The M&A market is heating up, and AI is compressing deal timelines from weeks to days.
In this episode of The Pre-Read, guest host Josh Gertsch and Troy Hooper of Mergermarket provide a capital markets update that touches on the SpaceX IPO, the quiet M&A surge, and why quality assets with resilient cash flows are winning. Then, guest host Esther Toth talks with Latitude Financial Services CFO Guillaume Leger about leading finance teams through change, AI, and why sustainability reporting is a frontier CFOs can’t ignore.
0:00 What’s in this episode
1:56 Capital markets & M&A update with Josh and Troy
3:32 The IPO boom and M&A recovery
4:39 Trends driving M&A
13:18 Esther asks Guillaume about guiding finance teams through change
16:55 Upsides and downsides to AI in finance
19:48 The new frontier of financial reporting
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Restatement Is a Dirty Word, Except When It Isn't
22/06/2026 | 29 min
Sustainability reporting and financial reporting are converging fast. But the controller who treats them as the same thing could get burned.
In this episode, Dr. Lee Hui Mien of Singtel and Jonathan Gregory of The Hershey Company offer their views on one urgent question: what does it actually mean to bring sustainability reporting under the finance umbrella, and where does that process break down?
Chapters: 0:00 — Intro 2:30 — Dr. Lee Hui Mien on why sustainability data is fundamentally different 8:45 — Why restatement in sustainability is a feature, not a failure 13:20 — Scope 3 and why supply chain visibility can break down at tier two 19:10 — Jonathan Gregory, Global Controller at The Hershey Company 24:00 — AI governance and segregation of duties 29:45 — What the next five years demand from controllers
Guests: Dr. Lee Hui Mien, Sustainability Leader, Singtel Jonathan Gregory, Global Controller, The Hershey Company
Subscribe to The Pre-Read for more conversations at the intersection of finance, sustainability, audit, and risk.
Are You Taking Enough Risk? Probably Not.
08/06/2026 | 33 min
Boards are under pressure to govern AI responsibly, but most directors still lack the knowledge to ask the right questions, let alone hold management accountable. Two leaders explain what it actually takes.
Dr. Chong Yoke Sin chairs Singapore’s SCS AI Ethics and Governance Council and sits on financial services, property, and healthcare boards. Heather Holding is Chief Risk Officer at Best Egg and hosts an AI adoption series called “AI With Heather.” They’ve approached AI governance from opposite ends of the org chart—and landed on the same answer.
In this episode:
Why fiduciary responsibility now extends to AI (and what that means for directors who lack technical backgrounds) How continuous AI monitoring is disrupting the traditional three-lines-of-defense model The “organize my closet” onboarding method that got an entire risk team using AI regularly Why curiosity is the most important governance capability of the next 12 months What “clean data in” means for getting AI outputs you can trust
Subscribe to The Pre-Read for bi-weekly insight for finance, risk, audit, and sustainability leaders.
The Strategic Compass: Navigating the Intersection of GRC and Sustainability
11/05/2026 | 24 min
Climate mandates, GRC strategy, and a bike metaphor that'll change how you think about controls. In this episode, Alyssa Zucker speaks with sustainability expert Mark Mellen on California's SB 253 soft launch—and why companies treating this year as a free pass will be blindsided in 2027. Then 25-year GRC veteran Graeme Fleming explains why governance-first programs help organizations move faster.
Chapters 00:00—Intro: California, GRC, and what's at stake 01:45—Mark Mellen: California SB 253 and the soft launch 07:00—SB 261, climate risk, and the commercial case 10:00—Global mandates: CSRD, ISSB, and the fragmented web 11:30—The ESG controller and data governance 17:00—Quantifying sustainability value 20:00—Graeme Fleming: Putting the G back in GRC 22:00—AI, the EU AI Act, and GRC's strategic role 23:00—The bike brake framework Subscribe for new episodes!
Regulatory Reprieve? SEC Simplification and 2026 Capital Market Updates
27/04/2026 | 32 min
"I think risk factors have become more of an area where companies are trying to reduce their exposure to litigation, and it's not really viewed as being a meaningful section to most readers of financial statements." — Chelsea Hall In this episode, we tackle SEC updates and the high-stakes world of IPO readiness. Market dynamics are shifting from rigid quantitative thresholds to a new era of professional judgment. Financial reporting expert Chelsea Hall unpacks recent SEC signals on materiality and the potential for significant tariff refunds. Then, Josh Gertsch joins to discuss the massive backlog of unicorn companies and a capital markets explosion sitting on the sidelines. Key Discussion Points: Materiality Overhaul: Why the SEC is moving away from the 5% or 10% rules and toward a crisp, digestible MD&A. Tariff Refund Opportunity: Evaluating accounting models for potential recoveries following a Supreme Court ruling. The Deal Accelerator: How AI is cutting weeks and months off due diligence and registration drafting. The Rule of 40: Why investors are prioritizing companies where combined revenue growth and profit margin exceed 40%. Timestamp Highlights: 0:00 - Intro 01:50 – Moving away from quantitative materiality thresholds 02:20 – The Supreme Court and tariff refund opportunities 03:55 – Why risk factors have become a "CYA" exercise 17:00 – The IPO quality bar and the return of the rule of 40 19:30 – Leveraging technology and AI in the deal cycle 24:40 – The shift in readiness strategy for private companies
Just like the slides you get before a big meeting, The Pre-Read prepares CFOs and senior leaders for the decisions ahead. This is the global podcast for the modern office of the CFO, focused on how finance leaders drive performance, resilience, and long-term value in a constantly shifting environment.
Designed for executives operating at scale, the show features candid conversations with CFOs, board advisors, regulators, and business leaders shaping how companies compete, comply, and grow. Hosts Alyssa Zucker and Steve Soter connect financial performance, data integrity, regulation, and technology to the real questions CFOs are being asked by boards, investors, and stakeholders.
From AI adoption and enterprise data trust to evolving disclosure expectations and global regulatory pressure, The Pre-Read focuses on what matters now and what's coming next. Each episode cuts through noise to surface practical insight, strategic perspective, and the signals CFOs need to lead with clarity. If you're responsible for stewarding capital, managing risk, and creating value over time, you're in the right place.
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