The Pre-Read

https://www.workiva.com/What does leadership look like when volatility becomes the norm?
Workiva CEO Julie Iskow joins Steve Soder and Alyssa Zucker to unpack what 2025 taught executives and how to prepare for 2026. This conversation goes beyond headlines to explore how leaders can stay grounded while moving faster, make data a strategic asset, and meet rising board expectations with confidence.
In this episode:
Redefining resilience: Why stability and agility must coexist
Data integrity as strategy: Turning trusted data into a competitive advantage
AI readiness: Why governed, audit-ready data is the foundation for safe AI adoption
The evolving boardroom: How expectations are shifting toward deeper, more frequent engagement
Chapters
0:00 Defining resilience for 2026
3:15 Stability vs. agility in volatile markets
7:40 Data integrity: From compliance to strategy
11:20 When bad data becomes AI risk
15:00 The new expectations of the boardroom
18:30 Julie's word for 2026: Clarity
Enjoy this episode? Explore more conversations at the intersection of finance, risk, and sustainability at workiva.com/pre-read-podcast.

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 Mike Gravagno looks back on a year where AI moved from pilot programs to expectation and sustainability became more than a side conversation. Looking ahead to 2026, The Pre-Read will return with sharper conversations on data trust, AI governance, reporting rigor, and how leading teams turn systems into true productivity multipliers. Subscribe now and be ready for what's next.

Semiannual Reporting: Will doing "less" actually create more work?

Finance and accounting leaders are split on whether moving from quarterly to semiannual SEC reporting will simplify processes or compound risk. In this episode, industry expert Tom Schneiders joins to unpack what a reduced cadence would really mean for teams, investors, and market stability.
We cover:
The hidden risk of doubling the data window—from three months to six
Why most finance teams aren't asking to report less frequently
How quarterly reporting strengthens risk management and operational discipline
What's fueling the new momentum in the IPO pipeline
Why generative AI is moving from experiment to essential for the C-suite
If you want to understand how reporting cadence shapes trust, transparency, and executive decision-making, this conversation is for you.

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, tech-forward future.
What you will learn in this episode:
Why "total organizational intelligence" is a survival imperative for the modern enterprise
How orchestrating your data across the organization is a huge unlock for immediate revenue opportunities
The most common and foundational AI use case: standardized knowledge management powered by large language models
How to build a clear, defensible AI roadmap to avoid "AI washing" and drive real, long-term impact
Beyond large language models: Using advanced machine learning for complex optimization 
Find past conversations at workiva.com/podcast/the-pre-read. Subscribe to catch all our upcoming episodes.

#Leadership #FinancePodcast #AITransformation #OrganizationalIntelligence

Could U.S. public companies shift from quarterly to semiannual reporting?
Jonathan Johnson, former chairman and CEO of Overstock and current member of various boards, joins the show to unpack one of the most debated proposals to SEC reporting. They explore whether fewer formal filings would help management teams stay focused on long-term enterprise value instead of reacting to quarterly earnings swings.
In this episode:
• How a semiannual cadence could affect a company's time horizon
• Whether companies would still feel pressure to share quarterly updates
• The gap between GAAP metrics and the metrics leaders actually use to run the business
• Why the growing length of 10-Qs and 10-Ks is fueling this debate
• The role XBRL® tagging plays in machine and AI analysis—and what could shift
• Whether board oversight and accountability would meaningfully change
Jonathan also points out that semiannual reporting already works in markets like Europe and Australia.
Catch this episode for a candid executive view on one of the biggest potential shifts in public-company reporting.
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction 01:15 Why semi-annual reporting is back in the spotlight 03:10 CEOs vs. CFOs: What the WSJ poll revealed 06:30 How quarterly reporting shapes internal rigor 08:00 Jonathan Johnson joins the conversation 08:20 Does quarterly reporting really drive short-term thinking? 13:00 Why internal reporting cadences won't change 15:20 Are 10-Qs simply too long? 18:00 Board oversight: What would actually change? 20:00 Should executives rethink their processes? 21:50 Semi-annual reporting around the world
Subscribe to The Pre-Read for more conversations at the intersection of finance, reporting, and leadership.