Show Notes
What’s driving finance leaders’ strategic planning in 2025—and its future trajectory?
In this data-packed episode, we welcome back Craig Schiff, CEO of BPM Partners to unpack the findings from Vena’s 2025 State of Strategic Finance Report. From AI adoption to strategic business partnering, Craig dives into key insights on how finance leaders are navigating change, deploying technology, and building more connected and capable teams. Drawing from the report’s insights, Craig reveals the critical direction finance teams must take to remain competitive and efficient.
Together with host Melissa Howatson, Craig explores major themes from this year's survey, including surprising optimism among finance leaders, a rise in cross-functional collaboration, and the evolving role of AI within finance operations. If you're a finance leader seeking clarity on where the industry is headed, this is your roadmap.
Discussed in This Episode: Why finance leaders are feeling optimistic in 2025 The expanding strategic role of finance in business How teams are managing talent shortages while still growing What's driving widespread adoption of planning technology The real state of AI in finance and what's working Common traits of mature finance organizations
For CFO insights, episode show notes, and exclusive blog content, visit thecfoshowpodcast.com.
More from The CFO Show
Growth often looks impressive from the outside. New markets, new capabilities and new headlines. But as organizations scale, leaders quickly discover that growth is the visible part. Integration is the real work.
The path to becoming a CFO is rarely linear. In today’s environment of constant change, finance leaders are expected to move between strategy, operations, and capital markets while developing the judgment needed to navigate uncertainty and drive growth.
Business agility has become a defining capability for organizations operating in today’s environment of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA). But while many companies focus on operational flexibility or technology investments, fewer understand the critical role finance plays in enabling true agility across the business.
One of the most consequential decisions a CFO will make is selecting and implementing an enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform. Yet beyond vendor comparisons and licensing costs lie hidden risks—customization overruns, stalled implementations, legacy system constraints, and organizational change fatigue.
Healthcare finance leaders are operating under unprecedented pressure. Rising costs, staffing shortages, payer complexity, and constant uncertainty.