THE FINANCE CHIEF INTERVIEW

Aside from the early technology bet, Barbara also looks up to previous peers for ongoing support- especially as a woman in a male-dominated world.“ Throughout my career, I’ ve been fortunate to have strong leaders who pushed me towards stretch assignments I might not have pursued on my own,” she says.“ That kind of active sponsorship, not just mentorship, made a real difference for me, and it’ s not equally available to everyone.”

Enormously keen to ensure there is more support to see women in finance, Barbara notes that actually, there is“ still work to do”. Representation is more than just mentorship; however, as Barbara notes:“ sponsorship is what actually moves careers. It means someone putting your name in the room when you’ re not there. Organisations that are serious about this need to be intentional about how

NAME: BARBARA LARSON JOB TITLE: CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER COMPANY: WORKIVA HEADQUARTERS: MONTANA, US

Barbara Larson, Workiva’ s new CFO, has spent the last 20 years in financial leadership positions. Most recently, she was CFO at SentinelOne, after a 10 year stint at Workday. of executives say AI has improved the timeliness and strategic value of financial decisions

Source: Workiva’ s report: The CFO’ s Strategy Era Has Arrived

those opportunities show up, because it rarely happens on its own.”

Ensuring that the well-earned kindness is paid forward, Barbara advocates for a diverse hiring portfolio, with team members from all walks of life. She says this is a direct route to“ better decisions and stronger teams, which ultimately leads to bold ideas and real innovation”.

Cashing the technology bet Something that has, without question, fundamentally changed finance is the introduction of cloud technology. You thought I was going to say AI? That comes after. Barbara explains that the shift allows for a more efficient process:“ Now finance teams can run their own reports, model scenarios and do much more without waiting on another team. That shift fundamentally changed what finance can do.”

What can finance do? Barbara explains the daily priority shifts as no two days are the same.“ It’ s one of the things I love about this role. I spend a lot of time collaborating across the business. On any given day I might be working with our CIO and

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