The Pre-Read

Hosted by Workiva

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174

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Jun 2026

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About the show

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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June 8, 202633 min

Are You Taking Enough Risk? Probably Not.

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 modelThe “organize my closet” onboarding method that got an entire risk team using AI regularlyWhy curiosity is the most important governance capability of the next 12 monthsWhat “clean data in” means for getting AI outputs you can trustSubscribe to The Pre-Read for bi-weekly insight for finance, risk, audit, and sustainability leaders.

May 11, 202624 min

The Strategic Compass: Navigating the Intersection of GRC and Sustainability

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!

April 27, 202632 min

Regulatory Reprieve? SEC Simplification and 2026 Capital Market Updates

"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

April 13, 202625 min

Nostalgia on Trial: What the Blockbuster Trademark Case Can Teach the C-Suite

A visit to Blockbuster Video used to be the ultimate Friday night trip, but today, that blue and yellow ticket is a legal battleground for intangible assets. In this episode of The Pre-Read, we unearth the true drivers of company valuation, from nostalgic trademarks to proprietary AI. "The question isn't whether Blockbuster was famous. It's whether it's famous enough now for trademark law to care in the same way." —Ivan Moreno Guest spotlight: Ivan Moreno, senior reporter at Law360®, breaks down the Blockbuster trademark case against a Mississippi animal feed company. He discusses why heritage brands must fight to stay legally relevant even when they no longer lead the market. Then Alana Chartier, Sustainability Analyst at Workiva, explains the $81 trillion blind spot in global company valuation. She argues that a 21st-century economy cannot run on 20th-century reporting systems that classify human capital and AI as costs instead of assets. Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction 03:30 The Blockbuster trademark case vs. Southern Seed and Feed 05:40 Dilution by blurring: Can you protect a legacy name? 08:30 Accounting for brand value: Acquisition vs. internal builds 11:00 Reputation as a corporate credit score 18:40 The orchard analogy: Why we only count the fruit 21:30 Integrated reporting: Connecting financial and non-financial data Subscribe to catch all upcoming episodes of The Pre-Read.

March 30, 202622 min

Sustainability in the C-Suite: Strategy over Compliance

Don't let the political noise fool you: Green hushing is real, but green quitting is a myth. In this episode, we sit down with Grant Harrison, VP at Trellis Group, to bridge the narrative reality gap. We explore how the office of the CFO is taking the lead, shifting sustainability from a values-driven initiative to a finance-led sustainability strategy anchored in financial materiality. Learn how to build a data backbone that delivers assurance-ready sustainability data for global mandates like CSRD and ISSB. Key moments: 00:00 Introduction 02:15 Identifying the narrative reality gap in today's market 05:40 Green hushing vs. green quitting: What the data says 09:10 Why the controller's office is the new home for sustainability 12:50 Moving beyond a check-the-box compliance mindset 17:45 Using assurance-ready sustainability data to optimize the cost of capital "Companies getting it right treat the disclosure as a byproduct of good decision-making, not an output of something that was ... machine built to produce PDF outcome." —Grant Harrison, VP of Sustainable Finance and ESG at Trellis Group Find past conversations at workiva.com/podcast/the-pre-read #Sustainability #CFO #ESG #FinanceStrategy #Workiva

March 16, 202633 min

The Semi-Annual Trap: Why Less Reporting Might Mean More Work

Is your reporting strategy ready for a six-month silence? #podcast The traditional quarterly cycle is under the microscope. We explore the potential shift to semi-annual reporting and why "less" disclosure often results in more work for finance, legal, and IR. What we cover: » The Capital Gap: Will investors penalize companies that choose to say less? » The 8-K Surge: Why voluntary filings might become the new 10-Q. » The Governance Risk: Navigating longer "dark periods" and insider trading exposure. » Decision-Grade Data: Why you can't afford to lose the discipline of a quarterly close. The Insight: "Never has an investor asked for less information." — Mike Rost,SVP & Chief Strategy Officer, Workiva Timestamps:  00:00 Intro 02:21 Highlights and Key Risks 04:23 IR Transparency Tradeoffs 07:39 Eight-K Takes Center Stage 10:43 Finance Governance and Data 13:54 Reg FD and Guidance Pressure 14:50 Insider Trading and Litigation 22:15 Final Takeaways and Readiness 26:06 Europe and UK Real-World Model #SEC #CFO #InvestorRelations #Governance #ThePreRead #Workiva

March 6, 202621 min

Davos Discussions: The Human Coworker

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

March 4, 202611 min

Davos Discussions: What is the ROI Heresy?

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

March 2, 202623 min

Davos Discussions: Leaders vs. The Certainty Gap

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 Hodess, 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

February 20, 202622 min

The Translator: Bridging the Gap Between Finance and Sustainability

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