The Pre-Read

Workforce reimagination is here. In 2026, the office of the CFO is moving from AI as a tool to a coworker.
Recorded in Davos, this episode digs into the human side of transformation. We sit down with global leaders to unpack why the human in the loop is being rewritten and why change management has become a core executive capability.
Mandi McReynolds talks with Costi Perricos, Global GenAI Business Leader at Deloitte, Dennis Woodside, CEO of Freshworks, and Dr. Márcia Balisciano, Board Member Foundation for the UN Global Compact and CSO of RELX, about what they're seeing on the ground as roles evolve from task execution to AI orchestration.
In this episode:
04:00 Costi Pericos on agentic collaboration and why HR and AI are converging
13:10 Dennis Woodside on the execution gap and changing daily work habits
15:30 Marcia Balisciano on CFO leadership and becoming "chief environmental champions"
19:00 Conclusion: Why CFOs must architect the agentic future
"I often say you'll learn without AI first so that one day you can be the human in the loop, coordinating and governing AI."
— Costi Pericos, Deloitte
Enjoy this episode? Find more at workiva.com/podcast/the-pre-read

Traditional finance models are hitting a wall. This episode highlights a panel at Davos that gets straight to the engine room of the enterprise. 
Jatin Dalal, Chief Financial Officer, Cognizant; Mike Rost, Chief Strategy Officer, Workiva; Jonathan Zanger, Chief Technology Officer, Check Point; and Jennifer Steinmann, Global Sustainability Business Leader, Deloitte gathered to talk about: 
The ROI heresy: Why waiting for a fixed ROI is like using an obsolete map for a moving target 
The 3x productivity jump: Why a 300% increase is the new starting point for AI 
Security risks: Understanding white font attacks and AI doppelgangers in HR systems 
Strategic insights: How predictive analytics and earth observation are changing risk valuation 
Timestamps:
00:00—Multiplying traditional productivity by three 
02:15—The Davos panel: AI promise and peril 
04:10—Why ROI is an irrelevant measure for AI 
05:40—Security alerts: The white font attack 
07:15—The $3.8 trillion insight at stake 
08:20—The Monday morning mandate 
"Whatever you thought about traditional productivity multiplied by three at minimum, and that should be a starting point, not the end point." —Jatin Dalal, CFO of Cognizant 
Find past conversations at workiva.com/podcast/the-pre-read

Misinformation, amplified by AI, has climbed to the top of the global risk landscape. What does that mean for the office of the CFO?
We kick off a Davos miniseries with Workiva CSO Mandi McReynolds, bringing perspectives straight from the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Mandi sits down with Ami Badani, CMO of Arm, Rob Fisher, Global Head of Advisory at KPMG, and Robin Hodes, CEO of Global Reporting Initiative, to break down brand risk, workforce pressure, and why transparent, trusted data is now a leadership mandate.
In this episode:
04:00 Defending information certainty and proactive brand protection
09:30 The "dollar for dollar" rule: Investing equally in tech and people
18:00 Why reporting is becoming a frontline risk tool
21:00 Preview: The rise of cybersecurity doppelgangers
"For every dollar on the tech, you should be spending a dollar on the workforce transformation."
—Rob Fisher, Global Head of Advisory, KPMG
Enjoy this episode? Find more at workiva.com/podcast/the-pre-read
#Davos2026 #GlobalRisk #CFO #AIStrategy #WorkforceTransformation

Is your organization ready for the SOX journey of sustainability data?
In this episode of The Pre-Read, we sit down with Lori Defnet, ESG Controller at The Hershey Company, to define the core remit of this emerging role. While traditional controllers guard the known, ESG controllers manage ambiguity. Lori shares how she navigates moving targets in the regulatory landscape and why curiosity and adaptability are the most critical skills for the next generation of finance leaders.
Key moments:
02:45—Defining the core remit of an ESG controller 
05:30—The data challenge: ERP systems vs. supplier surveys 
08:15—A "crawl, walk, run" approach to limited and reasonable assurance 
11:40—Stakeholder management: Education and empathy 
13:50—Will the ESG controller role eventually merge with finance?
17:15—Curiosity and adaptability in succession planning 
"I think the role of that ESG controller is that translator to help teach the business and teach the finance organization how to get there." —Lori Defnet 
Find past conversations at workiva.com/podcast/the-pre-read

#ESG #Accounting #Sustainability #FinanceTransformation #Workiva

How do leaders turn messy data into something they can trust?
Global C-suite executive Amina Razvi joins us to explain why decision-grade data is the foundation of modern CFO risk management. She breaks down how integrating financial and non-financial data changes how companies manage volatility, price risk, and build long-term resilience.
In this conversation, we cover:
Why waiting for perfect data is a risk in itself
How sustainability data quality drives innovation, not just compliance
What CFOs gain by connecting financial, operational, and supply chain data
Why working pre-competitively can reduce risk across entire industries
Enjoying the show? Find past conversations at workiva.com/podcast/the-pre-read
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