The Pre-Read

The Semi-Annual Trap: Why Less Reporting Might Mean More Work

16 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Is your reporting strategy ready for a six-month silence? #podcast The traditional quarterly cycle is under the microscope. We explore the potential s...

Davos Discussions: The Human Coworker

06 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Workforce reimagination is here. In 2026, the office of the CFO is moving from AI as a tool to a coworker. Recorded in Davos, this episode digs into t...

Davos Discussions: What is the ROI Heresy?

04 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Traditional finance models are hitting a wall. This episode highlights a panel at Davos that gets straight to the engine room of the enterprise.  Jat...

Davos Discussions: Leaders vs. The Certainty Gap

02 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Misinformation, amplified by AI, has climbed to the top of the global risk landscape. What does that mean for the office of the CFO? We kick off a Dav...

The Translator: Bridging the Gap Between Finance and Sustainability

19 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Is your organization ready for the SOX journey of sustainability data? In this episode of The Pre-Read, we sit down with Lori Defnet, ESG Controller a...

Decision-Grade Data: Turning Sustainability Silos into Strategic Assets

09 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

How do leaders turn messy data into something they can trust? Global C-suite executive Amina Razvi joins us to explain why decision-grade data is the ...

When Congress Rewrites the Rules for FPIs

26 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Is your team ready for foreign private issuer (FPI) Section 16 reporting? Congress recently passed the Holding Foreign Insiders Accountable Act, which...

Stability, Agility, and Clarity: What 2026 Will Demand from Leaders

12 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

https://www.workiva.com/What does leadership look like when volatility becomes the norm? Workiva CEO Julie Iskow joins Steve Soder and Alyssa Zucker t...

The Pre-Read Takes a Break: See You in 2026

22 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Steve and Alyssa are taking a well-earned break, but the challenges facing the office of the CFO are not slowing down. In this short episode, producer...

Efficiency vs. Risk: The Semiannual Reporting Debate Continues

15 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Semiannual Reporting: Will doing "less" actually create more work? Finance and accounting leaders are split on whether moving from quarterly to semia...

Total Organizational Intelligence: Why AI and Integrated Data are a Survival Imperative

08 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Jacob Andra, CEO of Talbot West, joins to discuss the urgent imperative for companies to move beyond siloed, ad hoc growth and embrace an integrated, ...

What Leaders Really Think About Quarterly vs. Semiannual Reporting

01 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Could U.S. public companies shift from quarterly to semiannual reporting? Jonathan Johnson, former chairman and CEO of Overstock and current member of...

How the Texas Stock Exchange is Changing Capital Markets

24 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Texas Stock Exchange (TXSE) is challenging long-held assumptions about what it means to go public in the U.S. Jeff Karcher joins The Pre-Read to s...

How CFOs Are Shaping the Sustainability Agenda

17 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Financial data has its challenges—but non-financial data is a different scale of complexity. It cuts vertically up and down the value chain, and now...

The CSO Role Is Evolving: A Strategic Partner to the CFO

10 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The chief sustainability officer (CSO) is moving from a siloed function to a strategic, finance-aligned partner. In this episode of The Pre-Read, Work...

Evolving the Go-to-Market: An Executive's Guide to AI's Impact

03 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

AI has completely changed the rules of marketing, and finance can't afford to play catch-up. Workiva's VP of Revenue Marketing, Joel Capperella, joins...

Why AI Needs Humans

27 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

AI is revolutionizing finance, but the hardest part isn't coding or controls—it's fear. In this episode of The Pre-Read, recorded live at Amplify 20...

Getting AI Right: Ensuring Success and Avoiding Brain Rot

20 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

AI isn't perfect and sometimes it makes us worse at our jobs. Jen Stave of the Digital, Data, and Design Institute at Harvard joins The Pre-Read to ex...

Auditing AI: The New Imperative for Internal Audit

13 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

AI is transforming audit, risk, and corporate governance—but most companies are struggling to keep up. In this episode of The Pre-Read, Radical Comp...

How I Became a CFO

06 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Jill Klindt, Workiva CFO, sits down with Ayssa and Steve live at Amplify 2025 in D.C. Hear how she navigated early startup life, tackled the challenge...

Your Guide to AI Governance in Corporate Reporting

29 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

AI is no longer just hype; it's a powerful tool in corporate reporting. But what does it take to truly trust the outputs it produces? On this episode ...

Beyond Compliance: Building Businesses on Voluntary Sustainability Efforts

22 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Sustainability isn't a silo anymore—it's shaping strategy across the balance sheet. In this episode of The Pre-Read, two CEOs share how they're mode...

The Great Resignation at the Top: What's Behind Record CEO Turnover?

15 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Record numbers of CEOs are leaving their posts. But why? This week on The Pre-Read, Tim Paradis of Business Insider weighs in on the forces at play, f...

How to Win at AI: A Blueprint of People, Process, and Vision

08 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

88% of finance, accounting, audit, and sustainability professionals in a new survey say they've seen an increase in ROI from using AI in the last year...

Integrating AI and Sustainability: A New Leadership Imperative

25 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Leaders in charge of projects around artificial intelligence and sustainability don't need to manage those two trends in parallel, says Professor Mich...

The Scrutiny Spiral: PCAOB in the Crosshairs

18 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The PCAOB is under siege. Critics say it's overreached its mission while supporters argue we've forgotten why it was created: to prevent another Enron...

Surfing the Waves of Uncertainty: Summer 2025 Market Outlook

11 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The market is changing, and it's not just about inflation or interest rates. It's rewriting valuations, reworking supply chains, and reshaping your di...

AI: The Shiny Object You Can't Ignore (Because Your Board, Investors, and Attorneys Aren't!)

04 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

AI is here, and it's sparking conversations about everything from how we work to how we report. This episode of The Pre-Read, brought to you by Workiv...

Introducing The Pre-Read: Where CFOs Get Their Edge

30 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Just like the slides before a big meeting, The Pre-Read gets CFOs and execs ready for what's next. Each week, hosts Alyssa Zucker and Steve Soter conn...

Bonus Episode: When Sustainability Meets Financial Reporting

25 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this bonus episode of ESG Talk, we throw back to a live recording of our sister show Off the Books. Charley Nelson is an environmental policy major...

Your Voice Matters: Shaping the Future of the Podcast

28 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

  We're hard at work creating the next evolution of the show and we want to hear from YOU! We want the show to be a resource that reflects what's mos...

Report from UnDavos: How CSOs Can Redefine Corporate Responsibility

13 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Join Mandi McReynolds and an esteemed panel at UnDavos as they dive into the evolving role of Chief Sustainability Officers post-global elections. Fea...

Crocs' Sustainability Revolution: Innovating with Circularity

07 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Deanna Bratter, Chief Sustainability Officer at Crocs, Inc., joins Alyssa Zucker to talk about the company's pioneering initiatives in the ...

Creating Customer Value with a Sustainable Mindset: Dell Technologies

28 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of ESG Talk, Cassandra Garber, chief sustainability officer at Dell Technologies joins host Mandi McReynolds. Listen in as Cassandra a...

Value Creation Under Pressure: Insights from Global Executives

21 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Mandi McReynolds, along with co-hosts Steve, Andie, and Alyssa, discuss the latest findings from Workiva's Executive Benchmark survey that ...

Is Sustainability Unsustainable?

14 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This episode of ESG Talk is a special crossover with the accounting and finance podcast, Off The Books! The momentum behind sustainability is changing...

The Evolution of Shareholder Advocacy

07 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of ESG Talk, Amy Brachio, global vice chair of sustainability at EY, and Michael Goldhaber, a senior research scholar at New York Univ...

Dispatch from Davos: CFOs and CSOs Unite for Sustainable Growth

31 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this special bonus episode of ESG Talk recorded live at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mandi McReynolds sits down with Jill Klindt, CFO of Work...

ESG in 2025: Turning Complexity into Opportunity

24 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

ESG Talk hosts Mandi McReynolds, Steve Soter, Andie Wood, and Alyssa Zucker come together for the season four premiere to reflect on the transformativ...

From NYC to Baku to Davos: Climate Conversations That Matter

17 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In this special episode of ESG Talk, Mandi McReynolds reflects on pivotal climate conversations leading up to Davos, revisiting key discussions from C...

ESG's Role in Value Creation

27 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Our final ESG Talk replay features two engaging episodes, featuring Alison Taylor, clinical associate professor at NYU Stern School of Business, and T...

Unpacking Scope 2 and Scope 3 Emissions

20 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of ESG Talk, we're replaying the last two segments from the Climate Week series. Frank Koch, CEO of Swiss Steel Group, and Alberto Car...

Carbon Solutions and Sustainable Aviation

13 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, ESG Talk revisits key segments from the Climate Week series, spotlighting actionable solutions and industry insights. First, join hos...

COP29: Business and Policy in the New Economy

06 Dec 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of ESG Talk, Mandi McReynolds is onsite in Baku at COP29 with Linda-Eling Lee, head of the Sustainability Institute at MSCI, to explor...

Amalgamated Bank: AI, Strategy, and Social Responsibility

29 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this replay episode of ESG Talk, we bring together our two-part series featuring Amalgamated Bank's CEO, Priscilla Sims Brown, CFO Jason Darby, and...

GM's Drive Toward Zero Emissions

22 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of ESG Talk, Mandi McReynolds welcomes Kristen Siemen, former chief sustainability officer at General Motors to the show. Listen in as...

Colgate-Palmolive's Net-Zero Journey

15 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ann Tracy, chief sustainability officer, and Lauren Richardson, chief procurement officer, of Colgate-Palmolive, join ESG Talk with Alyssa Zucker to d...

How Practitioners Really Feel About CSRD

08 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

During Climate Week NYC, Workiva released a report with research on how companies are getting ready for the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Direct...

Inside Whole Foods' Sustainability Strategy

01 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of ESG Talk, Caitlin Leibert, vice president of sustainability at Whole Foods Market, joins host Alyssa Zucker to explore how technolo...

Understanding CSRD and Double Materiality

25 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This week's ESG Talk episode features Michael Littenberg and Marc Rotter of Ropes & Gray, one of the world's premier law firms with over 1,500 attorne...

ALDI SOUTH Group's Approach to CSDDD

18 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's episode of ESG Talk, Anke Ehlers, managing director of international sustainability at the ALDI SOUTH Group, joins Workiva's Andie Wood...

Data-Driven Change: Navigating ESG Challenges with the C-Suite

11 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Recorded live at Amplify Americas, this special episode of ESG Talk features Ron Insana, award-winning journalist from CNBC, moderating an insightful ...

Closing the Sustainability Skills Gap Through Employee Development

04 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of ESG Talk, Tom Rayner, founder of Sillion, a transition consultancy focused on corporate ESG, and Ian Plummer, the commercial direct...

How to Partner with Impact Start-Ups for Innovation

27 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of ESG Talk, Sara Kappelmark, Co-CEO of Norrsken Foundation, and host Mandi McReynolds explore how startups are driving transformative...

Navigating Scope 3: Estée Lauder's Path to Carbon Reduction

20 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the fourth and final episode of the ESG Talk Climate Week series, Nancy Mahon, chief sustainability officer of the Estée Lauder Companies, joins h...

Scope 2 Challenges: SBTi and Swiss Steel on Decarbonization

13 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the third installment of ESG Talk's Climate Week series, Frank Koch, CEO of Swiss Steel Group, and Alberto Carrillo Pineda, CTO of the Science Base...

Decarbonizing Flight: Delta's Approach to Scope 1 Emissions

06 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the second episode of the ESG Talk Climate Week series, Amelia DeLuca, Delta Air Lines' chief sustainability officer, speaks with Andie Wood about ...

The Fundamentals of Carbon Accounting

30 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this special Climate Week episode, ESG Talk and The Week in Sustainability team up to demystify greenhouse gas emissions. Join us as hosts Steve So...

How Amalgamated Bank Uses Tech to Make a Positive Impact (Part Two)

23 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In part two of this special 100th episode series of  ESG Talk, we continue our conversation with Amalgamated Bank's CEO, Priscilla Sims Brown, and CF...

Beyond the Bottom Line: A Century of ESG Leadership (Part One)

16 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this special 100th episode of ESG Talk, we kick off a two-part series with Priscilla Sims Brown, CEO of Amalgamated Bank, Jason Darby, CFO, and spe...

The Investor's Role in Sustainable Finance

09 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In the second installment of a series exploring sustainable finance, co-host Andie Wood meets with Maria Lettini, CEO of the US Sustainable Investment...

Decoding Deutsche Bank's Sustainable Finance Framework

02 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The first installment of a two-part series, this episode explores sustainable finance from the perspective of Germany's leading bank. Jörg Eigendorf,...

Combating Greenwashing with Good Governance

26 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Michael Schor, partner in Deloitte & Touche LLP's Risk & Financial Advisory practice, and Grant Ostler, GRC industry principal at Workiva, join co-hos...

From Theory to Practice: Circular Business Models

19 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Julia Binder, professor of sustainable innovation and business transformation at IMD Business School, and Manuel Braun, director of Systemiq and lectu...

SEC Cybersecurity Rules: One Year Later

12 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Matt Kelly, editor and CEO of Radical Compliance, and Matthew Williams, ESG solutions lead at Clearview, join co-host Steve Soter to explore how cyber...

Linking People, Purpose, and Profitability

05 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Bhushan Sethi, partner in PwC's Strategy& consulting business and adjunct professor at NYU Stern School of Business, returns to the show alongside bes...

The Intersection of Tax and Sustainability

28 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of ESG Talk, Brett Weaver, tax leader for the ESG Practice at KPMG US, joins Workiva's Andie Wood to discuss everyone's favorite topic...

Navigating the ESG Reporting Landscape

21 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of ESG Talk, host Mandi McReynolds reflects on her conversation with AT&T's Chief Sustainability Officer, Charlene Lake. They discuss ...

Delivering Progress on Carbon Neutrality

14 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Laura Lane, chief corporate affairs and sustainability officer at UPS, joins Workiva's Andie Wood to explore how one of the world's largest package de...

A Refreshing Take on Sustainable Agriculture

07 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Jim Andrew, PepsiCo's chief sustainability officer, joins Workiva's Mandi McReynolds to discuss sustainable agriculture. Listen in as they explore for...

The Growing Demand for ESG Controllers

31 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tarynn Zenk, vice president of accounting and ESG controller at Mastercard, joins co-host Mandi McReynolds on the latest episode of ESG Talk to discus...

Merging Sustainability with Financial Performance

24 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Garrett Quinn, group chief sustainability officer at Smurfit Kappa Group, one of the leading providers of paper-based packaging, and Robert Eccles, a ...

Leadership in a New Era of Accounting and Sustainability

17 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Shivaram Rajgopal, chair of the accounting division at Columbia Business School, and Gihan Hyde, founder and CEO of Communique, join co-host Mandi McR...

The Journey to Carbon-Free Data Centers

10 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Eric Alam, CEO of RPD Energy, and Chris Pennington, director of energy and sustainability for Iron Mountain, join co-host Mandi McReynolds on ESG Talk...

The Digitization of ESG Reporting

03 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

John Turner, CEO of XBRL International, and Wes Bricker, vice chair and trust solutions co-leader at PwC US, join Workiva's Andie Wood to explore the ...

Harnessing Climate Data for Transparency

26 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of ESG Talk, Steve Manocchio, head of global financial compliance and risk management at Cisco, meets with Workiva's Steve Soter to di...

Audit Standards and Sustainability

19 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Anthony Pugliese, president and CEO of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), joins co-host Mandi McReynolds to discuss global internal audit stand...

Navigating Data Gaps

12 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we welcome back to the show Alex Edmans, professor of finance at London Business School and author of May Contain Lies, to discuss da...

Insights on ESG Ratings

05 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Julian Kölbel, assistant professor at the University of St. Gallen and a research affiliate at the MIT Sloan School of Management, joins co-host Mand...

Driving ESG with Supply Chain Intelligence

29 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Miguel Sossa, vice president and sustainability GTM lead for Capgemini Americas, joins co-host Andie Wood to discuss the role supply chains play withi...

Harnessing ESG Reporting for Progress

22 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of ESG Talk, host Andie Wood looks back on a conversation with Nadja Picard, partner and global reporting leader at PwC Germany. The d...

SEC Climate Rule: From Compliance to Opportunity

15 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this special crossover episode, ESG Talk and Off The Books dive into the long-awaited SEC climate disclosure rule. Jonathan Gregory of The Hershey ...

The Board's Role in Driving Sustainability

08 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Helle Bank Jorgensen, CEO of Competent Boards, and Paul Washington, executive director of The Conference Board ESG Center, join co-host Mandi McReynol...

A Pragmatic Approach to ESG

01 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Alison Taylor, clinical associate professor at NYU Stern School of Business and author, joins co-host Mandi McReynolds to discuss the role of business...

Building a Sustainable Supply Chain

23 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Jeannie Renné-Malone, vice president of global sustainability for VF Corporation, and Tim Tensen, chief operating officer for Terra Genesis, join co-...

Collaborative Value Creation in ESG

16 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Mandi McReynolds looks back on her conversation on the value of collaboration in ESG with Noel Kinder, chief sustainability officer at Nike, and Brian...

Effective Consumer Sustainability Communications

09 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Tensie Whelan, Director of NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business, and Jackie Murphy, former Managing Director of Edelman Purpose & Impact, join co...

ESG & the Clean Energy Transition

02 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Katherine Neebe, chief sustainability and philanthropy officer at Duke Energy, joins co-host Mandi McReynolds to discuss the company's commitment to o...

Exploring Assurance in ESG Reporting

26 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Brandon B. Buhler, SVP and chief accounting officer at Playa Hotels & Resorts, and Melanie Glover, partner in PwC's ESG Trust Solutions practice, join...

Sustainability and the C-Suite

19 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Cognizant's head of ESG, Aya Kiy-Morrocco, and Amelia Pan, managing director in the strategic advisory group of PJT Partners, join co-host Mandi McRey...

Strength in Numbers

12 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Mandi McReynolds, Steve Soter, Andie Wood, and Ernest Anunciacion are back to kick off the third season of ESG Talk. The group revisits thought-provok...

Spotlight on Sustainability's ROI

29 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This ESG Talk mini-series highlights two episodes featuring Tensie Whelan, director of the NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business. Part one introdu...

Shaking Up the C-Suite

15 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our second mini-series highlights episodes with Bob Eccles, a leading authority on integrated reporting, and Maher Al-Haffar, the chief financial offi...

The Next Era in ESG Reporting

08 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This mini-series combines two of the most popular episodes of the season: "The Future of ESG Reporting," featuring Allyson Anderson Book, chief sustai...

ESG Trends and the Year Ahead

01 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

ESG Talk hosts Mandi McReynolds, Steve Soter, Andie Wood, and Ernest Anunciacion come together for the first time in this special season finale. The g...

On the Road to COP28

24 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jingdong Hua, vice-chair of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), and Paul Druckman, chairman of the World Benchmarking Alliance, s...

Redefining the Role of the CSO

17 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A leading authority on integrated reporting, Robert Eccles joins Mandi McReynolds to explore how the role of the chief sustainability officer is evolv...

Navigating Audits & Controls in ESG Reporting

10 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dina Trainor, managing director in Deloitte & Touche LLP's Controllership Practice, joins ESG Talk host Ernest Anunciacion to discuss how companies ca...

Tackling ESRS and Double Materiality

05 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this quick chat, ESG Talk host Andie Wood provides an update on the European Sustainability Reporting Standards — new reporting rules companies w...

Unifying Climate Data in Financial Disclosures

27 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Steve Manocchio, senior director of financial compliance and operations at Cisco, joins ESG Talk host Steve Soter in a conversation around unifying cl...