Strength In The Numbers Show

“Everything is about thinking ahead, looking ahead where you want to go, before you actually go to that meeting or meet that person or take that action. So always be prepared and look ahead.” Great advice from this week's guest mentor Cecile Francais who shares with us: - The importance of seizing opportunities - How finance professionals can best engage with people and challenge existing practice - Why we should trust not only our training but also our intuition about the data Check out sitnshow.com/ for detailed time stamped show notes, transcripts, links to resources and more guest mentor episodes and Monday Memos. #financementor #financecareer

What has the financializaton of traditional industries mean for finance teams? Over the last couple decades there has been an increasing financialization of entire industries with the emergence of Airbnb; Uber; Amazon; Netflix and so on where a lot of companies that don't necessarily own assets or generate profits in the same way as traditional companies used to but have nonetheless fetched very high market valuations. In this bite-sized episode I share some of the risks and opportunities this presents for the modern finance team. #FinanceMentor #SITN

“Knowing your craft, that's table stakes, there's no substitute for hard work. But rolling up your sleeves and being collaborative with other people is a real art.” According to today’s guest mentor Sebastian Grady, who also helps us deconstruct on the #sitn podcast: - Why is software so valuable today and some ways of maximising ROI from it. - The relationships between CFOs and CIOs, how these have evolved during the last year. - His personal experiences with Fortune 100 CIOs particularly how the pandemic has accelerated them making things happen during the past year that would have otherwise taken much longer. - Key insights from their recent global finance survey of 1572 CFOs and finance leaders - The importance of doubling down on the business case. Check out https://sitnshow.com/ for detailed time stamped show notes, transcripts, links to resources and more guest mentor episodes and Monday Memos. #financementor #Insights

“Why Do Chief Data Officers Fail?” This was the headline of an article I read during the week and got me thinking since finance professionals rely so much on data too are there any signals or traps we need to be aware of so we don’t make the same mistakes. #FinanceMentor #SITN

“It doesn't matter whether you're right or wrong, it only matters how much you lose when you're wrong and how much you make when you're right.” A quote from George Soros excellently recounted by today’s guest mentor Chris Belchamber, who also helps us deconstruct on the #sitn podcast: • The importance of aggressively managing risk over chasing returns; • What’s System 1 and System 2 thinking and how finance professionals and leaders can use this knowledge to their advantage; and • Where the astute investors are being clever with their capital and put their money today. Check out https://sitnshow.com/ for detailed time stamped show notes, transcripts, links to resources and more guest mentor episodes and Monday Memos. #financementor #Risk

“What’s the difference between Digitalization and Digital Transformation?” Is a question I had recently and given recent Gartner research points to the fact that 85% of finance teams are undergoing some sort of transformation at the moment digital is a key element in delivering the expected outcomes from such activites. In this bite-sized episode I share a useful model to breakout digital in finance. #FinanceMentor #SITN

“I truly believe that you need to have your expertise to go deep, but always keep your eyes open what's around you because you never know what next step might come up.” According to today’s guest mentor Michael Lengenfelder, who also helps us deconstruct on the #sitn podcast: • How to move forward in your career path and transition between many different operational & leadership hats and finance. • The importance of storytelling in finance and business and having more a journalistic mindset. • How finance professionals can more effectively engage in storytelling to help with better decision making. Check out https://sitnshow.com/ for detailed time stamped show notes, transcripts, links to resources and more guest mentor episodes and Monday Memos. #financementor #Storytelling

Why are CFOs not always rational? It’s a provocative statement, however it’s a play on the title of a book I’m reading called The Irrational Ape by David Robert Grimes about why we fall for disinformation conspiracy theory and propaganda, and CFOs are not immune from this. In this bitesized episode I explain a bit more behind this, share some examples on how we can become more aware of it and a couple steps we can begin to use to overcome the adverse impacts of irrationality. #FinanceMentor #SITN

“So as long as we continue in this role using finance and numbers, I feel that the world is our oyster. You can go into any role you want in the company.” According to today’s guest mentor Quin SQ Thong, who also helps us deconstruct on the #sitn podcast: - What we mean by strategic learning and the importance of expanding our skillsets as accountants - How to transition from a finance role into a company leadership role - How to leverage your finance skills into building social enterprises - The importance of frameworks in helping accomplish goals in your current role and beyond Check out https://sitnshow.com/ for detailed time stamped show notes, transcripts, links to resources and more guest mentor episodes and Monday Memos. #financementor #Leadership

Work-life balance as a goal? That’s what someone asked me and whilst it seemed a very noble target to aim for it’s also probably a tricky question to answer. In this bite-sized episode I explain why as well as some thoughts on how finance professionals can approach this question. #FinanceMentor #SITN #worklifebalance

“When I think about pricing, I think about it as not only do I have to get the number right, but I have to be able to communicate the value so people are willing to pay that number.” According to today’s guest mentor Mark Stiving, who also helps us deconstruct on the #sitn podcast: • How finance professionals typically think about the word “value.” • The significance of thinking in will I and which one terms • Why finance people are the best (have so many tools that help capturing value) and not the best for pricing value • Two key trends in pricing to keep an eye out for, particularly subscription based models Check out https://sitnshow.com/ for detailed time stamped show notes, transcripts, links to resources and more guest mentor episodes and Monday Memos. #financementor #Pricing

“Are you Solving the Right Problems?” It’s a well-known legend about the millions NASA invested in developing a ballpoint pen that could write in zero gravity only to realise they were solving the wrong problem, a pencil, which is what the Russian cosmonauts were using would be sufficient to solve the problem of writing in space. In this bite-sized episode I share 3 ways we can ensure if we’re answering this question so that we avoid wasted energy and time, plus have something that is genuinely meaningful to contribute from our efforts. #FinanceMentor #SITN

“Education, it's a continuous journey. And finance leaders should really cultivate the environment where that's expected.” According to today’s guest mentor Himashi Soriano, who also helps us deconstruct on the #sitn podcast: • The importance of upskilling and education • The objectives of the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) • The advantages of an FP&A certification and training • The key capability gaps in digital finance • The role of a finance professional in the digital age Check out https://sitnshow.com/ for detailed time stamped show notes, transcripts, links to resources and more guest mentor episodes and Monday Memos. #financementor #Upskilling

“We must create a level playing field.” Is a key and noble ideal in society but does it really work for the finance & accounting team? In this bite-sized episode I share some research I did into meritocracies as part of trying to develop a better rewards system in my team and perhaps some ideas that might work as an alternative given the nature of the work we do as finance professionals. #FinanceMentor #SITN

“Beyond oxygen and water relationship and money, are two necessities that we cannot live without start with building great strong relationships, meaningful long-term relationships, the money will come.” According to today’s guest mentor Alice Tang, who also helps us deconstruct on the #sitn podcast: • The importance of letting people be themselves • The significance of trust in personal and business relationships to build prosperity for all • How to practically start building trust and nurturing your network • What is the 50:50 Initiative and how we can build on the success of its 20:20 forerunner Check out https://sitnshow.com/ for detailed time stamped show notes, transcripts, links to resources and more guest mentor episodes and Monday Memos. #financementor #Relationships

“We need to limit population growth to save the planet.” Was what my son said to me when doing a recent science project, however I wasn’t so sure. In this bite-sized episode I share some thoughts on even if we chose to reduce population growth why this might be difficult to achieve given current demographic projects and also delve into some the interesting details or where growth is happening and what this means for us as finance professionals. #FinanceMentor #SITN Link to video mentioned in podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LyzBoHo5EI

“When it comes to KPIs don't be intimidated by the size of the task. Doing one thing that you weren't doing in terms of measurement is much better than thinking about a perfect system that you never implement. So get started. Keep it simple.” According to today’s guest mentor Bernie Smith, who also helps us deconstruct on the #sitn podcast: • One of the biggest problems with KPIs particularly for well-meaning accountants and finance professionals. • Why there are only a handful of true KPIs and how to stop the KPI vine weeds from growing so we can find the gold bars. • Why it is possible to pretty much measure anything particularly when it comes to uncertainty reduction. • Target setting & incentives, a critique of SMART objectives & a simple control to prevent gaming of the system. Check out https://sitnshow.com/ for detailed time stamped show notes, transcripts, links to resources and more guest mentor episodes and Monday Memos. #financementor #KPIs

“You can’t measure everything!” Was what a senior finance executive said to me as I began to challenge her to help me understand how she assessed the performance of individual members of her team on the intangible property of “how” they went about their work. It’s a dangerous myth that particular impacts accountants and CPAs and I share in this bite-sized episode some useful advice on not only dispelling this myth but also to use it to our advantage as finance professionals. #FinanceMentor #SITN

“From my point of view, one of the key element is the ownership mindset, taking actual ownership for this topic together with the team and coming and providing actual ideas and solutions and figure out if these ideas would fly.” According to today’s guest mentor Nima Motazed, who also helps us deconstruct on the #sitn podcast: • The advantages of having an ownership mindset. • The value of constant learning to the journey of an individual. • How to efficiently build your own professional network. • Different approaches in tackling the right solution for any problem. Check out https://sitnshow.com/ for detailed time stamped show notes, transcripts, links to resources and more guest mentor episodes and Monday Memos. #financementor #awardwinningfinance

“Show Me The Money” This is one of the most well-known lines from the movie Jerry Maguire, but there are other lessons in the movie which I share in this bite-sized episode that are useful advice on having more successful and meaningful careers in Finance. #FinanceMentor #SITN