December 18, 2025 • 31 mins
Curious about the real changes happening in financial services right now? In this episode, Adam Larson sits down with Chandelle Fastiggi, Head of Financial Services Vertical at ManpowerGroup, who brings over 25 years of insight and industry experience to the table. Chandelle shares her take on today's economic and political pressures, how institutions are transforming with AI and automation, and why upskilling and reskilling employees matter more than ever. From smart strategies to retain top talent, to how banks are beefing up cybersecurity and adapting their budgets, this conversation is packed with practical wisdom for anyone navigating finance, technology, or even their own career. Whether you’re a finance professional or just a curious listener, you’ll walk away with a fresh perspective and some insider stories you won’t hear anywhere else.
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Episode Transcript
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Adam Larson (00:05):
Welcome to Count Me In. I'm your host, Adam Larson,
and today I'm joined byChandelle Fastiggi head of
finance services vertical atManpower. Together, we'll dive
into the complexities of today'sfinancial services industry,
including how institutions aretackling regulatory shifts,
cybersecurity threats, and therapid evolution of AI and
automation. With over twentyfive years in the business,
(00:26):
Chandelle shares her expertinsights on the importance of
upskilling talent, adapting toeconomic change, and building
strong data governancestrategies. So whether you're
leading a team or planning yournext career move, this episode
is packed with practical ideasto help you stay ahead in these
unpredictable times.
Let's jump right in. Chandellethank you so much for coming on
(00:52):
the podcast. We're very excitedto have you today, and we're
gonna be talking about a numberof different things. But I kind
of figure where we could startis maybe you could start by
describing, like, the currenteconomic and political climate,
especially in financialservices. And I I'm sure that's
causing different pressures thator or it's causing different
pressures on institutionsbecause of those pressures.
Chandelle Fastiggi (01:14):
Yes. Absolutely. I would say,
overall, you know, the financialservices industry is cautiously
optimistic right now, but also,you know, very transformative at
the same time. I mean, you notletting that get too much in the
way, but I think it's veryinteresting had we met, you
know, in early twenty twentyfive, you know, to now, maybe,
(01:37):
you know, the the topic would bea little bit different. But, you
know, there absolutely is growthgoing on in the financial
services industry.
It is slated to grow by 25%between now and 2028 to
45,000,000,000,000. So while itmay seem, you know, tight and
slow and and sometimes doom andgloom out there, there's a lot
(01:57):
of positivity. And, you know,there are a few key things that
financial institutions have tokeep in mind, you know, when the
economic climate or politicalclimate changes. And, you know,
right now, we're seeing interestrates fall. Right?
So when interest rates fall,obviously, that impacts
financial institutions becausethey're not, you know, getting
(02:19):
that, you know, money cominginto the organization. And then,
you see high deposits they'rehaving to pay out, you know, to
their clients for that. And sothat does definitely, you know,
impact their bottom line orcompress their margins. But
along with that, you know, wewent into 2025 thinking that,
you know, regulation was stillgoing to be very much a thing.
(02:42):
And, you know, organizationsobviously always have to allot
money, you know, to cover thosecosts that may come, you know,
at any point in time.
Right? Risk regulatory issuesarise, you know, at any point in
time and you have to respond.And so with that, you know,
deregulation also opens up, youknow, some of funding and their
(03:02):
ability to, you know, invest inother ways. The other piece, you
know, that's big right now iscyber threats. We have, you
know, North Korea threats.
You know, they're infiltratingmany of our, you know,
enterprise organizationsthroughout The US within
financial services and outsideand, you know, putting hackers
in place to act as recruiters,act as developers. So banks are
(03:26):
having to make investments, youknow, to mitigate that risk. And
then, the other piece I wouldsay is, you know, in regards to
fraud, that's obviously stillsomething, you know, that is
very rampant out there,especially with the
implementation of AI. I thinkpersonally this week, I had
three text messages from threedifferent type of, you know,
(03:48):
environments, I guess you couldsay, you know, trying to get me
to engage, and potentially, youknow, bring fraud into my life.
So I just think that as, youknow, economic and political
climate change, I mean, banksjust always, you know, have to
stay on top of that, be readyfor it, but also, you know, be
able to pivot quickly where theyneed to, you know, either to
(04:12):
support it or to maybe reinvestwhat they thought they were
gonna have to invest in inregards to the climate.
Adam Larson (04:19):
Yeah. The climate is constantly changing. You have
to constantly keep your fingeron what's happening and and all
the things that you were sayingof how institutions have to
kindly kind of ride the wavesalmost. Mhmm. And does and are
those waves what causesfinancial institutions to kind
of begin transformationjourneys, especially in these
environments?
Like, with all the differentthreats, there's constantly new
technologies. There's so manynew things that you have to be
(04:40):
on top of and be ready for. Youcan't just say, well, we have a
nice website, and that's it.Like, it that's that's no longer
the status quo.
Chandelle Fastiggi (04:48):
Yeah. Absolutely. So I think
absolutely those pieces are apart of what a financial
institution needs to be aware ofand focused on and ready to
invest in at any point in time.But I would say just in my
twenty five years of being inthis industry, there's a few
things that are consistent, youknow, that they wanna be able to
make investments in or have tomake investments in. Obviously,
(05:09):
risk regulatory, like I saidearlier.
They they can't say no to that.Secondly is core banking
systems. They're always lookingat, you know, which ones do we
need to modernize, why do weneed to modernize them, how do
we need to modernize them, andwhat impacts is that gonna make,
you know, to the overallorganization and to our
customers. And then lastly isthey're always customer focused.
(05:29):
Right?
There are tons of financialinstitutions out there that can
meet all the different, youknow, needs of an individual or
a company. And so being able toreally hone in on what areas are
we gonna invest in that aretruly going to attract and
retain talent I mean, to retaintalent. You can tell them in the
(05:50):
staffing and retain customersfor the long term for their
organization.
Adam Larson (05:56):
Well, let's talk a bit about that retaining,
though, retaining that toptalent because that's a that's a
it's a thing all business ownersare kind of really trying to
trying to grapple with in thisin this ever changing
environment. What's what is theapproach that organizations
should take to upskilling andreskilling their people to
actually they're meeting thedemands, but also making sure
they're not saying, well, you'renot staying up with us to date.
(06:17):
I'm getting out of here. Like,you wanted to keep those people
and and make them a better valuefor the organization.
Chandelle Fastiggi (06:22):
Yeah. This is a this is one of my favorite
topics right now because Ireally don't know and that the
financial services industry hasfigured it out at scale.
Definitely a ton of greatstories out there, and I'll
share some of those. But, youknow, historically, financial
institutions, you know, havetypically looked at their
(06:44):
workforce and said, okay. Wedon't need these type of
resources anymore for whateverreason, you know, it may be.
And, you know, they lay offthose resources, and then they
go hire resources, you know, inthe areas they do. Because 75%
of companies, you know, in inhiring managers today do not
feel confident that they havethe skills and resources needed
(07:05):
to progress the organization.Now more than ever, upskilling
and reskilling is gonna be veryimportant because you may have
some great resources that aresitting in another area of the
organization. And so when Ithink of the future, you know,
within this area and with theworkforce, it's so important
that it's an enterprise wideinitiative. And it's not being
(07:28):
siloed into, you know, consumerbanking or finance or commercial
banking, you know, ortechnology, but really at the
top saying, you know, we aregoing to make a decision here,
you know, as an organization,and we're gonna have finance
aligned, technology aligned, ourbusiness lines aligned, HR and
TA in the conversation, and howcan we ensure, you know, that we
(07:53):
really truly retain the talentthat we believe we can upscale
and rescale and and fit theorganization and and don't lose
all that institutionalknowledge.
That's another thing that Ithink is really important is
somebody may have been in yourcompany, you know, for fifteen,
twenty years and has a ton ofinstitutional knowledge that's
(08:13):
very valuable to being a partof, you know, future
transformation. And just, youknow, releasing them and
bringing somebody in from theoutside, isn't you always the
answer. Sometimes it is theanswer. So, you know, a couple
examples I would say, I mean,just one right now we're working
on with one of our clients is wehave, you know, an executive
(08:34):
that's going to be having anumber of resources moved over
to his organization. He'sunsure, you know, that they fit
and have the behavioral andtechnical skills for where he
wants to take the organization,but they're partnering with us
to say, okay.
Let's first assess the talent.So let's take them through some
testing. And then once we assessthem, you know, let's figure out
(08:58):
the individuals that we believehave, you know, the aptitude,
you know, or the skills for thenew environment, what up
skilling or reskilling, youknow, can we do to keep them in
the organization and positionthem, you know, for more
opportunity with us. Anotherarea you're seeing a lot of
partnerships for upskilling andreskilling is a lot of the
(09:22):
larger banks are partnering withHBCUs and community colleges,
and we're seeing the amount ofhires in that space continue to
rise. One of them, I think, lastyear had over 4,000 hires
through that.
So, you know, it's reallyencouraging to see that knowing
that we may not have the skillswithin the organization or they
may not be readily available outthere in the marketplace, you
(09:44):
know, that companies are gettingcreative on how they can acquire
that talent.
Adam Larson (09:50):
I think that's amazing being able to to connect
with colleges and say, hey.You're coming just coming out of
college. You all all thatknowledge is super fresh. Why
don't you come apply it rightnow? And being able to have that
pipeline is a great way to getnew talent and get that fresh
blood in there, but also, like,start people off and start with
a great foundation.
I it's a I think that's a greatway to kind of kind of connect
(10:10):
with with with the new nextgeneration of employees.
Chandelle Fastiggi (10:13):
Well, and it's funny you say that because
I think back to when I firstmoved to Charlotte, North
Carolina, big banking city, andyou would see all these groups
of young people walking aroundDowntown Charlotte together. And
I didn't come for the financialservices. I didn't have that
type of degree. Right? I justgot into this through the
recruiting industry.
And I would see them and belike, what are these? What are
(10:35):
these people? Like, they're alltogether. They're, like, kind of
in little clans, and they wereinterns. Right?
But they were interns that werehired for the investment bank.
You you know, they weren'tinterns hired for, you know,
many other areas of theorganization. And so it's really
cool to see now that, you know,a lot of variety of, you know,
(10:55):
individuals in a college, youknow, can benefit and not just
ones that are in a specificdomain, you know, or piece of
the business. So I would haveloved to have had that when I
was in college. Right?
I got out of college and I hadno clue what I was gonna do and
ended up in this lovelyindustry. But, but, you know, I
think that's really exciting tosee that, you know, underserved
(11:16):
or even just individuals thatdidn't take, you know, a route
maybe that others took stillhave that opportunity.
Adam Larson (11:25):
Do you think that with the ever changing
environment that it kind ofcauses people to pause about
going into the industry with thewith the with all the different
short term economic uncertainty,you're not sure what's
happening. Like, well, I don'twanna go in there. It might not
things might change so much thatI might be out of a job in a
year. Do you think that pausespeople from going in that
industry?
Chandelle Fastiggi (11:46):
I think it can. I I mean, I think in
general, there's a lot of thatgoing on, right, you know,
within the financial servicesindustry and all around right
now. There's so muchuncertainty. Right? What is the
right job?
What is the right career? Imean, what what is gonna be
around in, you know, five, ten,fifteen years? Will this job be
(12:06):
replaced? That that's, I think,in general, everybody's feeling
that way. That being said,specific, you know, to what
you're asking, we're seeing.
Right? I mean, there's a lot outthere right now around people
making bold stances against theindustry. Mhmm. We're seeing,
you know, a lot of politicalconcerns, social concerns with
(12:28):
the rise of social media andjust I mean, it continues to be
more and more prevalent, andpeople have such a platform all
the time, right, to share theirideas. I think being able to
muddle through that and reallyfigure out, you what what is
real, what is, you know,something to be concerned about,
or what is just somebody'sopinion could, you know, confuse
(12:49):
people.
And I think too, just purely,you know, like you're saying,
like, understanding, like, thedirection that they're going.
Developers even. Right? I mean,in the past, everybody thought,
hey. If you wanna get intodevelopment, you know, go into
financial services.
There's endless jobs. Right?Well, now AI is being
implemented in, you know, manycases, you know, within the
(13:10):
development organizations. Andthere's still a need for
developers, more a need forarchitects maybe than entry
level developers. But I look atit as an opportunity whereas in
the past, you know, you had tohave those skills to even get
that entry level job.
Well, now the entry level jobscan be performed by AI. So you
almost get the opportunity toenter into an organization,
(13:33):
maybe at even a little bithigher level and utilize
different skills, but still takeon that experience and training
you got, you know, within thedevelopment space.
Adam Larson (13:43):
Yeah. It's interesting. I I was just
thinking, like, I gotta ask her,how is AI and automation
affecting this industry? Becausewe we keep having these
conversations, and everyindustry, it's it's affecting it
in different ways. And I figure,you know, when it comes to
financial services, how is AIand automation kind of affecting
and making those impact?
You already said, like, youknow, developers and and certain
jobs, like, you have to like, AIis taking over those initial
(14:06):
jobs, and there's so many newthings out. So maybe you could
talk a little bit about that.
Chandelle Fastiggi (14:09):
Yeah. I mean, one that is relevant, I
think, you know, to thisorganization is obviously CFO
organizations and and financeorganizations. Right? And how is
AI being implemented there? Andwe just recently supported a
transformation within a CFO lineof business at, you know, one of
the top five banks.
And, basically, you know, theywere looking at how do we, you
(14:33):
know, gather our data faster,report faster, provide
information to executive levelresources, you know, faster, you
know, as these things pivot andchange. Right? Like, okay. 2025
starts out and, you know, theorganization has a specific plan
and strategy in place and thingschange. I mean, money and funds
(14:55):
move all the time in financialservices.
You know, we'll have a projectwe have funding for and we lose
it the next day. Right? But ingeneral, you know, there are
needs to pivot and be more agileand fluid, you know, within the
finance organization and withinthe overall organization. And so
finance organizations have hadto look at their core banking,
(15:16):
you know, finance applicationsand say, okay. You know, what do
we need to do to betterstructure our data, make it more
accurate so that we can reportfaster as things pivot, you
know, when you get that call andsomebody says, hey.
You know, I'm getting ready towalk into a meeting, and I I
need you to provide me thisdata. And in the past, it might
have been like, I need, like,two days to do that. I can't
(15:37):
pull that together for you inthe next thirty minutes. But now
because of automation, you know,within the organization, you
know, they're able to pull a lotof that reporting. And so, you
know, their jobs are changing.
You know, the the accountindividual that used to sit
behind a desk and crunch numbersand send it out, like, they now,
(15:57):
a lot of times, are sitting inthose meetings. And, you know, a
part of, you know, talking aboutthat, the financials and and
talking about their reports andpresenting because they didn't
have to spend as much timecrunching the numbers. So it's
just like a a more active rolenow. That's one piece. Right?
The the other areas that we'reseeing is customer service
(16:20):
implemented over the last five,ten years in some capacities
within call centers, right, tohave higher call resolution on
the first call. And we've had AIimplemented, you know, through
chatbots to support IT supportquestions, right, that you don't
have to necessarily get on acall, you know, to support.
We're seeing it on the customerside very much. We have prompts
(16:40):
now when we go to our mobileapplication, you know, that that
help us get through thingsfaster. I think about just when
I you know, depositing a checkis easier.
I think about when I'm asked togive my credit card when I'm
paying for something online. NowI can take a picture, you know,
of the number and it puts it inthere for me. I mean, you know,
there's just a lot of thingslike that that are being
(17:02):
implemented that are just makingus be able to work so much
faster. And listen, the fasterwe can get our deposits in or
the faster we can pay our bills,the quicker they get what they
need. So it's just, overall, youknow, we're seeing it
implemented.
And, you know, again, a lot ofit there I mean, there is or
there are areas that areabsolutely implementing it and
(17:24):
have been, and it's fullyoperational. Right? Another area
that I think of is tradingoperations. You know? I mean,
we're able to move a lot fasterin that space now.
Fraud is another area that youcan, you know, move a lot faster
and catch fraud, you know, muchfaster. But overall, you know,
there's still so many use casesout there right now to figure
(17:44):
out really and truly where isthe right place to invest and
that it is gonna impact ourbusiness versus just be the next
cool thing, you know, whetherit's internal or putting it out
to market.
Adam Larson (17:57):
So with all those things that you're mentioning,
all those data points, all ofthat data is living in a cloud,
in a data center somewhere, andthat increases your risk, that
increases your governance thatyou have to keep in track of
those things. You know, what arethe some considerations that we
have to keep in mind as we'relooking at all that stuff? And
because, you know, if we believethe hackers, the hackers are
just like, clickity, clickity,clickity. I'm in. I've got their
(18:19):
data.
You know, is it that simple?Like, there's so many
considerations now.
Chandelle Fastiggi (18:23):
Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Cyber is
everything. Right?
I mean, having investments forcyber. So, you know, as we're
talking about transforming anorganization, you know, within
financial services, like, thinkof the glitzy pieces and the
glamorous side, right, as aconsumer, like, what are you
giving me that's gonna benefitme personally? But while they
(18:43):
are still investing in a lot ofthose areas to continue to
attract and retain customers, atthe same time, a lot of the
transformation is going on inthat cyberspace, in the data
center space, in the cloudspace, which are the ones that
nobody sees but are super, superimpactful to me as, you know, a
(19:05):
customer. So when I think of,you know, cybersecurity and,
like you said, you know, howeasy it is for these hackers,
you know, to get in, I mean,financial institutions hire
hackers, which was the craziestthing to me when I learned that.
Years ago, I took a client outto dinner, and we're sitting at
dinner.
And he's telling me, like, thetype of resource that he needs,
(19:26):
you know, for this project hehas coming up. And I'm sitting
there thinking, I I swear he'stalking about a hacker. Right?
And he
Adam Larson (19:34):
Ethical hacking. Right? They call it ethical
hacking.
Chandelle Fastiggi (19:36):
Yeah. Exactly. And I just I just
finally said, alright. Do youneed me to hire you a hacker?
And, he said, absolutely.
That's what I'm I'm asking, butan ethical one. Right? And I
said, oh my gosh. This is sowild. And so it's even more of a
thing, you know, now in in thehacker, you know, ethical hacker
of the past, like, what theyhave to, you know, have
(19:57):
knowledge of and experience ofnow versus, you know, in the
past.
And so I just think that, youknow, organizations, you know,
like I mentioned earlier, like,at the enterprise level, you
know, they really have to pickthose things that are gonna, you
know, impact the broaderorganization, the broader
customer base, and where can we,you know, invest and transform
(20:21):
in those areas, but also stillcontinue to bring great products
to the market that are going todrive, you know, revenue and
growth and positive net income,all those things.
Adam Larson (20:33):
Do you think that all these new technologies and
all these new things that wehave to take account for, are
are organizations having toshift where their budgets are
going? Because you can't youhave an increased cost from all
these technology things. Are wehaving to cut elsewhere to and,
like, to balance that out?
Chandelle Fastiggi (20:49):
Absolutely. I mean, there's a couple
different ways they're doing it,you know, but the answer is yes.
So when I think of a of an, youknow, a specific example, right,
like, one of our customers has a$13,000,000,000 technology
budget, and, you know, theywanna implement AI in their
organization. Right? They can'tjust go ask for more money.
(21:12):
So they have to look at theirtechnology budget and say, okay.
You know, this modernization wewere thinking about doing over
here, it's not that important orit's not really gonna move the
needle. It's one that, like,would be nice to have or maybe
there there are someapplications they wanna
modernize, but some of them aretied to revenue generating
(21:33):
versus nonrevenue generating.And so, you know, they they
wanted to find $4,000,000,000 toput towards AI of that
13,000,000,000. And so, I mean,think of how many projects have
to be cut to find$4,000,000,000.
The other area that we see, andand this is the unfortunate one,
is layoffs. I mean, cutting SGand A costs. And so right now,
(21:56):
you know, going kinda back tothe upskilling and reskilling, a
lot of times there's like, thisis just easier. And I hate to
say easier when we're talkingabout people's livelihood, you
know, and it causes a lot ofstress. But at the same time,
you know, that is, you know, aneasy way.
Our industry is an easy way tocut costs. Right? You have 500
(22:17):
contractors. Okay. Cut 200 ofthem.
You've got more money. Right? SoYeah. We definitely see shifting
of, you know, priorities,projects, initiatives, people
all go in to that equation forthem to really be able to find
those investment dollars thatthey wanna spend.
Adam Larson (22:37):
Yeah. And I think that goes back to like you're
saying, goes back to ourconversation about reskilling
and upskilling. It's moreimportant now than ever as
employees to say, okay. What canI what knowledge can I consume?
How can I make myself morevaluable and and say, hey?
Well, we're adding this newtechnology and say, raise your
hand and say, yep. I alreadyknow about it. Let me get in
there and do that. And so it'slike, it's it's more important
(22:58):
now, like, not even just asleaders, but it if you're just
in an organization and you seethis is where they're going,
make sure you're gettingyourself upskilled. Learn the
new thing.
Get yourself in there. Get yourfeet wet. You can't just sit
around and expect yourorganization to train you for
everything.
Chandelle Fastiggi (23:13):
Yeah. The days of learning and
development, building everythingfor us and hosting the training
or having in person or virtualor online, I mean, yes, those
tools are still there, butopening your learning journey is
more critical now than ever.Companies are allowing for that
time in your day, which I thinkis really awesome, you know,
(23:35):
that you know, you're beingtold, like, you need to invest a
certain amount of your day incontinuous learning that you do
on your own, you know, teachingyourself AI and ChatGPT,
Copilot, all the different toolsand why different ones are
better than others and how canyou incorporate them into your
day. I mean, I personally dotrial and error, you know,
(23:56):
sometimes, and I keep some ofthe things and and they make my
day better and help me workfaster and more efficiently. And
other things, I'm like, nah.
That was a complete waste oftime. Like, I could have done
that faster myself. Right? Soand and you have to teach it
too. I mean, these tools learnus.
They learn the way you talk, theway they they learn the, you
know, way you ask questions.They learn what's important to
(24:17):
you. I mean, it's literallycrazy when you think about a
relationship, you know, withtechnology versus a relationship
with a person and how, you know,even just you and I getting to
know each other. Right? I mean,the more we get to know each
other, we just interact bettertogether.
And so Yeah. It's very much thatsame way, you know, with the
(24:38):
tools that are out there today.So I just think, you know,
internal mobility, yes, it needsto be a strategy at that
enterprise level of a company.And in many companies, it is. I
mean, at one of the top fivebanks, 12,000 employees were
internally mobilized in 2024.
I mean, that's massive, andthat's huge for those
(25:00):
individuals. But also makingyourself attractive to be moved,
you know, internally, I think,is key in in really making it
known to people with the skillsthat you've been acquiring and
how you've been acquiring them.
Adam Larson (25:15):
Definitely. And I think that's more important than
ever, like organizations thatare the thought leaders, you
know, getting connected withyour local professional body.
You know, like, selfless plug,like the Institute of Management
Accountants, like or any otherbody that has to do with your
industry that you're connectedwith. Make sure that you're
connecting with those bodies toget that knowledge, to get that
thing outside of yourorganization, and be able to
(25:36):
connect with other professionalsso that way you're you're
staying up. You're because ifyou talk to another professional
and you're like, oh, wait.
You're dealing with the sameissue. How are you dealing with
it? Well, this is how we'redealing, and you learn so much
in those in those moments ofinteraction. Why and that's why
it's so super important to getinvolved.
Chandelle Fastiggi (25:51):
I love that you just said that because
yesterday, I was stuck at theairport for a little bit, and I
was in the Delta Lounge. And Ioverheard these two men talking
because it was really quiet inthere. And, I mean, they were
talking kinda loud, and I juststarted listening. And, you
know, I was googling things asthey were talking and, you know,
just, like, trying to figure outone one industry they were in
because, obviously, I'm in therecruiting industry, so I was
(26:13):
curious, what they do for aliving. But, but also, you know,
just listening to the topicsthat are top of mind for other
people, and I could tell theywere executives.
And so it's just veryinteresting how you can, you
know, enhance your learning inso many different capacities.
Adam Larson (26:30):
So somebody's listening to this conversation.
We've covered a lot of differentthings, especially with
organizations and getting themready for the next their next
transformation. Maybe we canfinish our conversation with,
like somebody's listening tothis. They're like, I really
wanna do this, but what's what'sthe first step? What's my next
step if I wanna wanna bring myorganization to this
transformation that we've beendiscussing?
Chandelle Fastiggi (26:52):
So I definitely think it's you gotta
establish a very clear strategicvision at the top. Right? And
one of the things just kindagoing back to the beginning of
our conversation, you know, goodgovernance is good business. It
always will be. No matter whatis going on in the economy or
(27:12):
politically, financialinstitutions know what good
business looks like, and theyknow what good governance looks
like.
And if organizations, you know,want to stay ahead and whether
it's the government that comesafter them or the news that
comes after them, you know, ifthey wanna avoid that, the best
(27:33):
thing to do is establish thatclear vision. And, you know,
when you are rolling it out, youknow, you have to think of that
vision uniquely with every groupthat's going to be implementing
it. Right? If you just like AI.Right?
At the top. The CEO has statedthat they want to implement AI
in the organization. You canburn through a lot of money real
(27:57):
fast. That 13,000,000,000 canget blown overnight if there's
not a strategic vision, youknow, at the top but then rolled
out effectively to every line ofbusiness because, you know, the
top five banks have 200,000 plusemployees. That's a lot of
people to manage a message to.
I think back to being a kid andat lunch we'd play the telephone
(28:19):
game, the message at the end wasnowhere near the message that we
started with. Now I think somepeople had fun with it. Right?
Adam Larson (28:28):
Of course.
Chandelle Fastiggi (28:29):
Getting that to translate all the way down is
really is really critical. Thenthe second piece is considering
that good governance is goodbusiness and how are we not only
going to implement this, butensure that all those checks and
balances are in place from acyber perspective, a fraud
perspective? You know, how arewe really gonna ensure that all
(28:50):
that is in place so that theareas we are choosing to invest
in are going to make an impactand also keep us, you know, at
less risk. So data, I mean,that's a huge piece of an
effective transformation,especially when you're, you
know, referring to AI. Butbefore AI was ever around, one
(29:11):
of my top clients went through amassive data transformation
solely to get their core bankingplatforms to speak better
together.
Right? So, you know, having gooddata is not a new thing. It's
just way more important, Ithink, now maybe than it was in
the past because we're expectinga machine, you know, to learn
(29:32):
how to communicate, you know,the data throughout all the
systems. And, obviously, now,you know, spit out reporting and
ideas and, you know, investment,you know, planning, all types of
things. And so, you know, thenit's once you roll all that out,
what are your checks andbalances to make sure that it's
working and that we catch thatbad investment if if we did one?
(29:56):
Because, you know, listen. We'renone none of us are perfect.
Right? And so, you know, wecould have something that we're
going down a path with and howare we gonna, you know, check
and balance that. The otherthing that comes to mind, and it
brings me back to, like, kind ofthe role of the finance
organization and the CFO.
In the past, you know, they hadthe budget kinda reported on it
(30:18):
probably on a, you know,monthly, quarterly basis. But
now they're sitting at thetable. Right? So when that
strategic vision is built, youknow, finance organizations are
sitting there alongside, youknow, the c level executives
that run the business ortechnology, and they're a part
of that conversation in lookingat, you know, where we can move
(30:39):
those investments around orareas that may be more
beneficial for us to makeinvestments in as well as more
of that real time. Woah.
Woah. Woah. This is slipping.Right? Like, we're starting to
just burn through this.
So it's just a lot of it reallyboils down to the clear vision
and then the right governancearound it.
Adam Larson (31:00):
Well, that's that's awesome. Thank you so much,
Shondelle, and thank you so muchfor coming on the podcast,
sharing your knowledge with ouraudience. Like, I've learned a
lot. I hope they've learned alot, and hope we can continue
the conversation online. Sothank you so much.
Chandelle Fastiggi (31:12):
Thank you, Adam. Have a great rest of the
day, and I really appreciate theopportunity.
Announcer (31:18):
This has been Count Me In, IMA's podcast, providing
you with the latest perspectivesof thought leaders from the
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accounting and financeeducation, visit IMA's website
at www.imanet.org.
Welcome to Count Me In. I'm your host, Adam Larson,
and today I'm joined byChandelle Fastiggi head of
finance services vertical atManpower. Together, we'll dive
into the complexities of today'sfinancial services industry,
including how institutions aretackling regulatory shifts,
cybersecurity threats, and therapid evolution of AI and
automation. With over twentyfive years in the business,
(00:26):
Chandelle shares her expertinsights on the importance of
upskilling talent, adapting toeconomic change, and building
strong data governancestrategies. So whether you're
leading a team or planning yournext career move, this episode
is packed with practical ideasto help you stay ahead in these
unpredictable times.
Let's jump right in. Chandellethank you so much for coming on
(00:52):
the podcast. We're very excitedto have you today, and we're
gonna be talking about a numberof different things. But I kind
of figure where we could startis maybe you could start by
describing, like, the currenteconomic and political climate,
especially in financialservices. And I I'm sure that's
causing different pressures thator or it's causing different
pressures on institutionsbecause of those pressures.
Chandelle Fastiggi (01:14):
Yes. Absolutely. I would say,
overall, you know, the financialservices industry is cautiously
optimistic right now, but also,you know, very transformative at
the same time. I mean, you notletting that get too much in the
way, but I think it's veryinteresting had we met, you
know, in early twenty twentyfive, you know, to now, maybe,
(01:37):
you know, the the topic would bea little bit different. But, you
know, there absolutely is growthgoing on in the financial
services industry.
It is slated to grow by 25%between now and 2028 to
45,000,000,000,000. So while itmay seem, you know, tight and
slow and and sometimes doom andgloom out there, there's a lot
(01:57):
of positivity. And, you know,there are a few key things that
financial institutions have tokeep in mind, you know, when the
economic climate or politicalclimate changes. And, you know,
right now, we're seeing interestrates fall. Right?
So when interest rates fall,obviously, that impacts
financial institutions becausethey're not, you know, getting
(02:19):
that, you know, money cominginto the organization. And then,
you see high deposits they'rehaving to pay out, you know, to
their clients for that. And sothat does definitely, you know,
impact their bottom line orcompress their margins. But
along with that, you know, wewent into 2025 thinking that,
you know, regulation was stillgoing to be very much a thing.
(02:42):
And, you know, organizationsobviously always have to allot
money, you know, to cover thosecosts that may come, you know,
at any point in time.
Right? Risk regulatory issuesarise, you know, at any point in
time and you have to respond.And so with that, you know,
deregulation also opens up, youknow, some of funding and their
(03:02):
ability to, you know, invest inother ways. The other piece, you
know, that's big right now iscyber threats. We have, you
know, North Korea threats.
You know, they're infiltratingmany of our, you know,
enterprise organizationsthroughout The US within
financial services and outsideand, you know, putting hackers
in place to act as recruiters,act as developers. So banks are
(03:26):
having to make investments, youknow, to mitigate that risk. And
then, the other piece I wouldsay is, you know, in regards to
fraud, that's obviously stillsomething, you know, that is
very rampant out there,especially with the
implementation of AI. I thinkpersonally this week, I had
three text messages from threedifferent type of, you know,
(03:48):
environments, I guess you couldsay, you know, trying to get me
to engage, and potentially, youknow, bring fraud into my life.
So I just think that as, youknow, economic and political
climate change, I mean, banksjust always, you know, have to
stay on top of that, be readyfor it, but also, you know, be
able to pivot quickly where theyneed to, you know, either to
(04:12):
support it or to maybe reinvestwhat they thought they were
gonna have to invest in inregards to the climate.
Adam Larson (04:19):
Yeah. The climate is constantly changing. You have
to constantly keep your fingeron what's happening and and all
the things that you were sayingof how institutions have to
kindly kind of ride the wavesalmost. Mhmm. And does and are
those waves what causesfinancial institutions to kind
of begin transformationjourneys, especially in these
environments?
Like, with all the differentthreats, there's constantly new
technologies. There's so manynew things that you have to be
(04:40):
on top of and be ready for. Youcan't just say, well, we have a
nice website, and that's it.Like, it that's that's no longer
the status quo.
Chandelle Fastiggi (04:48):
Yeah. Absolutely. So I think
absolutely those pieces are apart of what a financial
institution needs to be aware ofand focused on and ready to
invest in at any point in time.But I would say just in my
twenty five years of being inthis industry, there's a few
things that are consistent, youknow, that they wanna be able to
make investments in or have tomake investments in. Obviously,
(05:09):
risk regulatory, like I saidearlier.
They they can't say no to that.Secondly is core banking
systems. They're always lookingat, you know, which ones do we
need to modernize, why do weneed to modernize them, how do
we need to modernize them, andwhat impacts is that gonna make,
you know, to the overallorganization and to our
customers. And then lastly isthey're always customer focused.
(05:29):
Right?
There are tons of financialinstitutions out there that can
meet all the different, youknow, needs of an individual or
a company. And so being able toreally hone in on what areas are
we gonna invest in that aretruly going to attract and
retain talent I mean, to retaintalent. You can tell them in the
(05:50):
staffing and retain customersfor the long term for their
organization.
Adam Larson (05:56):
Well, let's talk a bit about that retaining,
though, retaining that toptalent because that's a that's a
it's a thing all business ownersare kind of really trying to
trying to grapple with in thisin this ever changing
environment. What's what is theapproach that organizations
should take to upskilling andreskilling their people to
actually they're meeting thedemands, but also making sure
they're not saying, well, you'renot staying up with us to date.
(06:17):
I'm getting out of here. Like,you wanted to keep those people
and and make them a better valuefor the organization.
Chandelle Fastiggi (06:22):
Yeah. This is a this is one of my favorite
topics right now because Ireally don't know and that the
financial services industry hasfigured it out at scale.
Definitely a ton of greatstories out there, and I'll
share some of those. But, youknow, historically, financial
institutions, you know, havetypically looked at their
(06:44):
workforce and said, okay. Wedon't need these type of
resources anymore for whateverreason, you know, it may be.
And, you know, they lay offthose resources, and then they
go hire resources, you know, inthe areas they do. Because 75%
of companies, you know, in inhiring managers today do not
feel confident that they havethe skills and resources needed
(07:05):
to progress the organization.Now more than ever, upskilling
and reskilling is gonna be veryimportant because you may have
some great resources that aresitting in another area of the
organization. And so when Ithink of the future, you know,
within this area and with theworkforce, it's so important
that it's an enterprise wideinitiative. And it's not being
(07:28):
siloed into, you know, consumerbanking or finance or commercial
banking, you know, ortechnology, but really at the
top saying, you know, we aregoing to make a decision here,
you know, as an organization,and we're gonna have finance
aligned, technology aligned, ourbusiness lines aligned, HR and
TA in the conversation, and howcan we ensure, you know, that we
(07:53):
really truly retain the talentthat we believe we can upscale
and rescale and and fit theorganization and and don't lose
all that institutionalknowledge.
That's another thing that Ithink is really important is
somebody may have been in yourcompany, you know, for fifteen,
twenty years and has a ton ofinstitutional knowledge that's
(08:13):
very valuable to being a partof, you know, future
transformation. And just, youknow, releasing them and
bringing somebody in from theoutside, isn't you always the
answer. Sometimes it is theanswer. So, you know, a couple
examples I would say, I mean,just one right now we're working
on with one of our clients is wehave, you know, an executive
(08:34):
that's going to be having anumber of resources moved over
to his organization. He'sunsure, you know, that they fit
and have the behavioral andtechnical skills for where he
wants to take the organization,but they're partnering with us
to say, okay.
Let's first assess the talent.So let's take them through some
testing. And then once we assessthem, you know, let's figure out
(08:58):
the individuals that we believehave, you know, the aptitude,
you know, or the skills for thenew environment, what up
skilling or reskilling, youknow, can we do to keep them in
the organization and positionthem, you know, for more
opportunity with us. Anotherarea you're seeing a lot of
partnerships for upskilling andreskilling is a lot of the
(09:22):
larger banks are partnering withHBCUs and community colleges,
and we're seeing the amount ofhires in that space continue to
rise. One of them, I think, lastyear had over 4,000 hires
through that.
So, you know, it's reallyencouraging to see that knowing
that we may not have the skillswithin the organization or they
may not be readily available outthere in the marketplace, you
(09:44):
know, that companies are gettingcreative on how they can acquire
that talent.
Adam Larson (09:50):
I think that's amazing being able to to connect
with colleges and say, hey.You're coming just coming out of
college. You all all thatknowledge is super fresh. Why
don't you come apply it rightnow? And being able to have that
pipeline is a great way to getnew talent and get that fresh
blood in there, but also, like,start people off and start with
a great foundation.
I it's a I think that's a greatway to kind of kind of connect
(10:10):
with with with the new nextgeneration of employees.
Chandelle Fastiggi (10:13):
Well, and it's funny you say that because
I think back to when I firstmoved to Charlotte, North
Carolina, big banking city, andyou would see all these groups
of young people walking aroundDowntown Charlotte together. And
I didn't come for the financialservices. I didn't have that
type of degree. Right? I justgot into this through the
recruiting industry.
And I would see them and belike, what are these? What are
(10:35):
these people? Like, they're alltogether. They're, like, kind of
in little clans, and they wereinterns. Right?
But they were interns that werehired for the investment bank.
You you know, they weren'tinterns hired for, you know,
many other areas of theorganization. And so it's really
cool to see now that, you know,a lot of variety of, you know,
(10:55):
individuals in a college, youknow, can benefit and not just
ones that are in a specificdomain, you know, or piece of
the business. So I would haveloved to have had that when I
was in college. Right?
I got out of college and I hadno clue what I was gonna do and
ended up in this lovelyindustry. But, but, you know, I
think that's really exciting tosee that, you know, underserved
(11:16):
or even just individuals thatdidn't take, you know, a route
maybe that others took stillhave that opportunity.
Adam Larson (11:25):
Do you think that with the ever changing
environment that it kind ofcauses people to pause about
going into the industry with thewith the with all the different
short term economic uncertainty,you're not sure what's
happening. Like, well, I don'twanna go in there. It might not
things might change so much thatI might be out of a job in a
year. Do you think that pausespeople from going in that
industry?
Chandelle Fastiggi (11:46):
I think it can. I I mean, I think in
general, there's a lot of thatgoing on, right, you know,
within the financial servicesindustry and all around right
now. There's so muchuncertainty. Right? What is the
right job?
What is the right career? Imean, what what is gonna be
around in, you know, five, ten,fifteen years? Will this job be
(12:06):
replaced? That that's, I think,in general, everybody's feeling
that way. That being said,specific, you know, to what
you're asking, we're seeing.
Right? I mean, there's a lot outthere right now around people
making bold stances against theindustry. Mhmm. We're seeing,
you know, a lot of politicalconcerns, social concerns with
(12:28):
the rise of social media andjust I mean, it continues to be
more and more prevalent, andpeople have such a platform all
the time, right, to share theirideas. I think being able to
muddle through that and reallyfigure out, you what what is
real, what is, you know,something to be concerned about,
or what is just somebody'sopinion could, you know, confuse
(12:49):
people.
And I think too, just purely,you know, like you're saying,
like, understanding, like, thedirection that they're going.
Developers even. Right? I mean,in the past, everybody thought,
hey. If you wanna get intodevelopment, you know, go into
financial services.
There's endless jobs. Right?Well, now AI is being
implemented in, you know, manycases, you know, within the
(13:10):
development organizations. Andthere's still a need for
developers, more a need forarchitects maybe than entry
level developers. But I look atit as an opportunity whereas in
the past, you know, you had tohave those skills to even get
that entry level job.
Well, now the entry level jobscan be performed by AI. So you
almost get the opportunity toenter into an organization,
(13:33):
maybe at even a little bithigher level and utilize
different skills, but still takeon that experience and training
you got, you know, within thedevelopment space.
Adam Larson (13:43):
Yeah. It's interesting. I I was just
thinking, like, I gotta ask her,how is AI and automation
affecting this industry? Becausewe we keep having these
conversations, and everyindustry, it's it's affecting it
in different ways. And I figure,you know, when it comes to
financial services, how is AIand automation kind of affecting
and making those impact?
You already said, like, youknow, developers and and certain
jobs, like, you have to like, AIis taking over those initial
(14:06):
jobs, and there's so many newthings out. So maybe you could
talk a little bit about that.
Chandelle Fastiggi (14:09):
Yeah. I mean, one that is relevant, I
think, you know, to thisorganization is obviously CFO
organizations and and financeorganizations. Right? And how is
AI being implemented there? Andwe just recently supported a
transformation within a CFO lineof business at, you know, one of
the top five banks.
And, basically, you know, theywere looking at how do we, you
(14:33):
know, gather our data faster,report faster, provide
information to executive levelresources, you know, faster, you
know, as these things pivot andchange. Right? Like, okay. 2025
starts out and, you know, theorganization has a specific plan
and strategy in place and thingschange. I mean, money and funds
(14:55):
move all the time in financialservices.
You know, we'll have a projectwe have funding for and we lose
it the next day. Right? But ingeneral, you know, there are
needs to pivot and be more agileand fluid, you know, within the
finance organization and withinthe overall organization. And so
finance organizations have hadto look at their core banking,
(15:16):
you know, finance applicationsand say, okay. You know, what do
we need to do to betterstructure our data, make it more
accurate so that we can reportfaster as things pivot, you
know, when you get that call andsomebody says, hey.
You know, I'm getting ready towalk into a meeting, and I I
need you to provide me thisdata. And in the past, it might
have been like, I need, like,two days to do that. I can't
(15:37):
pull that together for you inthe next thirty minutes. But now
because of automation, you know,within the organization, you
know, they're able to pull a lotof that reporting. And so, you
know, their jobs are changing.
You know, the the accountindividual that used to sit
behind a desk and crunch numbersand send it out, like, they now,
(15:57):
a lot of times, are sitting inthose meetings. And, you know, a
part of, you know, talking aboutthat, the financials and and
talking about their reports andpresenting because they didn't
have to spend as much timecrunching the numbers. So it's
just like a a more active rolenow. That's one piece. Right?
The the other areas that we'reseeing is customer service
(16:20):
implemented over the last five,ten years in some capacities
within call centers, right, tohave higher call resolution on
the first call. And we've had AIimplemented, you know, through
chatbots to support IT supportquestions, right, that you don't
have to necessarily get on acall, you know, to support.
We're seeing it on the customerside very much. We have prompts
(16:40):
now when we go to our mobileapplication, you know, that that
help us get through thingsfaster. I think about just when
I you know, depositing a checkis easier.
I think about when I'm asked togive my credit card when I'm
paying for something online. NowI can take a picture, you know,
of the number and it puts it inthere for me. I mean, you know,
there's just a lot of thingslike that that are being
(17:02):
implemented that are just makingus be able to work so much
faster. And listen, the fasterwe can get our deposits in or
the faster we can pay our bills,the quicker they get what they
need. So it's just, overall, youknow, we're seeing it
implemented.
And, you know, again, a lot ofit there I mean, there is or
there are areas that areabsolutely implementing it and
(17:24):
have been, and it's fullyoperational. Right? Another area
that I think of is tradingoperations. You know? I mean,
we're able to move a lot fasterin that space now.
Fraud is another area that youcan, you know, move a lot faster
and catch fraud, you know, muchfaster. But overall, you know,
there's still so many use casesout there right now to figure
(17:44):
out really and truly where isthe right place to invest and
that it is gonna impact ourbusiness versus just be the next
cool thing, you know, whetherit's internal or putting it out
to market.
Adam Larson (17:57):
So with all those things that you're mentioning,
all those data points, all ofthat data is living in a cloud,
in a data center somewhere, andthat increases your risk, that
increases your governance thatyou have to keep in track of
those things. You know, what arethe some considerations that we
have to keep in mind as we'relooking at all that stuff? And
because, you know, if we believethe hackers, the hackers are
just like, clickity, clickity,clickity. I'm in. I've got their
(18:19):
data.
You know, is it that simple?Like, there's so many
considerations now.
Chandelle Fastiggi (18:23):
Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. Cyber is
everything. Right?
I mean, having investments forcyber. So, you know, as we're
talking about transforming anorganization, you know, within
financial services, like, thinkof the glitzy pieces and the
glamorous side, right, as aconsumer, like, what are you
giving me that's gonna benefitme personally? But while they
(18:43):
are still investing in a lot ofthose areas to continue to
attract and retain customers, atthe same time, a lot of the
transformation is going on inthat cyberspace, in the data
center space, in the cloudspace, which are the ones that
nobody sees but are super, superimpactful to me as, you know, a
(19:05):
customer. So when I think of,you know, cybersecurity and,
like you said, you know, howeasy it is for these hackers,
you know, to get in, I mean,financial institutions hire
hackers, which was the craziestthing to me when I learned that.
Years ago, I took a client outto dinner, and we're sitting at
dinner.
And he's telling me, like, thetype of resource that he needs,
(19:26):
you know, for this project hehas coming up. And I'm sitting
there thinking, I I swear he'stalking about a hacker. Right?
And he
Adam Larson (19:34):
Ethical hacking. Right? They call it ethical
hacking.
Chandelle Fastiggi (19:36):
Yeah. Exactly. And I just I just
finally said, alright. Do youneed me to hire you a hacker?
And, he said, absolutely.
That's what I'm I'm asking, butan ethical one. Right? And I
said, oh my gosh. This is sowild. And so it's even more of a
thing, you know, now in in thehacker, you know, ethical hacker
of the past, like, what theyhave to, you know, have
(19:57):
knowledge of and experience ofnow versus, you know, in the
past.
And so I just think that, youknow, organizations, you know,
like I mentioned earlier, like,at the enterprise level, you
know, they really have to pickthose things that are gonna, you
know, impact the broaderorganization, the broader
customer base, and where can we,you know, invest and transform
(20:21):
in those areas, but also stillcontinue to bring great products
to the market that are going todrive, you know, revenue and
growth and positive net income,all those things.
Adam Larson (20:33):
Do you think that all these new technologies and
all these new things that wehave to take account for, are
are organizations having toshift where their budgets are
going? Because you can't youhave an increased cost from all
these technology things. Are wehaving to cut elsewhere to and,
like, to balance that out?
Chandelle Fastiggi (20:49):
Absolutely. I mean, there's a couple
different ways they're doing it,you know, but the answer is yes.
So when I think of a of an, youknow, a specific example, right,
like, one of our customers has a$13,000,000,000 technology
budget, and, you know, theywanna implement AI in their
organization. Right? They can'tjust go ask for more money.
(21:12):
So they have to look at theirtechnology budget and say, okay.
You know, this modernization wewere thinking about doing over
here, it's not that important orit's not really gonna move the
needle. It's one that, like,would be nice to have or maybe
there there are someapplications they wanna
modernize, but some of them aretied to revenue generating
(21:33):
versus nonrevenue generating.And so, you know, they they
wanted to find $4,000,000,000 toput towards AI of that
13,000,000,000. And so, I mean,think of how many projects have
to be cut to find$4,000,000,000.
The other area that we see, andand this is the unfortunate one,
is layoffs. I mean, cutting SGand A costs. And so right now,
(21:56):
you know, going kinda back tothe upskilling and reskilling, a
lot of times there's like, thisis just easier. And I hate to
say easier when we're talkingabout people's livelihood, you
know, and it causes a lot ofstress. But at the same time,
you know, that is, you know, aneasy way.
Our industry is an easy way tocut costs. Right? You have 500
(22:17):
contractors. Okay. Cut 200 ofthem.
You've got more money. Right? SoYeah. We definitely see shifting
of, you know, priorities,projects, initiatives, people
all go in to that equation forthem to really be able to find
those investment dollars thatthey wanna spend.
Adam Larson (22:37):
Yeah. And I think that goes back to like you're
saying, goes back to ourconversation about reskilling
and upskilling. It's moreimportant now than ever as
employees to say, okay. What canI what knowledge can I consume?
How can I make myself morevaluable and and say, hey?
Well, we're adding this newtechnology and say, raise your
hand and say, yep. I alreadyknow about it. Let me get in
there and do that. And so it'slike, it's it's more important
(22:58):
now, like, not even just asleaders, but it if you're just
in an organization and you seethis is where they're going,
make sure you're gettingyourself upskilled. Learn the
new thing.
Get yourself in there. Get yourfeet wet. You can't just sit
around and expect yourorganization to train you for
everything.
Chandelle Fastiggi (23:13):
Yeah. The days of learning and
development, building everythingfor us and hosting the training
or having in person or virtualor online, I mean, yes, those
tools are still there, butopening your learning journey is
more critical now than ever.Companies are allowing for that
time in your day, which I thinkis really awesome, you know,
(23:35):
that you know, you're beingtold, like, you need to invest a
certain amount of your day incontinuous learning that you do
on your own, you know, teachingyourself AI and ChatGPT,
Copilot, all the different toolsand why different ones are
better than others and how canyou incorporate them into your
day. I mean, I personally dotrial and error, you know,
(23:56):
sometimes, and I keep some ofthe things and and they make my
day better and help me workfaster and more efficiently. And
other things, I'm like, nah.
That was a complete waste oftime. Like, I could have done
that faster myself. Right? Soand and you have to teach it
too. I mean, these tools learnus.
They learn the way you talk, theway they they learn the, you
know, way you ask questions.They learn what's important to
(24:17):
you. I mean, it's literallycrazy when you think about a
relationship, you know, withtechnology versus a relationship
with a person and how, you know,even just you and I getting to
know each other. Right? I mean,the more we get to know each
other, we just interact bettertogether.
And so Yeah. It's very much thatsame way, you know, with the
(24:38):
tools that are out there today.So I just think, you know,
internal mobility, yes, it needsto be a strategy at that
enterprise level of a company.And in many companies, it is. I
mean, at one of the top fivebanks, 12,000 employees were
internally mobilized in 2024.
I mean, that's massive, andthat's huge for those
(25:00):
individuals. But also makingyourself attractive to be moved,
you know, internally, I think,is key in in really making it
known to people with the skillsthat you've been acquiring and
how you've been acquiring them.
Adam Larson (25:15):
Definitely. And I think that's more important than
ever, like organizations thatare the thought leaders, you
know, getting connected withyour local professional body.
You know, like, selfless plug,like the Institute of Management
Accountants, like or any otherbody that has to do with your
industry that you're connectedwith. Make sure that you're
connecting with those bodies toget that knowledge, to get that
thing outside of yourorganization, and be able to
(25:36):
connect with other professionalsso that way you're you're
staying up. You're because ifyou talk to another professional
and you're like, oh, wait.
You're dealing with the sameissue. How are you dealing with
it? Well, this is how we'redealing, and you learn so much
in those in those moments ofinteraction. Why and that's why
it's so super important to getinvolved.
Chandelle Fastiggi (25:51):
I love that you just said that because
yesterday, I was stuck at theairport for a little bit, and I
was in the Delta Lounge. And Ioverheard these two men talking
because it was really quiet inthere. And, I mean, they were
talking kinda loud, and I juststarted listening. And, you
know, I was googling things asthey were talking and, you know,
just, like, trying to figure outone one industry they were in
because, obviously, I'm in therecruiting industry, so I was
(26:13):
curious, what they do for aliving. But, but also, you know,
just listening to the topicsthat are top of mind for other
people, and I could tell theywere executives.
And so it's just veryinteresting how you can, you
know, enhance your learning inso many different capacities.
Adam Larson (26:30):
So somebody's listening to this conversation.
We've covered a lot of differentthings, especially with
organizations and getting themready for the next their next
transformation. Maybe we canfinish our conversation with,
like somebody's listening tothis. They're like, I really
wanna do this, but what's what'sthe first step? What's my next
step if I wanna wanna bring myorganization to this
transformation that we've beendiscussing?
Chandelle Fastiggi (26:52):
So I definitely think it's you gotta
establish a very clear strategicvision at the top. Right? And
one of the things just kindagoing back to the beginning of
our conversation, you know, goodgovernance is good business. It
always will be. No matter whatis going on in the economy or
(27:12):
politically, financialinstitutions know what good
business looks like, and theyknow what good governance looks
like.
And if organizations, you know,want to stay ahead and whether
it's the government that comesafter them or the news that
comes after them, you know, ifthey wanna avoid that, the best
(27:33):
thing to do is establish thatclear vision. And, you know,
when you are rolling it out, youknow, you have to think of that
vision uniquely with every groupthat's going to be implementing
it. Right? If you just like AI.Right?
At the top. The CEO has statedthat they want to implement AI
in the organization. You canburn through a lot of money real
(27:57):
fast. That 13,000,000,000 canget blown overnight if there's
not a strategic vision, youknow, at the top but then rolled
out effectively to every line ofbusiness because, you know, the
top five banks have 200,000 plusemployees. That's a lot of
people to manage a message to.
I think back to being a kid andat lunch we'd play the telephone
(28:19):
game, the message at the end wasnowhere near the message that we
started with. Now I think somepeople had fun with it. Right?
Adam Larson (28:28):
Of course.
Chandelle Fastiggi (28:29):
Getting that to translate all the way down is
really is really critical. Thenthe second piece is considering
that good governance is goodbusiness and how are we not only
going to implement this, butensure that all those checks and
balances are in place from acyber perspective, a fraud
perspective? You know, how arewe really gonna ensure that all
(28:50):
that is in place so that theareas we are choosing to invest
in are going to make an impactand also keep us, you know, at
less risk. So data, I mean,that's a huge piece of an
effective transformation,especially when you're, you
know, referring to AI. Butbefore AI was ever around, one
(29:11):
of my top clients went through amassive data transformation
solely to get their core bankingplatforms to speak better
together.
Right? So, you know, having gooddata is not a new thing. It's
just way more important, Ithink, now maybe than it was in
the past because we're expectinga machine, you know, to learn
(29:32):
how to communicate, you know,the data throughout all the
systems. And, obviously, now,you know, spit out reporting and
ideas and, you know, investment,you know, planning, all types of
things. And so, you know, thenit's once you roll all that out,
what are your checks andbalances to make sure that it's
working and that we catch thatbad investment if if we did one?
(29:56):
Because, you know, listen. We'renone none of us are perfect.
Right? And so, you know, wecould have something that we're
going down a path with and howare we gonna, you know, check
and balance that. The otherthing that comes to mind, and it
brings me back to, like, kind ofthe role of the finance
organization and the CFO.
In the past, you know, they hadthe budget kinda reported on it
(30:18):
probably on a, you know,monthly, quarterly basis. But
now they're sitting at thetable. Right? So when that
strategic vision is built, youknow, finance organizations are
sitting there alongside, youknow, the c level executives
that run the business ortechnology, and they're a part
of that conversation in lookingat, you know, where we can move
(30:39):
those investments around orareas that may be more
beneficial for us to makeinvestments in as well as more
of that real time. Woah.
Woah. Woah. This is slipping.Right? Like, we're starting to
just burn through this.
So it's just a lot of it reallyboils down to the clear vision
and then the right governancearound it.
Adam Larson (31:00):
Well, that's that's awesome. Thank you so much,
Shondelle, and thank you so muchfor coming on the podcast,
sharing your knowledge with ouraudience. Like, I've learned a
lot. I hope they've learned alot, and hope we can continue
the conversation online. Sothank you so much.
Chandelle Fastiggi (31:12):
Thank you, Adam. Have a great rest of the
day, and I really appreciate theopportunity.
Announcer (31:18):
This has been Count Me In, IMA's podcast, providing
you with the latest perspectivesof thought leaders from the
accounting and financeprofession. If you like what you
heard and you'd like to becounted in for more relevant
accounting and financeeducation, visit IMA's website
at www.imanet.org.
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