Powerful Insights

This episode is a rebroadcast of our webinar where we break down the final CMMC rule and share practical guidance on navigating new compliance requirements and leveraging Microsoft and Protiviti solutions to prepare for certification.Randy Armknecht, Managing Director & Global Lead, Cloud Engineering Services, Protiviti www.linkedin.com/in/rarmknecht/Kristi Gilliat, Director, Security and Privacy, Protiviti www.linkedin.com/in/kristi-gilliat-49966b3/Justin Orcutt, Director of Cybersecurity for the Defense Industrial Base, Microsoft www.linkedin.com/in/justinorcutt/ Webinar Link: Understanding the Final CMMC Rule and Its Impact (5114495)

This episode is a rebroadcast of our webinar where we explore how CFOs and finance leaders are using advanced technologies, modern FP&A strategies, and data-driven decision-making to navigate economic and geopolitical volatility and build more agile, future-ready finance organizations.Chris Wright Managing Director, Global Business Performance Improvement Leader www.linkedin.com/in/chris-wright-60398588/ Kerry Buchar Managing Director, Business Performance Improvement www.linkedin.com/in/kerry-buchar-cpa-3a36698/ Lucas Manganaro Managing Director, Supply Chain Innovation www.linkedin.com/in/lucas-manganaro-2779204/ Neal Eisenberg Director www.linkedin.com/in/neal-eisenberg/ Link to webinar: Unlock Resilience and Foresight for Tomorrow’s Finance Leaders (5057521)

This podcast is the replay of a webinar Protiviti hosted in January.April 30 marked the 100th day of the second Trump administration. Since Inauguration Day, the administration’s actions have reshaped national and international policies, resulting in economic uncertainty, geopolitical risk and global instability. Traditional scenario-planning and risk management strategies are insufficient to address the seismic shifts that have taken place in such a short time. In this webinar, our panel of experts dissect the immediate and long-term implications for U.S. and global businesses, as well as provide pragmatic advice to help attendees:Unpack the key developments of the first 100 daysIdentify the possible winners and losersManage through this period of uncertaintyConsider what may be just over the horizonSpeakers:Carol Beaumier, Senior Managing Director, Global Leader for Thought Leadership, Protiviti Michael Brauneis, Executive Vice President, Global Industry & Client Programs, Global Financial Services Industry Leader, Protiviti Peter Henry, Senior Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution; Senior Fellow at Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI)

This podcast is the replay of a webinar Protiviti hosted in January 2025. President Donald Trump took office in January with Republican control of both the Senate and the House and with a conservative-leaning Supreme Court. He has moved quickly to appoint cabinet members, agency heads and others who share his vision for the United States. He has also appointed individuals to advise him and his administration on a range of issues (e.g., energy, border, crypto and AI czars) and created a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to make recommendations to the White House on ways to make government more efficient. Given these developments and what the president has said about his plans, which are the potential industry winners and losers and how might CEOs prepare for the administration based on this evolving information? Discussion topics include:Industries likely to be most impacted favorably and unfavorablyThe potential for increased mergers and acquisition activityThe impact of U.S. policy on non-US domiciled companiesThe outlook for AISpeakers:Carol Beaumier, Senior Managing Director, Global Leader for Thought Leadership, ProtivitiMichael Brauneis, Executive Vice President, Global Industry & Client Programs, Global Financial Services Industry Leader, ProtivitiJonathan Wyatt, Managing Director, Protiviti Europe Regional Market LeaderRob Gould, Managing Director and Global Private Equity and Transaction Services Practice Lead, ProtivitiChristine Livingston, Managing Director – Global AI Leader, Protiviti

In this episode of Powerful Insights, we talk about all things around readiness for an initial public offering, or IPO. And spoiler alert, there is a lot to address: accounting, financial reporting, cybersecurity, and even ESG and climate reporting.Our guests are Stephen Alicanti and Kristy Balsanek from DLA Piper, and Charlie Soranno and Andrea Vardaro Thomas from Protiviti.Stephen and Kristy both are partners with DLA Piper, a global law firm with more than 90 offices in more than 40 countries that provides legal solutions to businesses worldwide. Andrea and Charlie are managing directors and leaders in Protiviti's Business Performance Improvement solution.Find more information about Stephen, including his contact information, here: www.dlapiper.com/en-us/people/a/alicanti-stephen-p.Find more information about Kristy, including her contact information, here: www.dlapiper.com/en-us/people/b/balsanek-kristy.Find more information about Charlie, including his contact information, here: www.protiviti.com/us-en/charles-g-soranno.Find more information about Andrea, including her contact information, here: https://www.protiviti.com/us-en/andrea-vardaro-thomas.Read Protiviti’s paper, Guide to Public Company Transformation, Frequently Asked Questions (Fourth Edition), here: www.protiviti.com/us-en/whitepaper/guide-public-company-transformation-frequently-asked-questions-fourth-edition.For more information from Protiviti on IPO readiness, visit www.protiviti.com/us-en/ipo-readiness.

Protiviti and NC State University's ERM Initiative have conducted the 12th annual Executive Perspectives on Top Risk Survey, in which we poll board members and C-suite executives from around the world on the risks they see as most significant for their organizations over the next 12 months and the next 10 years. For this year’s survey, we asked executives to peer into 2024 as well as a decade later, into 2034, and identify the most pressing risk issues for their organizations.Not surprisingly, a number of themes emerged from the results. The economy and inflationary trends are top of mind for 2024. Cyber threats are a critical concern not only next year but also a decade from now. The geopolitical landscape is creating ripple effects across numerous risk issues. Technology-related developments and challenges, including the emergence of generative AI, continue, accompanied by concerns about talent and skills gaps. And amid all this, there are growing worries about third-party risks. In this episode, Dr. Mark Beasley of NC State University’s ERM Initiative and Jim DeLoach of Protiviti discuss the key findings and takeaways from this year’s Top Risks study.Mark is the Professor of Enterprise Risk Management and Director of the ERM Initiative in the Poole College of Management at NC State University. The ERM Initiative provides thought leadership about ERM practices and their integration with strategy and corporate governance. As founding director, Mark leads the ERM Initiative’s efforts to help pioneer the developments of this emergent discipline.Jim is a member of the Protiviti Solutions Leadership team. His market focus is on helping organizations succeed in responding to government mandates, shareholder demands and a changing business environment in a cost-effective and sustainable manner that reduces risk to an acceptable level. He assists companies with strategy setting, business planning and performance management.For further information, read our Executive Perspectives on Top Risks Survey executive summary and full report at www.protiviti.com/toprisks or http://erm.ncsu.edu.

The volume of CFO priorities has increased for years. In the past 12 months, the intensity of these urgencies also spiked, forcing finance leaders to make higher-stakes decisions more quickly and implement major adjustments with far-reaching implications.Results from the latest Global Finance Trends Survey conducted by Protiviti show that CFOs recognize the volume and magnitude of the challenges bearing down on them and their finance groups as they prioritize ESG, generative AI, business planning and analysis, talent management, and much more.The results of this study are available in our new report, Accelerate: Assessing CFO and Finance Leader Perspectives and Priorities for the Coming Year. This is available at www.protiviti.com/financesurvey.In this podcast, Protiviti Managing Directors Kerry Buchar and Chris Wright share their insights on the results of this global study and what they tell us about the challenges finance organizations face today. Chris is the global leader of Protiviti’s Business Performance Improvement group. Kerry is a leader in the BPI practice, with experience in accounting and finance transformation.Contact Chris here: www.protiviti.com/us-en/christopher-wright.Contact Kerry here: www.protiviti.com/us-en/kerry-buchar.

In this episode, we discuss digital maturity in finance. Or more specifically, how more finance organizations are employing ERP systems, moving to cloud-based systems, transitioning more to analytics, and with that, understanding the talent management and risk management needs that are required with these major changes.Sharing their insights on these issues are two Protiviti experts, Chelsea Black and Kizzy Gift.Kizzy is a Director in the Business Performance Improvement practice. Kizzy specializes in finance transformation and change management within the BPI solution at Protiviti. She works with global clients on finance and operational process improvement, project management and change management. Kizzy has over 15 years of financial services knowledge as well as other industries including manufacturing, HR, healthcare and insurance.Chelsea is a Director at Protiviti and has spent the last eight years in the Business Performance Improvement practice. With more than 12 years of professional experience, Chelsea partners with clients to improve overall operations focusing on organizational, process and technology enhancements. She is a subject-matter expert in shared services as well as project and change management in the finance transformation space.Contact Chelsea at chelsea.black@protiviti.com.Contact Kizzy at kizzy.gift@protiviti.com.To request a transcript of this episode, contact kevin.donahue@protiviti.com.

In June, nearly two years after issuing their proposal for third-party risk management (TPRM), the U.S. banking regulators – the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – finalized their guidance. In this podcast, Brian Kostek from Protiviti interviews Kathryn Hardman from Veritex Bank and Helen Smith from First Citizens Bank about the implications of the updated interagency guidance for their institutions and how institutions can reconcile the revisions in their existing TPRM programs. Brian is a Managing Director with Protiviti and leader of the firm’s third-party risk management practice. Kathryn is Senior Vice President with Texas-based Veritex Bank and is the Director of Third-Party and Model Risk Governance. Helen is the Head of Third-Party Risk Management at First Citizens Bank. Contact Brian at brian.kostek@protiviti.com. Contact Kathryn at linkedin.com/in/kathryn-hardman-096a99b. Contact Helen at linkedin.com/in/helensmith2021.

In the wake of a world-changing pandemic and amid current uncertainties in the global economy, organizations have made, and are making, some significant adjustments in their operations. For most, the procurement function is at or near the top of the list. These changes are critical for procurement leaders to navigate and manage as global supply challenges become more complex and organizations continue to grapple with technology, talent and skills shortages.There is a proven solution to address these challenges, something we refer to as procurement as a service. In this episode, we talk with two of Protiviti’s procurement experts, Chris Monk and Holly Lindstrom, about the challenges procurement groups are facing today and how this approach can help.Chris, a managing director, and Holly, a director, are leaders in Protiviti’s Sourcing and Procurement Transformation Group.For more information, visit Protiviti’s Sourcing and Procurement Transformation page on the Protiviti website.Contact Chris at christopher.monk@protiviti.com.Contact Holly at holly.lindstrom@protiviti.com.To request a transcript of this episode, contact kevin.donahue@protiviti.com.

As manufacturing organizations assess new ways to innovate and transform their operations, one area they continue to explore is the development of agile factories. In this episode, we talk with Protiviti Managing Directors Sharon Lindstrom, David Petrucci and Robert Giacobbe. Together, they explore the concept of agile factories and the importance of building flexibility and adaptability in the manufacturing sector.The conversation highlights the significance of agile factories in today's manufacturing landscape. Protiviti’s experts underscore the challenges faced by traditional manufacturing plants and the need for flexibility, adaptability and rapid responsiveness. They also emphasize the lessons learned from the pandemic and the importance of embracing a B2C approach in a B2B environment to meet customer expectations. By incorporating new technologies and fostering a culture of agility, manufacturing companies can thrive in an ever-changing market.Sharon is the Global Leader for Protiviti's Manufacturing and Distribution Industry Group. Dave is the Global Leader for Protiviti's Supply Chain Practice, and Robert is a leader with Protiviti's Supply Chain and Business Performance Improvement Group.For more information, visit the Manufacturing and Distribution Industry and Operations pages on the Protiviti website.Contact Sharon at sharon.lindstrom@protiviti.com.Contact David at david.petrucci@protiviti.com.Contact Robert at robert.giacobbe@protiviti.com.To request a transcript of this episode, contact kevin.donahue@protiviti.com.

One of the most significant decisions a CFO faces is selecting the right technology or tool to help them run the finance organization and deliver expected results and value for the business. But technology selection is only the first step. There also is implementation, a just as important stage that can make or break the success of the technology and its effectiveness in the eyes of stakeholders throughout the organization. In this podcast, we chat with Protiviti Managing Directors Shelly Kalladanthyil and Nick McKeehan about finance technology tool selection and implementation, including whether it’s time to move to the cloud. Shelly and Nick are leaders in Protiviti’s Business Performance Improvement and Finance Transformation practices. Among the key points they make: It’s not just about choosing a technology and putting it into place. Selecting the right finance technology tool requires significant due diligence as well as contributors from throughout the organization to make it a true success for the business. For more information, visit the Finance Technology & Data page on the Protiviti website: www.protiviti.com/us-en/finance-technology-data. Contact Shelly at shelly.kalladanthyil@protiviti.com. Contact Nick at nick.mckeehan@protiviti.com.