finance forum series wrap-up
What happens when Work Is Weird Now goes live at a finance conference?
Turns out, quite a lot.
In this episode, we (Alice and Dan) recap our time at the Finance Forum, where we were media partners for the very first time. From aching feet to mind-blowing conversations about AI, leadership, and the human side of finance, this one gave us plenty to think about.
AI, Exponential Change, and “If You’re Waiting to See How It Lands…”
The day kicked off with Piers Linney, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Implement AI, reminding everyone just how fast the world is changing. He shared a simple but sobering truth: humans think linearly, but technology evolves exponentially.
Translation: if you’re waiting to “see how AI lands,” you’re already too late.
Making Finance More Human
Alice took to the stage next with a live session on reducing tension in the finance function — a talk that clearly hit home. Her message was simple: finance teams don’t need fancier dashboards; they need healthier dynamics. The crowd (yes, a crowd!) nodded, photographed slides, and queued up afterwards to talk about bringing more empathy, curiosity, and calm into high-pressure finance teams.
What Finance People Really Think
Across the day, we spoke with exhibitors, attendees, and speakers about the state of work in finance.
What’s keeping people up at night?
Too much data, too little time
Old tools that don’t talk to each other
Red tape slowing down innovation
The perfection trap — that need for every number to balance before taking a creative risk
And the best quote of the day?
“We should rip up the word finance altogether and call ourselves something new. We do so much more than numbers.”
Leadership, Introverts, and Storytelling
Later sessions explored the changing role of the CFO — less number-cruncher, more people leader. We loved hearing about breadth over depth, curiosity over certainty, and how introverts are quietly redefining leadership.
A recurring theme: storytelling. Even in a world drowning in data, what sticks is the story. As one attendee put it, “We’ve got all the data we could ever need — but we still crave meaning.”
The Human Touch (and the Pit Crew Analogy We Can’t Stop Quoting)
The day ended on a high with Bernie Collins, former F1 pit crew lead for Aston Martin and McLaren. Her point landed perfectly:
“The mechanical systems are all brilliant, but none of it works if you haven’t got the human touch.”
She spoke about trust, teamwork, and debriefing — especially when things go well. It was an unexpected but brilliant reminder that even in data-driven roles, performance is still a human story.
Our Takeaways
We all need to get fluent in AI — now, not later.
Leaders (in any function) need to get better at storytelling, reflection, and trust.
And maybe it’s time finance went through a rebrand — not just what we call it, but how we think about it.
It was our first-ever media partnership, and we couldn’t have picked a better place to start. Huge thanks to our guests Becky Glover, Victoria Hood, and Donald Ewing, and to everyone we met on the floor.
The weird world of work keeps evolving — and finance just proved it’s right at the centre of the change.
🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, and catch the start of Season 4 — out today.
