Fall 2026 Agenda

Whether preparing for an IPO, pursuing private capital, evaluating strategic alternatives, or positioning for an acquisition, the highest-performing organizations understand that enterprise value is created long before a transaction begins. For today’s finance leaders, readiness is no longer a compliance exercise. It is a critical value creation strategy.

In this interactive session, finance and transaction advisory specialists will explore how finance organizations can directly influence valuation outcomes by strengthening financial reporting, improving operational visibility, enhancing forecasting capabilities, reducing execution risk, and demonstrating scalable governance. Attendees will gain practical insights into how investors, lenders, private equity sponsors, strategic acquirers, and public market participants evaluate readiness and incorporate risk-adjusted assessments into valuation multiples.

The discussion will address key considerations for both private and public companies:

• Private Companies: Evaluating public market versus private capital alternatives, understanding investor expectations, and establishing the financial infrastructure necessary to support growth, fundraising, or IPO readiness.
• Public Companies: Leveraging finance transformation, transaction preparedness, and value-enhancing initiatives to maximize strategic flexibility, improve market perception, and strengthen M&A outcomes.
• Valuation & M&A Themes: Identifying the operational, financial, governance, reporting, and technology factors that can materially influence enterprise value and transaction success across all stages of the business lifecycle.

Attendees will leave with a practical framework for assessing their organization’s capital readiness and identifying actions that can help improve valuation, accelerate transaction execution, and create sustainable long-term shareholder value.

Rising healthcare costs and unpredictable claims volatility are putting increasing pressure on margins and financial planning. At the same time, CFOs must preserve affordable, competitive benefits to attract and retain the workforce that keeps the business running. This session will highlight how finance leaders can take greater control of healthcare spend by improving transparency, reducing risk, and focusing on the true drivers of cost. We will share practical strategies for building a sustainable benefits structure designed for 2026 and beyond—one that protects profitability without simply shifting costs to employees. Learning Objectives: 1. Control Cost Growth & Reduce Volatility – CFOs can get ahead of rising healthcare spend and mitigate the financial shock of high-cost claims through smarter cost drivers and earlier intervention. 2. Protect Margins & Free Up Capital – Reduce healthcare’s drag on the P&L so dollars can be reinvested in growth, talent, and strategic priorities. 3. Deliver Transparency & Measurable ROI – Provide clear visibility into where healthcare dollars are going and tie solutions to defensible, hard-dollar financial outcomes. 4. Create Sustainable Savings Without Cost Shifting – Achieve long-term healthcare cost control while preserving a competitive benefits experience that supports retention and productivity.

Every finance team is being asked about AI. Most pilots stall before they reach the close or the forecast — not because the model is wrong, but because the planning foundation underneath it isn’t there.

Vantage got the order right. Across a global portfolio of airports, they rebuilt financial reporting, commercial and POS analytics, and FP&A on one platform. Miguel Santos joins Board and Wipro to walk through what that took, what they deliberately left alone, and what changed as a result — and where AI and agents come next, now the groundwork is there.

We’ll cover:

• The business drivers behind the decision to modernize
• What got fixed first, and what was left alone
• Lessons learned, and how the value was measured
• Where AI and agents fit once the groundwork is done

As benefit costs continue to grow, finance leaders are looking beyond annual renewals to uncover new opportunities for value creation, efficiency and risk reduction.

For many organizations, benefits are now among the largest and fastest-growing employee-related expenses. Yet much of the focus remains on annual renewals and incremental cost reductions. This session explores where the bigger opportunities may exist. From healthcare purchasing to retirement plan governance, we’ll examine how organizations are reassessing costs, risks and responsibilities to improve efficiency, reduce complexity and create greater value for both the business and its workforce.

• Benefits have become a finance, risk and governance issue, not just an HR issue
• The largest opportunities often lie beyond annual renewals and vendor negotiations
• Many organizations are carrying complexity and risk that no longer create value
• Leading employers are exploring new approaches to purchasing, governance and risk allocation
• Better economics, lower risk and stronger employee outcomes are not mutually exclusive
• A modern benefits strategy should be evaluated with the same rigor as any other major business investment

AI and automation are helping finance and procurement leaders improve efficiency, accelerate decision-making, and deliver measurable business results. The challenge is moving beyond isolated pilots to drive impact at scale.

In this interactive workshop, Conduent experts will share real-world use cases, lessons learned, and practical strategies for scaling AI and automation across finance and procurement. Through discussion and peer exchange, participants will explore how leading organizations are turning innovation into sustainable business value.

What You’ll Learn

• High-impact AI and automation use cases delivering measurable results in finance and procurement
• How leading organizations are scaling successful initiatives beyond pilot programs
• Proven approaches to adoption, governance, and change management
• Keys to achieving stronger operational performance, cost savings, and business outcomes