Strength In The Numbers Show

How can you take a DIY approach to enhancing your Finance assets to unlock value creation with your organisations? In this episode I share Part 2 of the conversation I had at a recent summit which goes through how top performing Finance teams are successfully taking a Do It Yourself (DIY) Approach to unlocking value creation and capture within their teams and organisations. Link to survey: https://www.avfww.com/begin #FinancialMentor #SITN #ValueCreation #Finance #AccountingAndAccountants

Monday Podcast: What approach do the most productive finance professionals and accountants use to managing their email inboxes? On a daily basis most finance professionals have to open, sort through, prioritise, and respond to the emails they find in their inboxes and if we’re not careful we can feel as if we’re also living inside those inboxes and never get any real work done. So imagine if you had an easy to adopt system that takes not even 20 minutes to set up that will help you effectively prioritise and respond to email for the rest of your finance and accounting careers? In this bite-sized episode I share some thoughts on one approach shown to me that I’ve found useful and how I’ve adapted it to manage my email in much less time than others. Link to training video mentioned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE6E5WX5AJM #FinancialMentor #SITN #ValueCreation #Finance #AccountingAndAccountants

Are you doing this one thing that the most influential finance professionals are doing? Recently, I got to speak about this ‘one’ thing at a World Virtual Finance Summit, when I shared my thoughts that whilst finance professionals are typically great at preserving value, we could be much better at Unlocking Value Creation and Capture in the organisations we support. In this episode I share Part 1 of the conversation which goes through why a lot of us are perhaps not fully contributing our full value creation potential, and how our leaders, although well-meaning, are perhaps focussing too much on changing our behaviour as opposed to taking a more sustainable and effect strengths-based approach. #FinancialMentor #SITN #ValueCreation #Finance #AccountingAndAccountants

As a finance professional are there any ways you carve out an extra few hours to make a bigger impact on those things that matter most? We all have the same 24 hours in a day and I was asked recently how I remain productive in spite of all the extra non-core work commitments I take on. Financial professionals and accountants tend to be a very reactive bunch, after all, whether we work in an organisational setting responding to stakeholders’ emails or in practice being on hand to service our clients requests for advice, we’re essentially a support function, hence our reactive natures, and as such our days can pass without us really knowing how much of a difference we’ve really made. So imagine if you could carve out an extra few hours to make a bigger impact, to make sure you’re becoming more influential and solving those problems that really matter most? In this bite-sized episode I share some thoughts on how I handle email, which allows me to gain additional time back to deliver value that matters most to

What’s the biggest compliment you’ve ever received as a finance professional? One of the highest compliments we can receive is to be asked back to a business with might have worked with previously or to continue to partner with our clients and stakeholders. Today’s guest mentor, Wayne Ackerman, has “being asked back” as a common theme running through his career, and together on this episode we also deconstruct: • On how to go from good to very good and the power of positively responding to criticism; • Keeping your sanity when helping grow a business form $65m to $350m; and • How getting yelled at helps people feel better if handled right. If you enjoyed this episode, check out our time-stamped show notes, key quotes, resources and ways to connect with our guest mentor and more at sitnshow.com/podcast/144. #FinancialMentor #SITN #ValueCreation #Finance #AccountingAndAccountants

As finance professionals we know that better decisions should lead to better financials, so how confident are you that you are driving these better, more confident decisions? In this bite-sized episode I go through a model shared with me by Paul Husbands at a recent analytics forum. If you enjoyed this episode check out our website for further episodes and guest mentor interviews at https://sitnshow.com/ #FinancialMentor #SITN #ValueCreation #Finance #AccountingAndAccountants

Have you ever wondered how a recruiter perceives finance, the changes within finance, and how to plan your career? I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Jonathan Evans, who is very different to the stereotypical finance recruiter who offers insights on the following (and more!): • The critical changes happening in finance and how finance professionals needs to approach this change • The increasing importance of technical skills despite automation • The approach to career planning all finance professionals need to take • Planning around networking with recruiters If you enjoyed this episode, check out our time-stamped show notes, key quotes, resources and ways to connect with our guest mentor and more at sitnshow.com/podcast/142. #FinanceMentor #SITN #ValueCreation #Finance #AccountingAndAccountants

How do you prioritise your time like the most successful in finance & business? As finance professionals we all tend to be pretty busy and sometimes it can feel that there’s simply not enough hours in the day to get all the work done however some people have found a tool that helps them get more done in their time. In this bite-sized episode I go through the most popular and successful tool I've shared with others called, the Timebox. #FinancialMentor #SITN #ValueCreation #Finance #AccountingAndAccountants

With finance professionals being told to ‘be more like consultants’ where should we start? So I invited the in demand founder and CEO of Proservartner, Rakesh Sangani, to help us deconstruct what practitioner-led consulting looks like, why consultants have a bad reputation and 3 ways finance professionals can do it better. On this episode we also deconstruct: • The concept of low cost, quick and dirty, experimentation and the importance of overcoming our fear in finance of getting things wrong; • Why it’s easy to be cynical of finance digitalisation and how to successfully bring it on board; and • 6 Questions on how to operationalise a more useful vision for Finance. If you enjoyed this episode, check out our time-stamped show notes, key quotes, resources and ways to connect with our guest mentor and more at sitnshow.com/podcast/140. #FinancialMentor #SITN #ValueCreation #Finance #AccountingAndAccountants

Are you concerned about the dangerous divisions appearing in Finance & Accounting? A recent visit to Berlin, and the old East and West sides of the city resonated with the number of leaders in Finance talking about focusing our efforts on one part of Finance (advisory/partnering) at the risk of losing sight of the other (compliance/controllership). In this bite-sized episode I share some thoughts on the implications of this dangerous division and what we can do about it. #FinancialMentor #SITN #ValueCreation #Finance #AccountingAndAccountants

What would you say or do if you had the opportunity to ask a true master at delivering multiple world class Finance Transformations how they did it all, particularly given how important staying ahead, or even keeping up with the pace of change today is for finance professionals? Luckily, I had that chance recently when I got to record this podcast with Google’s EMEA Finance Director Niall O’Sullivan and together on this episode we deconstruct: • How you get handed a €1 billion global transformation program and be the business finance guy that leads it; • 3 key focus areas where finance professionals can help drive successful change; and • Why the role of the traditional accountant is gone although the importance of the discipline of our core audit & accounting skills is higher than ever. If you enjoyed this episode, check out our time-stamped show notes, key quotes, resources and ways to connect with our guest mentor and more at sitnshow.com/podcast/138. #FinancialMentor #SITN #ValueCreation #Finance

As a finance professional are you busy preserving value or are you creating value? Traditionally Finance has been about preserving and safeguarding value for shareholders, in fact we’ve developed an amazing ability to develop compliance checks and control procedures, however if we wish to remain relevant and be involved in solving meaningful problems for our organisations we need to be able to practically create value for them. In this bite-sized episode I share some thoughts on my favourite model that can help deconstruct value creation for Finance from a recent book I edited. #FinancialMentor #SITN #ValueCreation #Finance #AccountingAndAccountants

Is gaining international experience important? I mean do the long term benefits outweigh the short term inconveniences involved, particularly when our finance world is meant to be getting more flat and "glocal"? So on today’s episode guest mentor Simon Kelly and I deconstruct 2 steps on how to approach taking on an international assignment and useful questions to answer as well as a surprising truth about a career progression benefit of doing so, as well as: • The 3 key qualities to be successful at interim roles • How to summon up the courage to build a single source of truth. • The benefits of embracing failure, the importance of supporting managers and benefits of working with sales people and the mindset of options. If you enjoyed this episode, check out our time-stamped show notes, key quotes, resources and ways to connect with our guest mentor and more at sitnshow.com/podcast/136. #FinancialMentor #SITN #ValueCreation #Finance #AccountingAndAccountants

Could Finance Be Better At Taking It's Own Medicine? We’ve recently come through the season of colds, flu and coughs, and usually in these scenarios, we're advised to rest up and take medicine, although how many of us do. But when it comes to a loved one, we're much more likely to ensure and demand that they take their medicine and get better. In this bite-sized episode I share my thoughts how in Finance, although we're very good at prescribing medicine, we could be better at taking it ourselves. #FinancialMentor #SITN #ValueCreation #Finance #AccountingAndAccountants

How useful is the FP&A department in Creating Value for their Business? In a recent Finance Trends survey 70% of CFOs named the FP&A (financial planning and analysis) function a top priority to transform and gain more value from. So how to make it happen? On this episode we share with you how 4 of our guest mentors have learned how to position FP&A to create more value for their enterprises, not just for today but also to benefit from developments into the future. The guest mentors and the episodes are: • Richard E. Reinderhoff #104 • Ken Fick #050 • Larysa Melnychuk #070 • Rob Trippe #094 If you enjoyed this episode, check out our time-stamped show notes, key quotes, resources and ways to connect with our guest mentor and more at sitnshow.com/podcast/134. #FinancialMentor #SITN #ValueCreation #Finance #AccountingAndAccountants

Following a recent Future of Finance Summit one of the previous guest mentors on the show Johannes Vogel shared with me his House Of Finance model. In this bite-sized episode I describe how we can better get our houses in order so that we can begin to become more influential and be involved in solving meaningful problems for our organisations. #FinancialMentor #SITN #ValueCreation #Finance #AccountingAndAccountants

Did you know that when we’re anxious we get sweaty palms however this is also the same sensation in our bodies when we are excited. So with all the disruption going on around us in finance how do we change the drivers to get a more 'excited' outcome and not get left behind? On today’s episode guest mentor Khaled Chowdhury and I deconstruct why it’s okay to be a little alarmed and how to best invest in our most important asset as finance professionals, ourselves, as well as: • The advantages of being trained by sales and wise leaders. • The most valuable resource we can give back to the business and an example that drove 50% more sales • A practical approach that we can use in finance to help navigate and accelerate the learning process to acquire experience faster. • We deconstruct the 3 components of habits and how to change them to deliver better outcomes. If you enjoyed this episode, check out our time-stamped show notes, key quotes, resources and ways to connect with our guest mentor and more at sit

What does the future of finance look like? Recently I had the pleasure to speak at the Future of Finance & CFO summit as well interact with other leaders in accounting & finance at the Hurlingham Club London, England. In this bite-sized episode I share with you 5 key takeaways for finance professionals to watch out for so we can become more influential and be involved in solving meaningful problems for our organisations. #FinancialMentor #SITN #ValueCreation #Finance #AccountingAndAccountants

When it comes to your spreadsheets do you have a good one version of the truth? Because given the use of spreadsheets in Finance are so pervasive we can really hurt our credibility as accountants and finance professionals if we don’t have the right numbers. That’s why we're joined by today’s guest mentor Brian Donnelly who leads a fintech company and who shares many stories from his customer encounters (who are mainly accountants and finance leaders) as to how to overcome some of the challenges with the pervasiveness of spreadsheets both on the technology & process sides as well as more importantly with our people. We also discuss: • The two minimum criteria to look for when hiring in great people. • Why the entire world of Finance is built upon spreadsheets and the tension between Finance & IT. • Why Finance is guilty of underselling its impact. If you enjoyed this episode, check out our time-stamped show notes, key quotes, resources and ways to connect with our guest mentor and more at sitnshow.com/

Monday Podcast: How do you give financial advice? Whilst some of us accountants and finance professionals may be quite robotic and machine-like when it comes to our jobs the majority of us still have been endowed with 5 senses, you know sight, smell, taste, hearing and touch. But when was the last time you used all of these to give better financial advice? In this bite-sized episode I share with you some thoughts on how by being aware of our senses can help us deliver a bigger impact when we share financial advice and insights. #FinancialMentor #SITN #ValueCreation #Finance #AccountingAndAccountants