BROADCASTS.com

When CFO John Collins is asked how his background in data modeling and strategy is influencing the role that finance plays inside LivePerson, the artificial intelligence (AI) software firm that he first joined 2 years ago, he draws our attention to the mountains of data accumulating alongside most businesses today.

\u201cGiven the volume of data that exists and that the tools to transform it into information have not evolved very much, my taking over the CFO seat and building out this team under me is putting us on a path to better achieve more data efficiency,\u201d explains Collins, while referring to the team that he\u2019s dubbed \u201cDMD,\u201d or Data Models and Decisions.

\u201cData is essentially an input into a model. The model may be rather simple and rules-based or it may involve more sophisticated machine learning, but the models manipulate and organize that data to produce useful information,\u201d continues Collins.

Still, what sets Collins\u2019s data aspirations apart from those of his more traditional CFO peers is not the act of transforming additional data into information, but what he refers to as the Flywheel Effect, through which the system for digesting the information over time \u201cgets smarter\u201d and begins to create \u201cautomations\u201d for different transactional activities while reducing uncertainty and maximizing the returns around decision-making.

\u201cThat\u2019s the essence of the flywheel that gets generated, through the vision that we have for the CFO and the modern tool set underneath him or her,\u201d says Collins, who characterizes the proper operation of the accounting and reporting processes as \u201ctables stakes\u201d inside a broadening finance function.

\u201cFor me, the past should be accounted for perfectly, but where I would like to focus is on being a strategic partner and the creation of long-term value,\u201d comments Collins, who considers the Flywheel Effect as a primary contributor to long-term value creation.

Says Collins: \u201cFrom my perspective, it\u2019s pretty clear that we\u2019re digitizing the world at an accelerated pace, which has had implications not just for traditional products and services but also for traditional jobs and corporate functions.\u201d \u2013Jack Sweeney\xa0

• Leave rating & review\xa0\xa0
• Signup for our Newsletter

GET MORE: Order now The CFO Yearbook, 2021\xa0

\xa0