#545 Michael Diegelmann - Warren Wise

Warren Wise is Michael Diegelmann's "agentic finance" tool for CFOs. It helps them pre-empt investor reactions to financial reports by simulating analysis from value investors (e.g., Warren Buffett). Summary of the Podcast Key Takeaways Warren Wise AI: A tool for CFOs to pre-empt investor reactions to financial reports by simulating analysis from value investors (e.g., Warren Buffett). Core Value Prop: Enables CFOs to control their narrative and protect share price by identifying hidden risks (e.g., pension liabilities) that human analysts miss. Business Model: A subscription service, priced to reflect its value as a "synthetic stakeholder" and a secure, stable alternative to generic LLMs. Future Roadmap: Expand with more "synthetic stakeholders" like "Georgina Gecko Green" (an ESG/greenwashing detective) to address evolving reporting standards. The Problem: Biased & Incomplete Financial Analysis The capital market's "buyer's roundabout" provides CFOs with biased feedback, creating a perception gap between their narrative and actual investor sentiment. Investment Bankers: Have a bias to sell M&A, capital raises, or bonds. Sell-Side Analysts: Have a bias to increase trading volume, resulting in an unrealistically high percentage of "buy" ratings (60–90%). Buy-Side Investors: Often distrust sell-side analysis and conduct their own deep dives, including into report footnotes, which CFOs cannot easily anticipate. The Solution: Warren Wise AI Concept: A "synthetic stakeholder" AI agent for CFOs to simulate analysis from value investors (e.g., Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Charlie Munger). Function: Analyzes pre-publication financial reports to provide unbiased feedback on how the market will perceive the data. Key Features: Risk Identification: Uncovers hidden patterns and potential issues (e.g., pension liabilities vs. cash reserves) that human analysts might miss. Narrative Control: Empowers CFOs to proactively sharpen their story and manage expectations, moving from reactive to active communication. Governance Support: Helps non-finance board members understand complex reports and footnotes, improving their oversight. Scenario Planning: Instantly models the impact of financial decisions (e.g., goodwill impairment) on debt structures. Business Model & Future Pricing: A subscription model with fees based on functions, not a low-cost SaaS. Rationale: The value delivered—a comprehensive assessment that could cost hundreds of thousands from a firm like KPMG—justifies a premium. Token Costs: Managed by a hybrid AI/coded architecture; generous token limits are planned, with a potential backdoor for excessive use. Security: Aiming for SOC 2 and ISO 27001 certifications to handle sensitive, undisclosed corporate data securely. Roadmap: Warren Wise is the first of several planned "synthetic stakeholders." Georgina Gecko Green: An ESG/greenwashing detective to address the growing importance of non-financial reporting (e.g., CSRD). Simon Chuck: A short-seller agent to provide a counter-narrative. The Next 100 Days Podcast Co-Hosts Graham Arrowsmith Graham founded Finely Fettled in 2014 to provide data from The UK High Net Worth Database to marketers targeting affluent and high-net-worth customers. He's the founder of MicroYES, a Partner for MeclabsAI, creating lead generation AI Agents & Workflows and introducing the MeclabsAI Platform. Graham is an inCruises Independent Partner, and is building up interest from people around the world in the World's Largest Travel Membership - inCruises. You can sign up and access 21,000+ cruises, hotels and tours by clicking HERE Kevin Appleby Kevin specialises in finance transformation and implementing business change. He's the COO of GrowCFO, which provides both community and CPD-accredited training designed to grow the next generation of finance leaders. You can find Kevin on LinkedIn and at kevinappleby.com