Latest / The Diary of a CFO / Getting the most out of your tech stack, with Anna Sagan

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Getting the most out of your tech stack, with Anna Sagan · The Diary of a CFO

0:00
What would be your playbook for helping teams
0:02
get the most out of their reporting, too? Like,
0:05
what would be the best way to make sure they
0:07
can either pace themselves, select the right
0:09
solution, but really get the most out of it?
0:11
Yeah, so things like... Today's guest is Anna
0:16
Sagan. She is a senior principal in solution
0:18
engineering at Insight Software, where she works
0:21
with finance and accounting leaders to simplify
0:23
reporting, transform data into insights, and
0:26
improve automation with spreadsheet server. What
0:29
do people misunderstand about the kind of reporting
0:32
they can do with their ERP versus an accounting
0:35
system compared to a specialized tool like spreadsheet
0:38
server or BI tool? These ERPs, they are very
0:41
good at the general legend. And then the reporting
0:43
out of it sometimes can be second, right? And
0:46
so this is our lane. This is our gold star. This
0:48
is what we do. And so inherent in ERP system,
0:52
sometimes for folks can feel not as customizable,
0:56
they can't get to all their data, and that is
0:58
is frustrating. And so this is something that
1:01
really is such an easy implementation. All the
1:04
easy things that can just be put right in there,
1:06
connect right to the data, get to all the data,
1:08
customizable, all of those things. You know,
1:11
a friend of mine in high school, her dad, he
1:13
always used to say, are you working smarter?
1:14
Are you working harder? Where do you see reporting
1:17
tools going in the next few years? And what should
1:19
finance leaders be thinking about now to stay
1:22
ahead? Yeah, I mean, they definitely need to
1:24
be. I would say it's knowing. Today's episode
1:28
is brought to you by Inside Software. which provides
1:32
AI -powered financial reporting solutions that
1:35
can save you from spreadsheet sludge and give
1:37
you time back for weekend fun. With Spreadsheet
1:40
Server, before they become problems and make
1:42
faster, smarter decisions, visit insightsoftware
1:45
.com slash reporting. I will drop the link in
1:47
the show notes. Welcome back to the Diary of
1:49
a CFO Podcast, the podcast where finance leaders
1:52
share the lessons, challenges, and wins that
1:54
shape their careers as well as their organizations.
1:57
I'm your host, Waseea Kamani, and today I'm super
1:59
delighted to have with me, Anna Sagan. Welcome
2:02
to the show, Anna. Thank you so much for having
2:05
me. Of course, I'm curious to hear about your
2:07
story and what actually drew you into the software
2:10
space. Yeah, so my parents have always been in
2:14
tech. So it's always been something that I've
2:16
been around for a long time growing up, had one
2:20
of the massive computers growing up, you know,
2:23
since I was little. You know, a friend of mine
2:27
in high school, her dad was a very successful
2:29
businessman out of Cincinnati. He always used
2:31
to say, Rod Molnar, he used to say, are you working
2:35
smarter? Are you working harder? You know? And
2:37
so that's always stayed with me. And I've always
2:41
been one of those people that have said, how
2:44
can we do this better? If I'm doing something,
2:46
I was like, how can we do this better? How can
2:47
we do this in a way that is not going to take
2:50
so much time or be so frustrating or... you know,
2:54
all those things that take a long time to get
2:57
to the end result, which is either an answer
2:59
or something else. It's always kind of intrigued
3:02
me or frustrated me enough to find out, you know,
3:05
how to do, how to do things better. And I love
3:07
a puzzle. So, you know, software is a bit like
3:10
that. Oh, wow. So you went to college for software,
3:14
like when you went out of out at high school.
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I actually got a business marketing degree. So
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I got a business marketing degree. As you can
3:21
see, I'm a little chatty. So I got a business
3:24
marketing degree and then just started, but then
3:28
got my first job in sales within software after
3:33
college. And then as any... kind of life learner
3:37
like I feel like I am is you just learn what
3:40
you have to learn. So I dug in and I mean, I
3:44
was in sales mostly, but I also wanted to understand
3:47
it. And I wanted to understand what I was doing
3:50
and understand the people I was talking to and
3:53
all of that. So went back and took, you know,
3:56
additional accounting classes, additional SQL
3:58
classes, things like that, that really helped
4:00
me have a better conversation, understand. what's
4:05
happening behind the scenes and that's always
4:06
intrigued me too. So I think it's been doing
4:10
that and been in the roles that I was in early
4:13
on in my career. There weren't solutions engineers,
4:17
which is what I do now. You did soup to nuts,
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right? You did A to Z, you were calling and you
4:24
were presenting and you were all the things,
4:27
right? So you had to do it and you had to learn
4:30
it and that's what you did. So you just... dig
4:33
in and figure it out. And that kind of led me
4:37
into the next software role, which is in that
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lane of solutions engineers and doing that. So
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that's what led me into that. And then from there,
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I had a great mentor, Sherry Puckett, and kind
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of latched onto her and learned everything that
4:55
she knew. She's an excellent CPA and technical
4:59
wizard. You know, again, you learn what you have
5:02
to learn and you dig in and get the answers you
5:05
need. I really like your story here because you
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mentioned two things that I've really seen, you
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know, with other people I have on my podcast
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is that lifelong learning, like learning what
5:14
you have to do to really go to the next level,
5:17
but also having your right mentor, because there's
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not a lot of women in tech. really in the segment
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that you're doing. So it's really impressive
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to hear that and how we helped you to where you
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are now. So thank you so much for sharing. Yes.
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I've had some amazing women mentors in my life
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and a lot of it started with my mom who was in
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tech and all of that. Wow. Very successful and,
5:39
you know, traveled around the world and did all
5:42
those things. Yeah, that is so awesome. So right
5:46
where you are now What's the main solution you
5:48
are working on and what kind of problems does
5:51
he help companies solve? Yeah, so, you know companies
5:54
are nowadays especially I mean we live in a market
5:56
that's we're in a world really that's that they
5:59
need the answers now or yesterday even right
6:01
so and so CFO specifically who I talked to around
6:06
the country, you know, they are looking for ways
6:08
to Help their people be more efficient get to
6:13
those answers quickly and those answers being
6:15
data driven decision the answers right because
6:19
They need to make decisions cash is king. They
6:22
need to know what's going on Instantly in their
6:25
business and so people to get those answers They
6:29
need a better way or a ways to get to the get
6:32
to the data get to see what's happening So spreadsheet
6:36
server is what I work with today and we've worked
6:42
with for quite a while. And that is what this
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does. This allows for accountants, finance operations
6:49
folks to see and get to all their data, but see
6:53
it and get to it in a place that they're comfortable
6:56
and happy, which is Excel. And for most folks
7:00
who are... running companies, Excel is a little
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bit like a warm blanket, right? And so it helps.
7:08
They're comfortable and happy there. And so this
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solution is in Excel and allows them to leverage
7:14
skills they already have, but give them a quick
7:17
and easy way to see their data, get to their
7:20
data, drill down, see those answers, find out
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what's happening in a company in that real time
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type of space where they could get to answers
7:30
quickly. Wow. And I like the fact that you said
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Excel is comfortable. I see every now and then
7:35
on LinkedIn, error, RIP Excel, Excel is dead.
7:39
But when I think about software, we tend to go
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see the information somewhere and dump it in
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Excel and then slice and dice, right? Absolutely.
7:48
I mean, it's something where I always joke. I
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mean, look, a spreadsheet server runs right along
7:53
any BI tool because you have different people
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in your organization. You have some that are
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going to maybe look at a certain view and be
8:00
able to say, all right. It's, uh, here's the
8:03
big picture, right? All of that. And then you,
8:05
and, and, and then you have folks that then are
8:08
doing that tactical data day to day. They do
8:12
that in Excel. That happens in Excel. And I always
8:15
joke, you know, what's everyone's favorite BI
8:17
tool is, you know, how to get the one that gets
8:20
it. So you Excel the fastest. And so that's what
8:23
people are doing, especially those folks. who
8:26
are doing that work on a day -to -day basis,
8:29
they're taking it to Excel, just like you said.
8:31
They're slicing and dicing. They're doing all
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the things. So yeah. And there are a million
8:36
things that can pull something into Excel. That's
8:41
the easy part, getting data into Excel. It's
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what that individual does after it's in Excel.
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That is the part that takes a while and can be
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inefficient and have more mistakes. All of that.
8:55
That's the hard part, and that's what we automate.
8:59
That is what Spreadsheet Server then says, we
9:01
got you, and we're going to make it easy for
9:05
you to slice and dice, to get to the details,
9:08
and not have to go to 16 places to get that.
9:11
You are in Excel. Yeah, so you don't need like
9:14
20 ,000 times that you have to copy, paste, and
9:16
remember formula on tab number 105. That's right.
9:21
That's right. It's a single version of the truth.
9:23
We've done the mapping. We're pre -configured
9:25
to 140 plus general ledgers and ERPs. So we are
9:31
very, very agnostic as far as that goes. And
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so we're able to really help a company who maybe
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feels like they're more boutique or companies
9:45
that have data in different places. No problem.
9:49
We can connect to multiple places simultaneously
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or maybe as a company that's growing, right?
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They're growing and they have one general ledger,
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but they are acquiring companies and that accounting
10:01
group, right, has to, you know, it's like, it's
10:05
great. Well, okay, so the vision and the mission,
10:08
they're growing and acquiring more things. Those
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are all good things. But then the accounting
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people are like, whoa, okay, we got to consolidate.
10:14
We got to find out what's going on. How are we
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going to get to the data and all of that. is
10:18
something that we make a whole lot easier. We
10:22
can be connected to multiple places at the same
10:24
time using the same tool and process, right?
10:27
So people, it's a familiar place that enables
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those folks that are doing that reporting and
10:35
getting to that data. It enables them to be able
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to do that a lot quicker and easier. Nice. And
10:43
so you've implemented, you know, in, you know,
10:46
a lot of reporting tools as well. So in your
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experience, what do people misunderstand about
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the kind of reporting they can do with their
10:53
ERP versus or an accounting system compared to
10:58
a specialized tool like specialty server or BI
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tool? Cause I feel like sometimes we think we're
11:03
going to get all the answers from one place.
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And it's often not the case. These ERPs, they
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have to have a reporting tool. They have to have
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something in -house, right? In their system.
11:16
But that's not what they're, not always what
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they're best at. They are very good at the general
11:22
ledger. They're very good at organizing the data
11:24
for the customer. They're very good at being
11:27
able to have that customer... you know, input,
11:31
do all the things, manage all of their data,
11:34
and then the reporting out of it sometimes can
11:37
be second, right? And so, and this is where,
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this is our, you know, this is our lane, this
11:41
is our gold star, this is what we do, right?
11:45
So inherent in the ERP system, sometimes for
11:49
folks could feel not as customizable, they can't
11:54
get to all their data. they're, they feel a little
11:57
stuck. And then what happens then is that they
12:01
take that whatever they get out of their ERP,
12:04
they put it into Excel and then they have to
12:06
manipulate it even further from that because
12:08
it's not giving them exactly what they want,
12:11
right? Because they, they can't see it. It's
12:14
not, you know, a focus. So that is really where,
12:17
you know, it's something that they pay, these
12:19
companies pay a lot of money for, you know, these,
12:23
these ERP systems. and then have trouble getting
12:26
the data out, right? And that is frustrating.
12:30
And so this is something that really is such
12:33
an easy implementation, all the easy things that
12:36
can just be put right in there, connect right
12:39
to the data, get to all the data, customizable,
12:43
you know, all of those things. Okay. And so could
12:46
you share a story, an example where a team had
12:48
like that aha moment after they made the switch?
12:52
Because I feel like, again, once you And I've
12:55
used different ERP before. I've been in Sage
12:57
and SAP and so many ERP systems. And if you want
13:02
an AR report, you get an accounts receivable
13:05
report. But you cannot necessarily see the GL
13:08
side. You have to go to another module to see
13:10
it. But I can only imagine how having all these
13:13
in one place is super helpful. So maybe you have
13:16
a story or an example you want to share about
13:19
someone that made a switch. I think it goes back
13:21
to, again, they implemented a new ERP. They were
13:24
getting going. And, and that, and that in itself
13:27
is a lot of change management for an organization.
13:30
So this organization was switching from one ERP
13:33
to the other. And so, you know, there was a,
13:37
there was frustration there and then having to
13:40
learn one old reporting and another, and not
13:43
just seeing all, not being able to reconcile
13:45
the data. it just caused a lot of problems. And
13:48
so when they brought in spreadsheet server, they
13:53
were able to connect to both their old system
13:56
and their new system right next to each other
13:58
in Excel, drill down into both balances, validate
14:01
the balances. And then, so not only did it help
14:04
in that change management process to make things
14:07
a lot... you know, easier, comfortable. But again,
14:12
for those accountants and finance folks and operations
14:15
folks who need to see that data regardless of
14:17
whether they're in from lending an ERP or not,
14:20
right? This made things just happier for them
14:23
because they were able to, they weren't able
14:25
to, they didn't have to go again to 16 places
14:27
to get to that. So it helped a lot in that reconciliation
14:31
process. And then in the new system, we have
14:34
so many little ways that help them help that.
14:38
individual be able to see what all the accounts
14:42
are, see where all these little things that help
14:44
them. So it really helped them. You know, they
14:48
were able to, you know, when they made the full
14:51
move into the other ERP, they were already comfortable
14:54
with the system and then keep going. And a lot
14:57
of times what happens then, right, is people
15:00
go through their career and go to the next company
15:02
or whatever, and that next company doesn't have
15:05
Spreadsheet Server, they're going. What is happening?
15:09
And so and then that's how I reach out I mean
15:12
I had people come up to me at Conferences and
15:16
things like that like they're gonna have to pry
15:18
this for my cold dead hands if they ever take
15:21
this away, you know So it's something that just
15:24
look it's it's it's helpful and it's it allows
15:28
them to get home at the end of the day a little
15:30
sooner, which is Yeah, what we all need to do.
15:33
Yes. Now I've seen many cases where companies
15:37
have the right tool, but I still don't use it
15:40
to its full potential. It's almost like driving
15:42
a Rolls Royce like a golf cart. So why do you
15:46
think that happens a lot? Why do so many finance
15:49
teams seem to underuse the technology that they
15:52
have? Now let's take a quick break to talk about
15:54
a problem most finance teams face. You spend
15:57
hours wrestling with data from different systems,
16:00
building reports manually, and by the time you
16:02
are done, the insights are already outdated.
16:06
That's where today's sponsor comes in. Insight
16:08
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16:14
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16:17
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16:20
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16:23
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16:27
with Inside Software this October 15th. It's
16:30
called Get Out of the Reporting Rut. So visit
16:33
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16:36
and transform how your finance team operates.
16:40
I'll also drop the link in the show notes. I
16:42
think because in the beginning when they first
16:45
kind of look at the tool and deciding it was
16:47
something, it looks... very flashy, like a Rolls
16:50
-Royce looks very flashy and all of that, right?
16:53
And they're like, oh wow, this is so cool and
16:56
whatever. And then they buy it, right? But they
17:01
don't realize how a, I'm sure again, a Rolls
17:05
-Royce is just delivered, so kind of that comparison
17:09
changes a bit there. But a lot of those types
17:14
of tools can take three to six months to implement
17:19
a ton of resources on the IT side, on the accounting
17:23
side, time away from, again, what they have to
17:26
continue to do, their real jobs, right? So it's
17:31
a huge project. And then on top of that, they
17:34
have to learn something that maybe requires them
17:37
to be technical or more technical than they are.
17:42
you know, unfamiliar, all of that. So all of
17:44
that takes a long time. And then at the end of
17:46
the day, if it becomes too hard or too in there,
17:49
like I can't focus on that, I have to do my job.
17:53
And they end up not using it because they have
17:56
to, they go back to what they were doing. Even
17:58
if that is, you know, riding a bike to work,
18:01
right? Versus a Rolls Royce because it's something
18:03
that they know how to do. Right? Wow. So that's
18:08
really, you know, something that's frustrating
18:10
probably on both the user side, the operational
18:13
and finance folks and on the executive side that
18:16
had to pay, make the investment for something
18:19
that's probably expensive, but then. quite laborious
18:22
to implement and to get that user adoption. Okay.
18:26
And so if a CFL controller is listening today
18:29
and is wondering whether they are getting the
18:32
most out of their reporting setup. So hopefully
18:34
they bought the Rolls Royce, they bought the
18:37
Mercedes and it's driving like one, not a golf
18:39
cart or a bike. What do you think is the first
18:42
question you want them to ask themselves? Like
18:44
how would they find out if they come in, they
18:48
inherit a tool? They see how people are using
18:50
it. What will be a good question or questions
18:52
that you want them to, to start probing just
18:55
to understand where they are in that setup. Yeah.
18:58
So things like, um, do you, are you getting all
19:01
the data now that you need? You know what I mean?
19:04
Not just, just the ones, maybe what you have
19:06
before or what, you know, are there things that
19:09
you have trial? Is there data that you have trouble
19:12
getting to now still? What is the process? What
19:17
are the folks who are maybe providing that data?
19:21
What does it look like under the covers for them?
19:24
You know what I mean? Are they having to run
19:25
around and still do a bunch of things on top
19:29
of this? So it's really, are you getting everything
19:33
you need as quick as you want it? Are you able
19:37
to, as you kind of drive the business and...
19:41
Um, execute on the mission of the company and
19:45
the vision of the company is what you're doing
19:49
now. Okay. For that or not, or is it, they're
19:53
only going to be more chaotic over the years.
19:55
And so it's like, okay, you need to. So it's
19:59
asking yourself, okay, is this what, what we
20:02
have today? Is that getting, giving me what I
20:05
want. How hard is it still for my people that's
20:10
you know, either giving me the information or
20:12
myself right to do it and Are you still saying
20:16
to yourself? How can we do this better? You know
20:19
how there's got to be a better way to do this,
20:21
you know Are you doing something but then not
20:24
being able to get reports out to people? Are
20:26
you you know all these little little things but
20:28
it's think about the things that you say well,
20:31
you know Is there still frustrations? Wow. And
20:36
so what would be your playbook for helping teams
20:38
get the most out of their reporting too? Like
20:42
understanding that, you know, any tool could
20:44
take time away from what they're doing every
20:47
day. So what would be the best way to make sure
20:50
they can either pace themselves, select the right
20:53
solution, but really get the most out of it?
20:55
I would say it's knowing the people and the resources
20:58
and, and, and knowing like, okay, where, where
21:01
is my My people, my resources that are going
21:05
to be working with anything on a day -to -day
21:07
basis, are they more technically inclined? Are
21:11
they not as technically inclined? Where are they
21:17
doing things on a day -to -day basis, like in
21:20
the system, in Excel, or all those things? Understanding
21:23
your people and what they want to do, because
21:25
then if they're doing it, they're happier, all
21:29
those things. Did I answer that question? I'm
21:32
sorry, I feel like I didn't quite answer it.
21:34
So you answer the part where, you know, you just
21:37
said, think about the resources and the people
21:40
that you have, right? Because at the end of the
21:41
day, and it absolutely makes sense because they're
21:43
the one that will be using the tool. Now, assuming
21:46
that you have the right people and you are able
21:48
to see that you have the right mix, if they're
21:52
technical, it's good, or you maybe will supplement
21:54
with a consultant to help them out. Yeah. How
21:58
do you plan it? To the end like how do you manage
22:02
the whole project till the end? Well, it's check.
22:05
How are the folks learning the tool? Are they
22:07
using it the tool? Are whatever it is, right?
22:11
Um, are they or are they reverting back to what
22:14
they used to do? So it's it's understanding are
22:17
they Adopting this solution as a solution It's
22:22
a solution, but they haven't quite fully adopted
22:24
it that what's the point right? So and again,
22:28
maybe the solution was adopt it more in a different
22:32
sector of the company or different roles in the
22:34
company. But it's understanding, okay, here is
22:38
what we saw for this solution, where we saw when
22:41
we made the investment, this is the three or
22:44
four things that we saw that were gonna help
22:47
us, again, achieve our mission and achieve all
22:50
that, right? And are the people doing that? Are
22:53
those three or four things happening, right?
22:56
And kind of have check -ins. Three, you know,
23:00
maybe a month two months three months or hot,
23:03
you know, whatever that is to be able to say,
23:05
okay Is this being leveraged in the way that
23:08
we originally saw? Right because you don't want
23:11
it to be renewal time for any software and then
23:14
be like, oh wait Where you haven't used in six
23:17
months? No, right So and that happens Right.
23:23
So so it's it's checking in to say, okay are
23:26
these three things? Are we helping our people,
23:29
our company, all that? Are we doing those things?
23:33
It's having a check -in to say, is this working
23:35
or not? And then staying in touch with that provider
23:38
of that solution to say, hey, look, this isn't
23:41
working because potentially they might have a
23:43
fix or they might be able to say, oh, well, this
23:45
was missed during training. Let's get some more
23:47
training in or this was, you know, or whatever
23:49
it is, but staying in touch, you're checking
23:53
those things and then stay in touch with the
23:55
provider. then you know that you can protect
23:59
your investment as much as you want it to be
24:01
protected. I really like that approach because
24:04
you mentioned something that I feel like we often
24:07
miss is like, what are the three things we really
24:09
wanted to do? And are we still, is it still delivering
24:13
on those things? So that's really how you see
24:15
if people are really adapting the solution. I
24:18
really like the point about staying in touch
24:19
as well with the provider and making sure we
24:23
are using the technology. and getting that ROI.
24:26
Yeah, because sometimes there's just a mismatch,
24:28
right? There's some that are a miscommunication
24:30
and they're like, oh, no, you, you know, you
24:32
can, it will, you know, paint the walls for you.
24:35
You just have to hit this button. But, you know,
24:38
so, you know, that kind of thing. OK. And so
24:41
with AI and technology, you know, evolving as
24:45
fast as we've seen in the recent years, where
24:47
do you see reporting tools going in the next
24:50
few years? And what should finance leaders be
24:52
thinking about? now to stay ahead. Yeah, I mean,
24:56
they definitely need to be AI is coming, whether
24:59
we all want it to or not, and it's coming fast.
25:01
And that's kind of true to true to form for AI,
25:05
right? I mean, it can do some amazing things.
25:09
It's pretty cool. And we have a lot of AI. That's
25:12
where our focus is, is building in a lot more
25:15
AI just again, increasing that efficiency for
25:18
that user. I think AI is something that is obviously,
25:24
it's coming, it's coming fast. So I think it's
25:27
people understanding and taking kind of baby
25:29
steps to get themselves more comfortable with
25:32
it. And then as far as the role of the reporting
25:36
solutions or any software, it's making sure it's
25:40
implemented in a way that people understand how
25:44
to use it and understand... I know for myself,
25:50
like when I've really dug into AI and the different
25:53
tools and different things, it's understanding
25:56
the prompts or the questions to ask and the things
25:59
to do and understanding what you can ask. And
26:01
you're like, you can't ask it that way. You probably
26:03
can. You probably can. And it's going to help.
26:06
So it's going to make things, you know, I think
26:09
make certain things even more efficient and all
26:11
that. But I still believe that there has to be
26:15
that human piece alongside of it. So if that
26:19
individual understands the AI, but then there
26:23
has to be that piece with it, I still believe
26:26
that there's instincts there that may not be
26:29
in there with everything that comes out of AI.
26:31
Okay, and one thing I saw too, you know beside
26:34
you know, I also agree that the human touch still
26:37
needs to be involved but I read a study recently
26:40
that mentioned how a lot of AI implementation
26:45
or AI Adventures that people to didn't become
26:48
successful and one of the reason was that the
26:52
data was bad Yeah Yeah, and that's where there's
26:56
different tools. It's something that you sort
26:58
of have to, in some ways, like force yourself
27:01
to kind of explore the different things. And
27:05
that's where understanding the prompts and things
27:07
like that, prompts me and the questions to ask
27:09
it, and be able to read those answers and be
27:12
like, does this make sense? Is this something
27:14
that's true or not? Different AI tools, again,
27:18
that's where you have to have that human brain
27:22
to say, Well, no green isn't red, you know what
27:26
I mean or whatever right or whatever it is, you
27:29
know, so, you know, I put Something on my calendar
27:32
every morning Like from 8 to 8 30 is you know
27:37
AI training where I just go out and I explore
27:40
a little bit our amazing SC team here led by
27:44
Natasha. I mean, she put this whole checklist
27:47
of things that we can kind of go and explore
27:49
and learn. And it's something that we are actively
27:52
doing all the time to make sure that we are able,
27:57
you know, we're up on it so that we're able to
28:00
talk to our customers and those individuals even
28:03
better as well. Oh, that is so cool. So 30 minutes
28:06
and it's all dedicated to AI. So what's the coolest
28:09
thing you've done? in AI so far, because I try
28:11
to build a podcast manager kind of agent. It
28:15
didn't work well. So I'm just curious now to
28:18
hear what any AI adventure you mind sharing and
28:22
what you found. Well, I'm going to share. I mean,
28:25
I've done a lot of cool stuff. The coolest thing
28:28
wasn't done by me. It was done by a colleague
28:30
of mine. So but as I'll say, like they were able
28:33
to just take a like dump in a transcript from
28:38
a Gong call or whatever. And then it picks up,
28:42
Gong will do some of it, right? But then this
28:45
took it a next level and be able to, and then
28:48
built out a whole like process of the cost of
28:51
inaction, right? And what that means to that
28:55
company and how to be able then to deliver on
28:58
the value from our side of things. And so it
29:01
was very cool. And you just kind of say, hey,
29:03
built this out or put this in a table and all
29:06
this stuff. And so it did that. So it was, it
29:10
was, it was pretty cool. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Just
29:13
based on a few things. Yeah. Yes. Okay. Thank
29:16
you so much for sharing. I know we're getting
29:18
toward the end and I'm always curious to ask
29:20
everyone, what's your favorite thing to do outside
29:24
of work? Oh gosh. Well, I have kids who are getting
29:27
older and going off to college soon. So it's
29:30
being with my family, playing tennis, um, pickleball
29:33
with my mom, you know, read. Um, things like
29:37
that. So, you know, but spending as much time
29:39
with my teenagers before they, as much as they'll
29:42
let me before they fly the nest. So. Oh, that
29:44
is awesome. Good for you. So I'm curious too.
29:47
So me being with an accounting background, I
29:50
feel like I see life from an accounting lens.
29:52
Like every while I go, I wonder how much money
29:55
are they making? What's the margin here? So you
29:57
being in software, do you feel like it changes
30:00
how you view the world outside of work? Well,
30:03
sure, because again, you're always asking yourself
30:06
again, how to do things better. And, and, you
30:09
know, I see that a lot when getting involved
30:11
with the school, let's make my kids school things
30:13
like that, where you see stuff like what's happening,
30:15
like why is, you know, this, it seems like it's
30:18
things could be done a little better website.
30:21
Yeah. And you're like, you know, and so you,
30:26
but you sort of have to be careful about like,
30:29
saying something because then you're then in
30:31
charge of that so very true so So it's like how
30:37
how much do I care? Okay, what it is, you know,
30:40
but yeah, certainly I mean certainly it comes
30:42
into play and everything that you do a little
30:45
bit You know, so well, thank you so much for
30:48
sharing and thank you so much for being on the
30:50
show Anna Thank you so much for being here. Thanks.
30:53
Take care. Thank you you too And that's it for
30:59
today's episode of the Diary of a CFO. Thank
31:02
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