Jim and Jeff Talk about Bravery and other Key Drivers of M&A in the newest episode of Artisan Unfiltered. When it comes to M&A in a noisy environment, Jim Adkins observed, "It's hard to balance the short-term against your long-term strategy and you might have to be brave sometimes to do that." Listen now.

The first Artisan Unfiltered episode of the year is now available. "2025 Outlook: Jim and Jeff Talk Economics, Interest Rates and Regulatory Events" takes a deep dive into the outlook for each so far this year and offers a few recommendations for what bankers can do now to prepare for what the rest of the year may bring.

Jeff Voss weighed in on possible rate cuts: "I think rate cuts are going to be data dependent. I think the one thing about the Fed is, relatively speaking, it's as independent as you can come and they're focused on analyzing the data, interpreting the data and making decisions."

Jim Adkins offered a few words of advice: "I do think that, in terms of enterprise risk management, you could - in your procedure and policies and how you model things out - you might want to model some changes into your risk management process."

Reach out to Jim or Jeff if you have questions or want to discuss any issues or challenges your financial institution is facing.

Listen in as Jim Adkins discusses the evolving role of the IT leader in a financial institution, with Wade Barnes, Managing Director, Financial and Professional Services at Hartman Executive Advisors. One key takeaway - if your IT leader doesn't have a seat at the strategic planning table, it's time to pull up a chair for them. Listen to the podcast for more useful insights on how to ensure your IT efforts are actively contributing to your business goals.

Listen as Jim Adkins, Jeff Voss and Dave Larson discuss a broad range of risk-related topics, including:

· The role that risk plays in managing a profitable bank

· A frank discussion of the average board member’s understanding of risk and what needs to change

· What the current mood on risk management is among regulators and how it can affect your exams

There’s something in it for everyone, so listen now.

TRUE. And absolutely essential.

“After personnel, your bank’s biggest cost is likely your core vendor contract. If it’s not working in service of your overall strategic plan, then it’s just not working.”

- Jim Adkins, Managing Partner, Artisan Advisors

In the latest episode of Artisan Unfiltered, “Core Vendor Technology and Your Strategic Plan,” our team of experts – Steve Heckard, Matt Bergman, Jim Adkins and Jeff Voss – dive deep into the complexities of negotiating the core processing vendor agreement that will drive your strategic plan.

You’ll get great advice on:

· Hidden landmines that may be lurking in your contracts

· What to look for in a vendor to know if it’s right for your bank

· What you should be doing right now to ensure a smooth renewal or conversion process Listen here and contact Steve or Matt to get a pulse on whether your current contract is setting your bank up for success.

You’ll also learn more about whether a Virtual RFP is right for your bank.

For smaller institutions, Artisan Advisors offers its vRFP – a comprehensive contract review process which is implemented virtually to minimize engagement fees and provides project management, industry knowledge and overall assistance with a competitive vendor review. We perform significant due diligence in reviewing existing contracts, invoices, bank strategies and objectives, and how the bank utilizes the services being received. We also use the vRFP to define bank requirements and collect vendor due diligence. Artisan manages the entire process, provides financial analysis of proposals, and negotiates contract terms, resulting in a contract that works for the bank and helps them achieve their strategic goals.

Get a reality check about the risk and liability associated with data security and listen now to the Artisan Unfiltered podcast, Cyber Security Risk and How to Manage It. Panelist and data security expert Chad Holstead notes that for banks of any size, “the hard part is management's ability to rally and champion a security culture.” What’s your bank’s security culture? Listen now.

The latest episode of our Artisan Unfiltered podcast series, “Making Sense of CECL,” is now available for download. It focuses on the important and timely topic Current Expected Credit Losses, or CECL. A credit loss accounting standard that was issued by Financial Accounting Standard Board in 2016 that replaced the Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses accounting standard, CECL has been a long time coming and it’s finally here. What does it mean for you? We put together a great panel of experts to help you make sense of CECL.

Kyle Manny is a partner in the financial services sector at Plant Moran in Chicago, and specializes in proactively addressing risk to protect and build shareholder value and minimize the risk of regulatory criticism. He supervises assurance, tax, and risk management engagements and provides holistic services to his clients that include community banks, specialty finance lenders, as small as 100 million in assets, and large regional and national brands.

Peter Fotopoulos, Managing Director at Artisan Advisors has served as an executive level management consultant with Artisan Advisors since 2011. His areas of expertise in client service include strategic planning, financial management, operational analysis, profit improvement, asset liability, ACL methodology and implementation, and regulatory response management.

Jeff Voss is a founder and a Managing Partner of Artisan Advisors. Since 2009, Jeff has advised and assisted C-suite level officers and their boards of directors on a variety of management, financial, operational and regulatory matters, with an emphasis on strategic planning, financial forecasting, risk management practices and capital planning.

“Core Financial Technology 101” features an interview with Stephen Heckard and Matt Bergman – the two newest additions to the Artisan team. Steve and Matt are leading Artisan’s newest practice, Core Financial Technology Consulting, which focuses on generating more favorable contract outcomes from a highly competitive core vendor assessment process. They are are both deeply knowledgeable technology solution professionals with decades of experience in selling and evaluating core processing service programs for banks, credit unions and non-bank financial institutions. Moderated by Artisan’s co-founders, Jim Adkins and Jeff Voss, “Core Financial Technology 101” explores the state of the core vendor industry and how it’s impacting financial institutions’ readiness for the challenges of an increasingly complex technology-driven future.