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Hey there,
AI agents are starting to act inside finance, not just advise from the sidelines. Transcard’s Virtual CFO runs 24/7, tackling cash flow fears, fraud holds, and other painful workflows.
Where could an action-oriented agent remove the most stress from your finance team?
📰 Upcoming in this issue
👔 Respect the Conversation: Inside UEM Sunrise’s CFO Playbook
🤖 The Actionable AI Playbook From Transcard’s Virtual CFO
✂️ Holiday Layoffs Rise as CFO Bonuses Stay Safe
📈 Trending news
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CFO Bonus Optics In A Season Of Layoffs
👔 Respect the Conversation: Inside UEM Sunrise’s CFO Playbook
This profile follows UEM Sunrise CFO Hafiz Sulaiman as he juggles the roles of finance chief and interim CEO, using disciplined investor relations to steady the company.
Key Takeaways:
📊 Dual Roles, One Strategy: Hafiz balances CFO duties with nearly 11 months as officer-in-charge, keeping UEM Sunrise’s strategy steady through leadership changes.
📈 Fact-Based, Simple IR: He insists investor communications stay factual, transparent, and simple, so markets understand long-term value drivers instead of chasing short-term noise.
🗣️ Respect the Conversation: His mantra, “respect the conversation,” guides how he engages analysts, journalists, and shareholders with preparation, empathy, and open, two-way dialogue.
🧭 Building Trust as CFO: He urges aspiring CFOs to master technical skills, speak directly, and build a reputation for clarity and trust that boards rely on.
🤖 The Actionable AI Playbook From Transcard’s Virtual CFO
Microsoft’s latest customer story shows how Transcard’s Virtual CFO, a secure AI agent that acts instead of just advising, runs 24/7 for finance teams. It distills five practical lessons any leader can use to turn generative AI hype into actionable, trusted automation.
Key Takeaways:
🔍 Start With Real Pain: Transcard begins with customers’ headaches, such as cash flow anxiety and fraud holds, then reimagines processes instead of simply speeding up already broken routines.
📏 Set Clear Non-Negotiables: Leaders define accuracy, speed, security, customer-first design, and action APIs as non-negotiables, enabling innovation to move quickly without sacrificing trust.
🤝 Pick the Right Partners: Transcard partners with Microsoft and Coretek for cloud, AI, and agent expertise, turning vague ambitions into a practical roadmap and working solution.
🌊 Ship in Trust-Building Waves: Virtual CFO launches in waves, solving urgent finance tasks first, co-created with customers, then expands to new teams, industries, and geographies.
✂️ Holiday Layoffs Rise as CFO Bonuses Stay Safe
Thirty-one percent of companies plan holiday-season layoffs even as most executives keep their annual bonuses. For CFOs, it highlights the uncomfortable gap between cost-cutting decisions and how leadership compensation remains shielded from the fallout.
Key Takeaways:
📉 Layoffs Into Year-End: Nearly 31% of companies plan layoffs before year-end, mostly between Thanksgiving and Christmas, primarily to trim costs ahead of first-quarter budgets.
💰 Bonuses Stay, Severance Wavers: Even as cuts loom, 82% of companies keep executive bonuses, while only 58% guarantee severance for every laid-off worker.
🤖 AI Targets the Middle: About 69% of companies use AI to flag roles for elimination, concentrating cuts on operational and middle-management layers rather than executive ranks.
🧭 CFOs in the Hot Seat: CFOs oversee the financial logic of layoffs, steward culture through a bruising season, and benefit from pay structures that remain largely protected.
📊 Take This Edition’s Poll:
Would you rather remove the most stress from your team by automating this step first?
Why It Matters
This model promises faster cycle times, fewer errors, and better visibility into working capital. Begin with one high-friction process, define success metrics, and ship in waves with trusted partners.
Guardrails on accuracy and security must stay firm.
Wishing you continued success,
Vanessa Carter
Editor-in-Chief
CFO Executive Insights
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