7 expectations for finance execs on the Fall CFO Management Convention

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As CFOs and their groups know, the onset of Fall’s cozy vibes additionally comes with the height of company finance’s occasions season.

And, not like many finance conferences that attempt to cowl each nook of the CFO mandate, the CFO Management Council’s third consecutive This fall convention within the west has content material that focuses on a set of core themes: Management, transformation, advantages technique and the evolving intersection of finance and expertise. 

Listed here are seven CFO-centric expectations for the convention, which is about to happen Oct. 6-8, 2025, on the Hyatt Regency Lodge in Austin, Texas. 

For finance groups, transformation has develop into a buzzword round organizations within the context of AI, worker sentiment and company finance’s labor market. Within the convention’s keynote addresses, CFOs will hear from leaders exterior of conventional finance, together with former NFL innovation govt Jennifer Langton and retired U.S. Military Lieutenant Colonel Oakland McCulloch, on what it takes to guide in moments of change. These keynotes will emphasize trust-building, strategic readability and private accountability because the cornerstones of management.

Well being care and profit prices are rising for almost all CFOs, and forecasting future prices whereas implementing options to handle present pressures might be complicated and time-consuming. Periods will dive into how hidden charges and opaque preparations have an effect on monetary planning and the way transparency can unlock financial savings. Finance leaders will discover ways to shift from advantages directors to strategic builders of packages that align value administration targets with worker well-being requirements.

AI, particularly agentic AI, stays one of the crucial mentioned however least clearly understood instruments in finance. CFOLC West will deal with how CFOs can apply AI to forecasting, operations and investor communications in methods which can be focused, life like and measurable. Relatively than chasing tendencies, those that attend periods on this matter will hear instantly from CFOs who’ve purchased, applied and operated such instruments and are discovering actual worth in automation and intelligence initiatives.

A number of panels will discover how CFOs from totally different sectors can transfer past their historically fiscal administration duties to develop into true digital transformation companions throughout the whole enterprise. Finance leaders from Paylocity and different organizations will talk about tips on how to align monetary insights with expertise technique to drive innovation affordably. These periods will present how CFOs can form digital priorities, affect capital allocation and play a central function in impactful change in and outdoors of the finance perform. This was additionally a subject that was mentioned at size at CFO Dwell 2025 final month. 

Breakout periods will sort out the nuts and bolts of recent finance operations, from expense administration to shortening the shut cycle. CFOs will be taught peer-tested approaches to upgrading legacy techniques, tightening processes and empowering groups to work with real-time knowledge. The purpose right here is probably going to assist finance leaders scale their capabilities with out sacrificing management, accuracy or velocity.

Former Weights & Biases CFO Cameron Kinloch will provide a deep dive into how knowledge can gasoline development, strategic transactions and operational excellence. Drawing on her expertise scaling firms within the rising expertise house, she’ll share her approaches to creating finance groups extra analytical and forward-looking. This dialog will probably deal with tips on how to use knowledge for storytelling, whereas additionally balancing knowledge high quality enchancment efforts with avoiding paralysis by evaluation.

Hyatt CFO Joan Bottarini will share insights from main finance at a worldwide hospitality model via disruption, growth and cultural reinvention. Her session will discover how monetary technique intersects with expertise growth, cultural alignment and purpose-driven management. CFOs who work in international positions or aspire to take action will achieve a clearer image of tips on how to lead at scale whereas balancing monetary imperatives with the broader targets of a giant, multinational enterprise.

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