Russ Mellott

Anthropic's S-1 filing isn't just news for investors — it's a transparency event for every enterprise evaluating AI infrastructure. For the first time, CFOs, general counsel, and procurement teams have access to audited data on vendor economics, concentration risk, and safety governance — from a legally accountable source. Three things that now matter more for enterprise AI buyers: → Concentration risk is now quantifiable → Safety commitments carry legal weight → Cost structure signals future pricing trajectory The companies that navigate this transition best won't be the most aggressive AI adopters. They'll be the ones applying the same rigor to AI vendors they apply to critical infrastructure. Full analysis: https://lnkd.in/ekAxQRHY

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AI isn't plug-and-play. And that's actually good news. Misty Phillip, COO at Trilogyworks and author of "Upskill or Die," has a message for leaders looking for shortcuts: "Rushing in thinking it is a simple plug-and-play efficiency boost only creates bigger problems down the line." The leaders who get real results from AI aren't the ones who moved fastest. They're the ones who took the complexity seriously from day one. That means understanding what AI actually requires: clean processes, clear ownership, ongoing iteration. It's not a tool you install. It's a capability you build. The good news? Leaders who do the work get compounding returns. The ones who skip it get compounding headaches. See Misty and other leaders who've done it right on our Hall of Fame site. (Link in comments ⬇️) What part of AI adoption was more complex than you expected? 👇

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Give this third post in my three-part blog series, Responsible AI in Collections: Privacy, Proof, and Practical Guardrails, a read. In this post I endeavor to answer the question, "How do you actually put AI tools in use with the appropriate governance and continue to be innovative?" https://lnkd.in/g8WKudbA

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Q2 2026 just delivered the strongest earnings growth since 2021 — S&P 500 companies posted roughly 24.7% year-over-year growth. That's the kind of quarter where every filing gets more scrutiny, not less.    Filing season has a way of exposing every crack in a company's reporting process. Pulling numbers from five different systems, chasing down reconciliations, waiting on manual sign-offs — it's the same scramble every quarter, and in a season this closely watched, the margin for error gets smaller, not bigger.    That's the problem Finray was built to solve. Instead of stitching together spreadsheets from your core systems by hand, Finray gives you one connected data model — from source systems straight through to the final filing. Every number is automatically reconciled, every disclosure is traceable back to where it came from, and the reporting package comes out in the format regulators actually want, with a full audit trail behind it. One platform. No code. At speed. https://www.finray.io/

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FINNEA Group presents its 1H 2026 Plastics & Chemicals Industry Update, highlighting demand drivers, end-market trends, and key value-maximizing considerations for business owners contemplating a sale. FINNEA Group brings broad experience in the Plastics & Chemicals space including a current sell-side mandate, giving FINNEA a highly relevant lens into the industry. If you'd like to discuss in greater depth or explore opportunities in the Plastics & Chemicals space, please don't hesitate to reach out to our industry team led by Dustin Hill (dhill@finneagroup.com) and Jim Klunk (jklunk@finneagroup.com).

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Stalled projects, shifted priorities, and six months of results: mid-year is an ideal opportunity to course-correct before budget season locks you in. Our latest blog breaks down exactly how to do it. https://lnkd.in/e5rqpTGc

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Fraud hasn’t gone digital just because payments have. Checks and wires remain two of the most exploited payment rails—and fraudsters know exactly where traditional controls fall short. On February 3–4, Ron Suhr will be speaking at the Nebraska Bankers Association Operations Conference on: Combating Check and Wire Fraud in a Digital Age This session looks at how today’s fraud schemes actually work—from counterfeit checks and forged endorsements to business email compromise (BEC) and fraudulent wire transfers—and what banks can do to disrupt them earlier in the process. If you’re responsible for operations, payments, or fraud strategy, this is a practical conversation grounded in real-world patterns—not theory. 📍 Lincoln, NE 🗓 February 3–4, 2026

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1 Comment

The Finseca team is reading Unreasonable Hospitality right now, and it has us looking more closely at the small details people carry with them. Will Guidara shows how paying attention becomes a real business advantage, especially as #AI makes speed and efficiency available to everyone. Will will bring that same thinking to Advanced Markets & LAMP 2027 through both his keynote and a hands-on workshop. This conversation with Simon Sinek gives you a good sense of what we’ll explore together.

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↩️ Pull your QBO data into a Google Sheet. ✍️ Edit it directly in the spreadsheet – edit transactions in bulk, create new products and services, make formula-driven corrections, etc. ↪️ And then push the data back to QBO. Booker identifies what's being updated before anything syncs, so nothing goes back until you're ready. Booker isn't just a one-time import tool. It's a two-way sync that allows you to manage your data continuously. read more: https://hubs.la/Q049SCcW0

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