FM editor-in-chief Oliver Rowe rejoins the podcast to discuss the content in the October edition of the magazine.
Rowe shares the key points of the cover article on making the shift from staff budgeting based on input to budgeting for impact. He also discusses an article that offers advice on how to deal with artificial intelligence systems that have been “fed” prompt injections.
The column by CIMA president Alfred Ramosedi, FCMA, CGMA, is also summarised. Ramosedi discussed “irreplaceable” attributes for finance professionals in a recent episode of the FM podcast.
The episode with Rowe ends with an explanation of how members can access the current edition and the library of past editions. Visiting the FM homepage is one place to start.
What you’ll learn from this episode:
- A summary of the cover article by Samuel Maimbo, FCMA, CGMA.
- The key points made by Liam Bastick, FCMA, CGMA, in an article about AI hijacking.
- A leadership column’s focus on trust.
- Highlights of an article about dealing with high stress and who professionals can lean on when experiencing such stress.
- How members can access the October edition and the library of previous editions.
Play the episode below or read the edited transcript:
— To comment on this episode or to suggest an idea for another episode, contact Neil Amato at Neil.Amato@aicpa-cima.com.
Transcript
Neil Amato: Welcome back to the FM podcast. This is Neil Amato. I’m joined again by FM editor-in-chief Oliver Rowe. Today we’re discussing the October edition of FM. Oliver, I’ll get right to it. But first, welcome back. Glad to have you on.
Oliver Rowe: Great to be back, Neil. Thanks.
Amato: The October edition has articles focusing on different aspects of artificial intelligence. What are some of the highlights of those?
Rowe: As you said, Neil, we have articles on aspects of AI relevant to finance professionals. So we’ve got three articles. But first, I’d like to highlight our cover feature, which is “From Hours to Outcomes: Rethinking Staff Budgeting”. It’s by Samuel Maimbo, FCMA, CGMA, vice president–Budget and Procurement at the World Bank Group.
In the article, he argues for a shift from input-based accountability — so, tracking hours, budgeting for staff inputs — to budgeting for impact. He says in the article this is better aligned with the scale and complexity of modern operations. He talks about traditional time recording systems and how they emerged when work was more location-bound, standardised, and often measured through predictable volume-based outputs, and he gives the example of cars or loans processed. He says that environment no longer exists, especially for multinational, knowledge-based organisations.
He looks at emerging trends in this area and provides a case example of the World Bank Group. He says simplifying the administrative burden of input-based accountability is a clear win and [that] the challenge for organisations is creating a framework that links budgets to outcomes. And he discusses that. He also looks five years ahead at the trends that may impact this area.
Amato: Thank you for that cover feature preview. Tell me some about the AI topics I mentioned.
Rowe: Absolutely, Neil. To return to the articles on AI in this October edition, as I said, there are three articles. So, “How Vibe Coding and AI Are Changing Finance Tasks”; “AI Has Changed Work; Management Controls Should Change, Too”; and the final one, “Prevent Your AI From Being Hijacked”.
I’ll talk about the third one a little bit. This is by CIMA member Liam Bastick, and it’s about prompt injections. These occur when an AI system is fed text that changes its behaviour in a way its designer, prompter, or user did not intend. He explains the difference between direct prompt injection, which is where bad actors control the user’s input to make a malicious prompt, and then indirect prompt injection, where the attacker’s instructions are hidden in something the AI tool later reads. And that could be a web page, an e-mail, PDF, spreadsheet, contract, policy document.
This is a problem because the agent may then obey the attacker’s words rather than your own. Liam suggests building agents as you would build a financial model. So keep them consistent, robust, flexible, and transparent; and create checks and limit their scope.
Amato: On another topic, CIMA president Alfred Ramosedi was recently on the FM podcast, and we’ll link to the conversation he had with FM’s Steph Brown in the show notes for this episode. What’s the topic of his leadership column?
Rowe: Alfred Ramosedi’s column in this edition is about trust in the AI environment. He says that seven out of 10 global respondents to the 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer admitted to being hesitant or unwilling to trust someone who is different from themselves.
This means trust has never been more important for finance and accounting professionals. And he goes on to discuss how trust can be built in three ways: acting with integrity, producing high-quality work, and ensuring data integrity. He says there’s a need for finance professionals to differentiate themselves through, again, three things: values-based leadership, sound judgement, and ethical decision-making.
Amato: Thank you for that. One headline in the edition is “Tactics to Deal With Bursts of Intense Stress”. That was one that definitely caught my eye. What is some of the advice shared in that article?
Rowe: It’s an interesting article, as you say, and there are several suggestions in it to deal with periods of intense stress. Author Rhymer Rigby sets out several points. One is to eat well, resist the urge to live on junk food, or use sugar and caffeine to keep you going. He talks about having high-protein meals, plenty of fruit and vegetables and staying hydrated. The gym or running or other sport, he says [to] have that as a diary item. It’s a false economy of not sleeping properly. Your productivity will crash.
He says that hopefully you’ll have empathetic colleagues who are patient and understanding with their co-workers and can help you if you’re struggling. However, he points out that the primary option for employee support is your manager, or — if you have an employee assistance programme at your company — to make use of that. He says, likewise, family and friends can be a good support. And he says you shouldn’t go from one high-stress project to another. You should take a break away from that stress. And finally, his one piece of advice which is particularly important is, when stressed, we can act first and think later. So be aware of that when making important decisions.
Amato: Those are some really good points on that topic. What other items would you like to highlight from the October edition?
Rowe: Beyond AI and the other topics, this edition has an article on “Ways Uncertainty and Technology Are Reshaping M&A Deal-Making”. It talks about the trends, it talks about AI, how that is involved in due diligence and postdeal integration. The Boston Consulting Group reported that global deals totalled about $1.6 trillion in the first half of 2026, the strongest half since 2021 and 2022. These 2026 deals are concentrated in what the article describes as megadeals. The article discusses the different sectors, and, as I mentioned, it also covers how AI is used in due diligence and integration.
Amato: What are the ways that members can access the October edition, which is in print and digital form, and also the library of past editions?
Rowe: There are different ways to access the October digital edition, which is for CGMA professionals. You can go direct to the AICPA and CIMA website at aicpa-cima.com. From the main menu, go to Resources and then Publications and you’ll see Financial Management Magazine. There’s also a link on the homepage of the FM website to the digital editions, and that’s at fm-magazine.com.
Amato: We’ll include those pertinent links in the show notes for this episode. Oliver Rowe, thank you again for the rundown and for being on the podcast.
Rowe: Thanks, Neil.
