How much is outdated data, repetitive work, and disconnected systems quietly costing your business?
In this episode of Executive Connect, Melissa Aarskaug sits down with Zulfiya Forsythe, founder of Omadli, to discuss how businesses can turn scattered data and manual processes into systems that support faster, clearer decision-making.
Zulfiya shares how her own frustration with repetitive accounting work led her from accounting into technology and automation. She explains why real-time dashboards can expose problems before they become expensive, how internal knowledge tools can turn days of searching into seconds, and how AI voice agents can help service businesses capture opportunities they might otherwise miss.
The conversation also tackles one of the biggest mistakes companies make with AI: automating processes they do not fully understand. Zulfiya breaks down AI readiness, employee training, security, governance, ongoing monitoring, and the difference between problems that require AI and those that can be solved with simple automation.
For leaders overwhelmed by tools and hype, the takeaway is practical: understand the process first, eliminate what does not add value, and then automate what will genuinely make the business better.
What You Will Learn
- How Zulfiya went from accounting and spreadsheets into automation and technology
- Why stale data can lead companies to make decisions weeks too late
- How real-time dashboards create one source of truth across an organization
- How better visibility can reveal profitability, occupancy, collections, and operational issues faster
- How AI-powered knowledge tools can search years of internal documents in seconds
- Why voice agents can help service businesses capture and route incoming leads
- Why AI should remove repetitive frustration instead of simply replacing people
- How employee education, security, and guardrails support responsible AI adoption
- Why leaders should audit and understand a process before automating it
- How to distinguish between AI, business intelligence, and straightforward automation
Chapters
(0:17) From accounting frustration to automation
(4:24) What her first automation changed
(8:20) The hidden cost of outdated data
(11:02) How real-time dashboards improve decisions
(15:16) Dashboards, internal search, and AI agents
(19:07) Using AI to remove repetitive work
(22:11) Preparing teams for AI adoption
(25:37) What AI readiness really looks like
(27:27) The biggest automation mistakes
(29:37) Knowing when you actually need AI
Zulfiya Forsythe is an entrepreneur with a background in accounting, technology, data, and automation. A CPA by training, she began her career in accounting before discovering the power of coding and automated reporting while trying to eliminate repetitive month-end processes. That curiosity eventually led her into IT, where she developed experience with SQL, reporting, property management systems, and business intelligence.
Today, Zulfiya leads Omadli, helping construction and property management organizations make better use of their data through dashboards, automation, internal knowledge systems, and AI-powered workflows. Her approach emphasizes solving actual business problems before adding technology, creating clear processes, and giving teams tools that improve visibility, accuracy, productivity, and decision-making.
CONNECT with Zulfiya Forsythe
Website: https://www.omadligroup.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zulfiya-forsythe-akbarova-cpa-0214b98/
CONNECT with Executive Connect
Website: https://www.executiveconnectexperience.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-executive-connect/
Watch the full episode (and more) on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@ExecutiveConnect
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