Originally aired April 16, 2026 on Extropy On AIr, with a teaser released April 15, 2026.
Finance leaders don’t need more vendor pitches. They need honest conversations with peers who have been there. In these episodes, Extropy CEO Ravit Gutman and Mike Jasper introduce the Extropy Think Tank, a members-only space inside the Transforming Out Loud community where finance transformation practitioners talk openly about what is working, what isn’t and how to bring their people along.
Listen: Extropy On AIr podcast page | Spotify
Key takeaways
- There is no shortage of technology. What is missing is clear thinking about how to use it, and a place to talk about it honestly.
- The Think Tank brings the conversations that usually happen one-on-one at conferences into a shared peer space.
- No software providers, no sales pitches, and nothing leaves the room.
- Topics come from members, and sessions are grouped so people talk with peers facing the same challenges.
- It is part of Transforming Out Loud, Extropy’s community for AP and finance leaders. Think of the community as the building and the Think Tank as one of its rooms.
What is the Extropy Think Tank?
Ravit describes it simply: what would happen if a group of smart people who care about finance transformation sat down and talked honestly about what is going on in the industry? Not a formal lecture, not a product demo, just real conversation between practitioners.
The Think Tank lives inside Transforming Out Loud, Extropy’s community for AP and finance leaders. If the community is the building, the Think Tank is one of the rooms where members come together for focused, peer-to-peer discussion.
Why did Extropy create the Think Tank?
Extropy spends its days solving real problems with clients, testing ideas and seeing what works and what falls apart. Most of that learning stays inside one-on-one client conversations and hallway chats. Ravit realized that finance leaders everywhere are wrestling with the same questions as Extropy’s clients, and they deserve to be part of those conversations too.
Mike has felt the same frustration at conferences and user groups. The most valuable conversations happen over lunch or between sessions, but always one-on-one. Posting them on LinkedIn just makes them another post. The Think Tank lets a whole group with the same question have that conversation together, without Extropy doing all the talking. Ravit adds that for years Extropy has played connector, answering the same questions again and again and introducing people who solved similar problems. Now the goal is to be the platform where peers talk directly.
She also connects it to a bigger goal: to make a meaningful impact on more than 100,000 finance professionals by 2027 by making great thinking accessible to everyone who wants it.
Why is Extropy the right host?
Ravit says Extropy sits in an unusual spot. It isn’t a software company selling a platform, and it isn’t purely academic or advisory. Its people are in the work every day, implementing systems, redesigning processes and watching organizations transform in real time. Mike adds that Extropy has made its share of mistakes, and those hard-won lessons are some of the most useful things to share.
The other difference is the people-first angle. Most industry conversations lead with technology and features. Extropy starts with people, purpose and process, then technology. As Mike puts it, the question isn’t whether AI can automate a process. It is what you do with the people, time and capacity you free up.
How does the Think Tank work?
- No vendors. No software providers, no commercials and no one evangelizing their system. Just practitioners, clients and industry voices.
- Member-led topics. Rather than a six-month agenda set by Extropy, topics come from the questions members care about most. Many early topics came directly from clients asking to talk with someone who had solved the same problem.
- Peer-level conversations. Sessions are grouped by topic, like procure-to-pay, order-to-cash or cash application, so members talk with peers who share the same pain points.
- Every stage of the journey. Whether you are planning your next transformation, mid-implementation or optimizing what you have, each stage has its own challenges to work through together.
- A safe space. Unlike the public podcast, sessions are only available to community members and are never used for marketing. Mike compares it to Chatham House rules: what is said in the room stays in the room.
The focus is finance transformation as a whole, with deep roots in procure-to-pay, where many of Extropy’s most mature clients are, and growing into order-to-cash and broader finance.
What will members get out of it?
Ravit’s promise is big ideas, real conversation and nothing that wastes your time. Whether you are a CFO, controller, AP manager, transformation lead or someone in the middle of an implementation, every session should give you something you can take back and use. And because the room includes outside practitioners and clients, not just Extropy, it is a real exchange, not an echo chamber.
Much of what members want to talk about isn’t covered by vendors or traditional advisory plans: how to prepare your team, what groundwork to lay before a change, which pitfalls to avoid and what others learned the hard way. As Ravit puts it, the future of finance transformation isn’t just about automating processes. It is about empowering people to achieve extraordinary things.
In their words
There’s no shortage of technology. The shortage is clear thinking about how to use it.
Ravit Gutman, Extropy Advisors
The question isn’t can AI automate a process, it probably can. The question is more, what do you do with the people and the time and the capacity that you free up?
Mike Jasper, Extropy Advisors
About the speakers
Ravit Gutman is Founder and CEO of Extropy Advisors, a women-owned finance transformation consultancy.
Mike Jasper is VP of Finance Transformation at Extropy Advisors, where he leads digital transformation and client success, working hands-on with clients to set success criteria, optimize their people, process and technology, and measure the results.
FAQ
What is the Extropy Think Tank?
The Extropy Think Tank is a members-only space for finance transformation practitioners to talk honestly with peers about what is working and what isn’t. There are no software vendors and no sales pitches. It is part of Transforming Out Loud, Extropy’s community for AP and finance leaders.
Are Think Tank conversations shared publicly?
No. Unlike the Extropy On AIr podcast, Think Tank sessions are only available to community members and are not used for marketing. Like Chatham House rules, what is said in the room stays in the room. Clients who want to share their success stories publicly can do that on the podcast instead.
Who should join the Extropy Think Tank?
CFOs, controllers, AP managers, transformation leads and anyone in the middle of an implementation. Sessions are grouped by topic so members talk with peers facing the same challenges, whether that is procure-to-pay, order-to-cash or cash application, and whether they are planning a transformation, mid-project or optimizing what they already have.
How do I join the Extropy Think Tank?
The Think Tank is part of the Transforming Out Loud community. Visit the community page at extropyadv.com/community to learn more and join, and connect with the Transforming Out Loud group on LinkedIn.
Join the conversation
The Extropy Think Tank is part of Transforming Out Loud, Extropy’s community for AP and finance leaders. Visit the community page to learn more and join, and connect with us in the Transforming Out Loud LinkedIn group.
