape. Through automated processing, continuous compliance updates, and financial accountability, enterprises can reduce costs by 30% and turn payroll management into a strategic advantage.
Automakers take the lead in disclosing tariff rebates, with Ford's $1.3 billion claim leading the way
As the U.S. Customs and Border Protection initiates the tariff rebate application process, companies including Ford, General Motors, Procter & Gamble, and Apple have successively disclosed related expectations in earnings calls. Ford CFO Sherry House confirmed that a potential $1.3 billion rebate was recorded in the first quarter, General Motors expects to receive a $500 million rebate, Procter & Gamble estimates an after-tax rebate of approximately $150 million, while Apple has not disclosed a specific amount.
Gartner: By 2029, CFOs Leveraging AI Could Unlock a 10-Percentage-Point Increase in Profit Growth
A recent Gartner report predicts that by 2029, CFOs who strategically align artificial intelligence with broader financial technology investments could unlock an additional 10-percentage-point increase in profit growth. However, fragmentation of the technology ecosystem and excessive hype from AI vendors may lead to budget waste. Based on a survey of 314 global organizations, the report highlights significant divergence between investment enthusiasm and value across technologies such as cloud ERP, generative AI, and AI agents, recommending that CFOs manage technology investments from a portfolio perspective.
Survey: CFOs Expect Finance Team Sizes to Shrink, AI Drives Decline in Demand for Entry-Level Roles
The latest survey by Oliver Wyman and the New York Stock Exchange reveals that as AI investment increases, most CFOs expect finance team sizes to remain flat or shrink over the next three years, with deeper changes in team composition—64% of respondents anticipate a lower share of entry-level roles, as the finance function transitions from a traditional pyramid structure to a "thick-middle diamond" shape.
Bob's Discount Furniture CFO: Pricing Elasticity Remains Core to Retail Pricing
Since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, retailers have faced continuous turbulence, but Bob's Discount Furniture Chief Financial Officer Carl Lukach noted at an industry event that the 'mathematics' of pricing remains unchanged, with elasticity still at the core. He shared how the company addresses challenges through emotional price points, zone pricing, and technology applications, and discussed consumers' tolerance for price increases.
Finance Teams Embrace 'Vibe Coding' — What Comes After the AI Hype?
A new trend is emerging in finance: controllers and FP&A leaders use weekends to engage in 'vibe coding' with LLMs, building internal tools and reporting dashboards, and the prototypes often work. This makes AI feel genuinely useful in finance teams for the first time. However, the gap between a working prototype and a system that can withstand the scale, governance, and scrutiny of an enterprise finance department is far larger than early successes suggest. This article outlines five key signals to help teams recognize when a prototype has outgrown the sandbox environment and explores how to move from experimentation to real impact.