Strength In The Numbers Show

How important are good communication skills for Finance professionals? Often as finance professionals we demonstrate our strength in the numbers however given the importance of communication in a fast changing and more virtual world how often do we demonstrate our strength with words? Today’s guest mentor Shruti Kapoor joins Wei Chien Yoong and myself to share a number of practical insights how we can improve our strength of our word to build confidence, trust and credibility: • The importance of humor and tailoring insights to get them across to decision-makers • How meetings are not a time to show off but to get alignment • Her experience as a disc jockey (DJ) • How food can build common ground and generate conversations 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/128. #FinancialMentor #SITN #ValueCreation #Finance #AccountingAndAccountants

s Your Finance Hierarchy Structured for Valued Impact Today & Tomorrow? I'm off to the Future Of Finance #FOF Summit in London, England and looking forward to learning more about emerging finance technologies, processes and how fellow professionals and leaders are positioning themselves to become more influential as well as go onto solve the most meaningful challenges for their organisations. In this bite-sized episode I share with you some thoughts on how our finance hierarchies are emerging from traditional to newer forms to create and capture more value for our organisations today and tomorrow. #FinancialMentor #SITN #ValueCreation #Finance #AccountingAndAccountants

Are you using Lean Six Sigma to Improve Your Finance & Accounting processes? Given Finance have a long history in compliance, access to data, decision-makers, affinity for numbers, metrics, and generally great visibility across their organisations Finance are very well positioned to benefit from using Lean Six Sigma (LSS) but how many of us are indeed leveraging LSS tools & methods to become more influential and make a meaningful impact. On this week’s episode of #SITN Mitan Patel & Ben Wann walk through what the mentality of six sigma & continuous improvement looks like, as well as covering, the importance of getting complete buy-in on your projects and some very interesting thoughts on the advantages and benefits of job-hopping. 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/126. #FinancialMentor #SITN #ValueCreation #Finance #AccountingAndAccountants

“It’s not you, it’s me” is an often clichéd break up phrase for those you had been in longer term relationships and this also presents a timely reminder to finance professionals when trying to better influence decision makers and avoid ending up up with broken hearts when our efforts fall short. In this bite-sized episode I share with you two of the key reasons why this can happen to finance professionals as well as a model on how to better adapt your approach to the 4 different decision making styles. #FinancialMentor #SITN #ValueCreation #Finance #AccountingAndAccountants

What’s the one thing the top performers in finance avoid that helps them make a meaningful impact? Given Finance are typically the keepers of the keys to the financial health of an organisation it’s no wonder then that when the business needs information to be successful they reach out to their finance teams. However this can lead to finance professionals having a very reactive mindset which is what the top performers avoid. Instead they are proactively investing to further themselves and their stakeholders and this is just one of the topics this week’s guest mentor Stan Besko and I discuss, as well as covering: • We deconstruct Stan’s “Invest In Yourself” and the simple step we as individuals and leaders can take. • Why organisations perhaps invest less in the development of their finance staff than say other departments or executives. • Great practical advice on how to become a catalyst for change and the trap of falling back on the status quo. If you enjoyed this episode, check out our time-stamped show

A fellow finance professional asked me a couple weeks ago what are the key skills required to become a fantastic accountant, and rather focus on skills per se I suggested they focus on mastering 3 disciplines? So what are these three disciplines and how do they help you become a fantastic accountant? In this bite-sized episode I share with you what these three key disciplines are as well as 3 ways on how we can improve and develop them. #FinancialMentor #SITN #ValueCreation #Finance #AccountingAndAccountants

How seriously do you take your financial data management? Because with some sources comparing good quality data to the new oil that is powering better decisons-making in our organisations then it’s probably important as finance professionals we know how to better manage and optimise our own data. Today’s guest mentor Irina Steenbeek and I deconstruct a number of steps on how we can improve how we do this and we also discuss: • The idea of data lineage and Irina deconstructs for us the Information Value Chain concept and the importance of optimising it. • Two reasons why finance professionals ideally placed to improve data quality. • Why some data elements are more critical than others and how to identify them. 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/122. #FinancialMentor #SITN #ValueCreation #Finance #AccountingAndAccountants

Have you the attunement advantage? There’s been a lot said and written about emotional intelligence, in particular the old saying that before we can walk in another person’s shoes we must first remove our own. However, as finance business partners we also know that whilst it’s important to understand our business partners’ needs, wants and desires we’re also entrusted by the broader business to ensure we keep some perspective so that we all don’t lose our shoes in the process, so what can we do? In this bite-sized episode I share 3 ways So how can we improve and develop our attunement advantage. #FinancialMentor #SITN #ValueCreation #Finance #AccountingAndAccountants

Are you one of the 9 out of 10 accountants that people avoid at dinner parties? Well this is the damming survey result on how poorly finance professionals are at communication and today's guest mentor Rhondalynn Korolak and I deconstruct a number of steps on how we can improve our communication styles to build better leverage and better create value for our clients and organisations. We also discuss • Why financial illiteracy in SMEs is a big problem for us accountants and how we’re not making it simple enough for people to understand the numbers, the huge dilemma we face and opportunity for us if we do it better; and • The importance of Pricing Value as opposed to the more detrimental approach of Value or Value-based Pricing. 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/120. #FinancialMentor #SITN #ValueCreation #Finance #AccountingAndAccountants

What key lessons did you learn in the last year? In December 2017 I took a journey into the unknown as I’d launched the #SITN Strength in the Numbers Podcast to create more influential finance professionals who solve meaningful problems for their organisations and to have more fun & rewarding careers. A year later, having reached 115 episodes and 15k downloads/views a month, I have learned a number of key lessons a long the way both about our finance profession and me personally. In this bite-sized episode I share 5 of them. https://youtu.be/qREQvYwoiGM #FinancialMentor #SITN #ValueCreation #Finance #AccountingAndAccountants

Are you really proving your full value as an accountant? There are two types of people this question applies to. The first are those who are worried that automation is going on to displace their current roles and there are those who want to practically know how we can be creating and capturing even more value for our organisations. On today’s episode guest mentor Elizabeth Hale and I deconstruct and go through a number of real examples on how we can continually prove our value as accountants and finance professionals as well as: • Why a career in accounting & finance can be a wild ride. • The five main things business owners are really looking for from their accountants. • How we can practically become that business partner / financial mentor they are looking for. • How to adopt a solution and continually proving your value mindset. 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/118. #

What book would you recommend finance professionals read? Whilst there are still very few books out there on Finance Business Partnering and Finance Mentoring there are so many others available that detail the broader trends and business skills necessary to be a successful finance business partner. So where does an aspiring finance professionals begin their search for knowledge? Here are 5 books I consider as the best bang for your buck to start with. In this bite-sized episode I outline the 5 books I consider as the best bang for your buck to start with. #FinancialMentor #SITN #ValueCreation #Finance #AccountingAndAccountants

As we approach 2019, there have been many advances in technology & tools that have also shifted upwards the expectations upon finance professionals, so nowadays what does it take to become a fantastic accountant? So we thought we’d ask James Perry, the Accounting Exam Coach, Anders Liu-Lindberg, cofounder of the Business Partnering Institute and Andrew Codd, Founder and Producer of the Strength in the Numbers Show to offer some practical advice to answer this question, as well as: • On defining what an accountant is • On why there will still be a need for accountants but the future will be very different for them. • The importance of discovering what you enjoy doing and softer skills. 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/116. #FinancialMentor #SITN #ValueCreation #Finance #AccountingAndAccountants

There are two types of accountant and finance professional, those that ensure the appropriate controls and compliance are in place so that the numbers are accurate and consistent – let’s call this preserving value, and then there are those who are coming out from behind their desks, engaging with the business on meaningful problems, solving them, being a trusted sparring partner and financial mentor – let’s call this creating and capturing more value. So what’s stopping us all doing this? In this bite-sized episode I outline some practical thoughts on why this is the case as well as some antidotes to overcome these value blockers. #FinancialMentor #SITN #ValueCreation #Finance #AccountingAndAccountants

Could we be doing better to leverage younger talent in Finance to unlock more sustainable value in our organisations? I mean it’s easy for those of us who have been around finance and the business for a long time to get stuck in our ways, however our next generation offer younger, fresher minds, without the constraints of what’s possible and what’s not, particularly with new technologies, and may just be the key to unlocking even higher levels of value that Finance can drive in our organisations. This is just one of the many topics our guest mentor Marcus Thelwell and I cover on this week’s episode as well as: • Three things new entrants to finance can do immediately to start unlocking value for organisations. • Why we need to be more than our stereotypical image and the main things new entrants should be interested in. • A great example on how to keep newer finance professionals motivated to run mundane finance processes. • How having conversations to identify a common interest can boost your career s

How to fix the leaky roof in the Finance Department? In a survey from earlier this year 95% finance leaders said they experienced a skill-gap in the finance function, however telling finance professionals to change behaviours alone is not going to address this gap. In this bite-sized episode I share some practical thoughts on why this is not acceptable, common mistakes, and one easy way to start fixing such skills gaps in finance. Access the Value Potential Pulse Diagnostic at: www.avfww.com/begin #FinancialMentor #SITN #ValueCreation #Finance #AccountingAndAccountants

Is it possible for the Finance department to grow a business as much as teams like say sales, marketing or operations? There’s still a perception out there that it you’re going to grow the company you’re going to grow it through sales however our guest mentor on this week’s episode Brett Bourgon has seen and experienced two sides of this argument. Brett is a qualified accountant that has led both sales and finance teams and covers some very useful areas that may help us better answer this question such as: • The biggest challenge of stepping out of Finance into a sales leadership role, but also how we can get more ready to do so. • Great practical advice on how finance professionals can get more recognition from their business partners and better control their own image. • The importance of mentors and development in climbing our own Mount Everests’. https://youtu.be/DHtoKtrPQhQ?t=34 #FinancialMentor #SITN #ValueCreation #Finance #AccountingAndAccountants

Who in Finance are getting all the promotions? In my experience of watching and helping talented accounting professionals evolve as leaders and ‘move to the top’ they really cut through with promotions and trust in their business. Why is this the case? In this bite-sized episode I shed some light on who are getting the promotions and some thoughts on why they are being successful by using results from the value potential pulse app. Access the Value Potential Pulse Diagnostic at: www.avfww.com/begin #FinancialMentor #SITN #ValueCreation #Finance #AccountingAndAccountants

With 26% of Top European CFOs becoming CEOs is it possible for finance professionals to take on other top CXO roles in business? Our guest mentor on this week’s episode Ed Harding who although a chartered accountant by training, has worn many hats inside and outside of finance, including CFO, CEO, COO, he’s what you could call a CXO. Ed shares with us a quite fascinating career journey and because of this there are fantastic bits of practical advice and famous names from the world of business dotted throughout this episode. Ed also takes us through: • The biggest challenges he faced when stepping out of Finance into non-Finance related roles. • How he has constructed his career story into 4 pillars to make it an easier job to sell his value to potential recruiters. • Why volunteering is important and Ed’s story behind the learnings involved with being the chief financial geek for the incubator Hack Forward. • The idea of intelligent simplicity. If you enjoyed this episode, check out our time-stamped s

I’ve mentioned previously the six value generating assets in Finance, so how can we enhance and nurture them so that they can be adapted to your business environment as it evolves? I share in this bite-sized episode, some simple tools that can do this particularly in the asset areas of social intelligence and engagement. Access the Value Potential Pulse Diagnostic at: https://www.avfww.com/begin #FinancialMentor #SITN #ValueCreation #Finance #AccountingAndAccountants