Wednesday, June 24

11:00 am – 12:00 pm eastern

Finance Leadership, Payments, and the Modern CFO Agenda
Presented by Bottomline
The role of finance is changing fast. Today’s CFOs and finance leaders are no longer judged solely on reporting accuracy and controls, they’re expected to drive capital efficiency, guide strategic investment, manage risk, and help the business navigate volatility, all while evaluating new technologies like AI.

In this 50-minute conversation, Pat Sunday, Chief Accounting Officer at Bottomline, shares a practitioner’s perspective on the modern CFO agenda. Drawing on experience leading global accounting, shared services, and financial operations inside a payments technology company, Pat discusses how finance leaders are rethinking capital allocation, working capital discipline, payments strategy, AI adoption, and performance metrics.

You’ll gain practical insight into what boards and CEOs expect from finance today, how payments can become a lever for cash flow and risk management (not just a back-office function), where AI is delivering real value versus hype, and how finance teams can stay resilient amid FX volatility and macro uncertainty.

Presenters:
Paul McMeekin | VP Marketing | Bottomline
Patrick Sunday | Chief Accounting Officer | Bottomline

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm eastern

The Finance AI Reckoning: Why 87% of CFOs Are Investing and Only 14% Are Seeing Returns
Presented by Aptitude Software
87% of CFOs say AI will be critical to finance operations this year. Only 14% can point to measurable returns on what they've spent. The gap isn't the technology. It's the foundation underneath it. On June 24, Aptitude Software CEO Alex Curran will share the AI Reckoning framework: the five things finance AI needs from your data architecture that most finance stacks can't currently provide, and what it costs you every month the gap goes unaddressed. Then Brian Feeney, VP of Financial Services, from FM, will make it concrete. FM retired four legacy accounting systems, consolidated insurance accounting data globally into a single source of truth, and aligned closing dates across every entity worldwide. He'll speak to what that project actually took, and what it made possible on the other side. If your board is asking about AI and your honest answer is "we're working on it," this session is worth your hour.

Presenters:
Alex Curran | CEO | Aptitude Software
Brian Feeney | Vice President of Financial Services | FM Global
Hamish Kilworth | Account Management Director | Aptitude Software

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