Strength In The Numbers Show

How many languages do you really need to know to be a good finance professional? It's generally accepted that we're pretty handy with reporting and analysing the numbers, but are we using the right language when talking about them? Our guest mentor Steve Rosvold founder of CFO.University helps us understand why we need to become multilingual and how we can practically go about it so we can experience more success in accounting & finance. Other key points we cover in this episode are: • Steve shares the key skill involved in building relationships. • the 3 languages that help us make a difference to the businesses and communities we serve. • The role of finance professionals and accountants as teachers. 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/048

Join the debate! The debaters: Lance (83kg 6 ft) vs. Chris (110 kg 6 ft 2) South Africa vs. England Wing/Flank vs. Lock/8th man Speed vs. Power Modeler vs. Analyst If you haven’t heard of the outcry for the death of Excel then you must be living under a rock. This highly emotive topic has gained a lot of high profile media attention, fake news and even changed the views of many finance professionals all the way up to the C-suite and Wall Street. It’s so dramatic this shift in sentiment that it’s almost hard to tell who is actually right or wrong and what to do next in Finance Transformation. There are very compelling arguments for and against. So rather than debate it online Chris and Lance go head to head in a gloves off session. If you enjoyed this episode check out other guest mentor interviews at sitnshow.com and comments on the Excel Debate at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/excel-dead-lance-rubin/

What do all the changes and digital disruption really mean for those with careers in accounting and finance? I mean what should we be doing and looking out for? Well our guest mentor Nilly Essaides provides some relevant insights and key data points that will help finance talent be more informed and take more charge over their careers during this period of digital transformation in Finance. Key Points we cover on this Episode: • 3 key trends Nilly is seeing in the data that Finance need to be aware of. • Words of encouragement for those scared of digital finance transformation changes. • What world class companies are doing to empower employees in digital transformation. • The biggest gap she sees right now between skills maturity and skill importance in 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/046.

I often get asked what is a Finance Business Partner and what it is that they do? So imagine you're at a dinner party, network event or explaining it to a family member, how would you describe it? So on this episode I share a 5 step approach that describes who finance business partners serve, their 3 most urgent needs, what they do, and the deeper core benefit they bring. If you enjoyed this episode check out our other longer guest mentor interviews and resources at sitnshow.com

As much as we may all think that there are many different types of financial models, there really are only two: those that despite our blood, sweat and tears don't get used to drive better decision making; and then there are those that do, that really get used to inform decisions that make a positive impact for our organisations. Today's guest mentor Lance Rubin shares with us some practical advice we can all start doing now with our financial modelling to drive more value and better decisions in our business. Some of the key points from the episode are: • The 3 skills Lance developed to make his models more impactful. • Describes some baby steps to raise your financial modelling skills. • The 5 building blocks to be a successful Financial Modeller. 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/044.

There’s an old saying “It’s easier to climb small stairs than to jump big walls.” The aim of our Strength in the Numbers Show is to create more influential accountants and finance professionals all over the world who make an impact by solving meaningful problems for their organisations. So on this episode I share a way we can be more influential and create a bigger impact. If you enjoyed this episode check out our guest mentor interviews at sitnshow.com/podcasts

What is the most important investment you can make in your Accounting & Finance career? Well our guest mentor Nigel Franklyn provides the answer. Nigel is a speaker and thought leader as well as the creator of Me Inc. which is really about how we can be more productive, being our best selves and make better use of our energy in Accounting & Finance. Key Points From the Episode: • 4 lessons he learned as an athlete and brought into his career. • Your supervisor’s amazing superpower and how he’s trying to stamp it out. • Shares his concept Me Inc that he delivered to an AICPA Controllers Conference. • Why he embraces the creativity of the younger employees in 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/042.

One of the key ways Finance & Accounting teams can remain relevant is to contribute valued insights that are delivered to the right people, in the right way and at the right time. I’ve written previously about what valued insights look like and now I’ll share a bit more in this episode about how Finance teams should better organise to deliver them. If you enjoyed this week's Monday Memo please checkout our other episodes and longer guest mentor interviews, blogs, videos, and detailed show notes at https://sitnshow.com/

There are two futures open to finance professionals and accountants, the first is where we remain functional and slowly but surely have our roles downsized, offshored, or even replaced by robots who can do the work much more cheaply and efficiently. Or the other future where we continue to be seen as relevant, are adding value to our businesses and those around us and in turn making an impact, creating more opportunities and having fun, rewarding and successful careers in accounting & finance. Well our guest mentor on this week's podcast is Chris Argent, a “Future of Finance” Thought Leader and Founder of Generation CFO which is one of the more active, ‘must-go-to’ peer groups for accountants and finance professionals on LinkedIn and has 66,000 members all over the world, which examines new trends in finance transformation, digital transformation, CFO role revolution and the growth of the modern strategic business partner. In this episode we cover: • How and why Generation CFO has grown to 67,000 members •

As a parent, I love telling my children stories and as an accounting & finance professional I enjoy helping management safeguard the company’s assets and also identify suitable opportunities that create value for shareholders. So it’s great when there’s a story I can share in both realms, like “There’s No Such Thing as a Dragon” by Jack Kent to get the underlying messages across. On the surface, it’s a really simple tale but has 4 practical applications to finance & accounting professionals that I share in this episode. If you enjoyed this week's Monday Memo please checkout our other episodes and longer guest mentor interviews, blogs, videos, and detailed show notes at https://sitnshow.com/

There are two types of people who progress their careers in finance and accounting, those that do it the wrong way, get frustrated and ultimately burn-out and those that do it in a much more useful, rewarding, win-win way for their businesses and themselves. And our guest mentor, Angela Ho who is senior vice president and principal accounting officer at OceanFirst Bank is one of those people doing it the right way. On this episode Angela shares with us: • 2 ways to display confidence in your role. • The mindset shift to contribute more to the top-line. • Shares loads of practical guidance for young female executives wishing to progress their careers. • How to remain goal-oriented but not lose sight of what’s important in life as well. 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/038.

One of my favourite movies of all time is Forrest Gump, ever since I first watched it on a rented videotape when it was released nearly 25 years ago. I also imagine it was other people’s favourite movie that year, it was a commercial success grossing more than $1bn at the box office (in today’s money), a 12x return on investment in its first year, and is one of the most quoted movies of all time. So now that I look back on it there are six the lessons the main character, Forrest Gump, taught and learned which can also provide useful guidance for finance and accounting professionals and I cover these in this short episode. If you enjoyed what you heard check out our website sitnshow.com for more short podcasts, guest mentor interviews, blogs, videos and other resources to help you make an impact in your organisations and have a fun, rewarding and successful career in accounting & finance. Also subscribe to our feeds on iTunes, YouTube, Soundcloud, and Stitcher.

There are two types of people in Finance & Accounting, those who struggle to keep up with all the changing work requirements, new digital technologies and how best to keep up with it all, and those you see to have a good fit between making an impact work whilst also being happy with how their careers are progressing. The difference between these two types is ultimately knowing how to develop a better balance and fit between your work and your life. Today's guest mentor Talita Ferreira is a high-achieving former CFO who is also the founder and CEO of Authentic Change Solutions which is a Management Consultancy centred on a philosophy of Authenticity and Authentic Change. In this episode we cover: • The two main challenges for the CFOs she mentors. • Top tip on how to deal with Fear and Vulnerability in Finance. • Why the route to HR is important to Finance (either partnering or leading). • Deconstructs her POWER model to become more Authentic Leaders. If you enjoyed this episode, check out our time-stamped

Recently a fellow finance thought leader shared with me a story of a CFO he was working with at a large multinational who's Finance team were now more accepting of making mistakes and errors in order to better figure out how to best prepare to add value for their businesses today and into the future. How uplifting and audacious but isn’t this paradoxical given Finance and Accounting's perceived values of accuracy & completeness? In this Monday Memo I share why both are important as well as 3 ways failure can actually help Finance add value to the business. If you enjoyed this episode check us out at sitnshow.com

There's a lot being written about the disruption of digital technologies in finance, but what can we be practically doing about them. Our guest mentor this week is Johannes Vogel, Director Finance Strategy & Digital CFO Services at BearingPoint, who helps show us the way. Key Points From the Episode: • Excellent summary of the 4 digital technologies that are the biggest disrupters to accounting and finance. • Practical Steps Finance can begin to take to start adding more value from digital technologies. • List of a number of areas around what we should be expecting our CFOs to be considering when it comes to setting digital finance strategy. 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/034.

Kintsugi (“golden joinery”) is the Japanese art of repairing broken objects with a precious metal such as gold. Instead of hiding such cracks and imperfections they are accepted and it’s acknowledged repairs will need to happen from time to time. And once these flaws are fixed they are then regarded as a unique piece of the object’s history which adds to its value. Similarly, as part of our roles in finance we report out and analyse where cracks our businesses might be occurring, if there are variations to plan, last year, forecast, if there’s compliance issues or even if there are bottlenecks appearing in the value chain that we may need to bring to the attention of others, intervene on to help fix so that they contribute more value back to the business. In this episode I share 3 methods to borrowed from kintsugi to deconstruct and unlock value in our business' value chains. If you liked this episode check out our other interviews with guest mentors, blogs, videos and more resources at sitnshow.com

Looking for some inspiration on how to be more successful and make a bigger impact in your accounting & finance career? Then you need to listen to this episode. We’ve had some amazing stories and ideas from the Guest Mentors on the show so far and in the process we’ve reached listeners in 94 countries. So as a way of celebrating our 30th podcast we’ve selected their best bits of advice from 4 Guest Mentors from 4 different continents, which had they had known earlier would have probably given them a jumpstart to more success, fun and impact in their accounting and finance careers. If you only listened to one episode this week you would not be disappointed with this one. • Anders Liu Lindberg Episode #002: The importance of relationship building for the finance professional. • Kelly McCleary Episode #012: How To Become Effective Leaders in Accounting & Finance. • Brad Eisenhuth Episode #016: Becoming an Outperformer in Finance & Accounting Part II. • Chidimma Eghagha Episode #020: Demystifying the Numbers to

Sometimes accountants like to let our hair down so last weekend I was out with my wife in the capital city and we went to a nightclub. Whilst we were queuing to get in I observed something that gave me an idea about how we can improve our impact within our businesses as well as the fun & rewards we get from our careers. It has to do with their policy at the door, you know, what customers they let in, what some might call their red velvet rope policy. I share in this podcast and video some practical steps on how knowing your red velvet rope policy can increase you business impact and advance your career. If you enjoyed this episode check out our other guest mentor podcasts, videos, blogs and resources at sitnshow.com

Our guest mentor today has a number of amazing stories to share as well as of some of those he's helped. James Perry is a chartered accountant and owner of jamesperryexamcoaching.com where he offers his clients around the world a unique and fresh perspective to succeed in their exams and reach their potential in their careers. Key Points From the Episode: • Where his passion for exam coaching came from and the story behind why’s he’s so passionate about helping others through the process. • The first question he asks his exam coaching clients that we should all know the answer to if we want to have fun, rewarding and successful careers. • A number of practical tips to improve your finance & accounting exam and career success. 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/030.

Previously on our Strength in the Numbers Show I’ve discussed and covered the two megatrends in accounting & finance, digitisation and finance business partnering and why it’s important for us to understand the impact of these on traditional accounting & finance, but how do we help others see the importance of these, let alone help them change? This was one of the questions that one of our listeners messaged me with, the Finance team where they worked were “quite pedestrian” and “100% focussed on current results, not the future or business partnering”. I share some practical thoughts on how to do this in this podcast and video. If you enjoyed this episode, check more resources, blogs, videos, podcasts with guest mentors and more at sitnshow.com.