Tom Stewart, Chief Knowledge Officer at AchieveNEXT

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Patricia O’Connell interviews Tom Stewart, Chief Knowledge Officer at AchieveNEXT</span><strong>®</strong> <span style= "font-weight: 400;">about the 2022 CFO-CHRO Sentiment Study. They discuss the top concerns of middle-market companies.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Listen in to learn more about middle-market company plans for 2022.</span><span style= "font-weight: 400;"><br /> <br /></span></p> <h1><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>Key Takeaways:</strong></span></h1> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">[:36] AchieveNEXT</span><strong>®</strong> <span style= "font-weight: 400;">specializes in helping businesses grow by sharpening their focus on human capital.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">[:58] Patricia O’Connell introduces Tom Stewart, Chief Knowledge Officer at AchieveNEXT</span><strong>®</strong><span style= "font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">[1:18] Tom describes AchieveNEXT</span><strong>®</strong><span style= "font-weight: 400;">’s CFO-CHRO Sentiment Study. AchieveNEXT</span><strong>®</strong> <span style= "font-weight: 400;">surveys CFOs and CHROs at the beginning and end of each year. As 2022 began, CFOs and CHROs looked back on 2021; 40% said their performance was very much better than the year before. Looking forward, 46% expected 2022 to be even better.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">[1:41] A total of 77% of CFOS and CHROs surveyed said that they expected 2022 to be much better or better than 2021. Of course, businesses fell off a cliff in the Spring of 2020 from pandemic issues. Many of them rebounded in late 2020. Businesses entered 2021 with confidence in a good year; 2021 turned out to be better than expected.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">[3:16] At the beginning of the year, AchieveNEXT</span><strong>®</strong> <span style= "font-weight: 400;">asked CFOs and CHROs what their biggest challenges and concerns were. The number one risk was talent and the num