David Den Boer traces the origins of the EPM Summit to a pattern he kept seeing across projects. “Sometimes the error is not necessarily beginning in the project,” he tells us, “but in the way they selected the product.” Too often, he observed, finance teams were locked into technology decisions before fully understanding their requirements—or their alternatives.

That realization reshaped how he thought about impact. While Den Boer says he enjoys solving customer problems through implementations, he began to focus on “slower, moving bigger problems,” including gaps in thought leadership and how organizations evaluate EPM solutions in the first place. The Summit, he tells us, was designed to address that upstream decision-making moment.

He draws on experience hosting EPM-focused events beginning in 2009, after SAP acquired OutlookSoft. At large vendor conferences with “hundreds of products,” he explains, it was difficult for EPM practitioners to get focused answers, connect with peers, or evaluate options objectively. As legacy platforms declined, customers increasingly asked him where to go next—and how to choose wisely.

That question has only intensified with AI. Den Boer tells us finance teams are now being asked to rethink processes “from a first principles perspective.” Without that reset, he warns, organizations risk “just bolting on AI” to workflows that haven’t fundamentally changed in decades.

The EPM Summit reflects that conviction. Den Boer says he personally curates content to avoid “glossy marketing stuff,” relying instead on practitioners who have delivered dozens—or hundreds—of projects. Panels, hands-on product access, and difficult vendor questions are all designed to give finance leaders what they rarely get: clarity before commitment. In an era of expanding choice, the Summit is built around a simple idea—better decisions start earlier.