Strength In The Numbers Show

"The most important place to start to implement any strategy is to start with people,” according to this week’s guest mentor Chris E. Ortega who helps deconstruct with us: - The 4 building blocks for FP&A professionals that have emerged during this pandemic: • Agility • Empowerment • Remote • Leveraging technology - An interesting sporting passion where strategy can trump physical prowess and how it helped his career - How to start implementing your strategy with people first, then process and technology - Best connecting with your people as you connect with other areas of the business 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/288. #FinancialMentor #SITN #empowerment

There are two types of people in Modern Finance & Accounting, those that are frustrated with their jobs and feel like they are going sideways in their careers, and then there are those who seem to have the dream job, enjoying the autonomy, control, influence, and rewards from being involved in the most meaningful decisions because they know what career capital is and how to leverage it. In this bite-sized episode I share a few thoughts on what Career Capital is and how we can all leverage it Finance to find and live that dream job and career path. #FinanceMentor #SITN #CareerCapital

" It’s about selecting the right model that applies to your data then fine tune it to give you the best output,” according to today's guest mentor Ashok Manthena who also helps us deconstruct on this episode: - Why Start-up companies adapt to machine learning technology faster and why mature ones are reluctant to invest in it - How machine learning makes forecasting easier in finance and why an appropriate rate of accuracy is an important consideration - And different machine learning models to get a start on 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/286. #FinancialMentor #SITN #machinelearning

What is de-globalisation and why is it important for today’s finance professional? Up until the current pandemic the world had never been more physically close, opening up more opportunities and risks for international trade. However there have also been growing calls to support and protect industries and domestic resources, with such measures contributing to deglobalisation. International companies face the pressure to balance these two conflicting business features while maintaining a viable operation to generate value on the investment from stakeholders In this bite-sized episode I share a few thoughts from a recent article by Simone Collins which takes a brief look at the market forces, regulatory and economic policies that drive deglobalisation and how finance teams can help . #FinanceMentor #SITN #De-Globalisation

"Figure out what you really love, that will give you energy” some fantastic advice from our guest mentor Caroline Webb who also helps us deconstruct on today’s episode, how we can: • Figure out how to do more of what you love and you'll have more impact in your career • Taking breaks improves the quality of your insight and decision-making • Find a personal routine and set team norms that remind you to check your blindspots 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/284. #FinancialMentor #SITN #behaviouralscience #energy

How much time are you investing building your professional image online? Given the demands on the modern finance professional, not just delivering on the day job, but also keeping up with industry trends and what’s going on, there are also others out there, such as potential employers and peers, who are checking out your online image to see how strong it is. So what efforts and time are you putting into boosting your professional image online? In this bite-sized episode I share a few thoughts from a recent interview I gave with FM magazine (link to article below). #FinanceMentor #SITN #Image Link to article: https://www.fm-magazine.com/news/2020/jul/boost-your-professional-image-online.html

"When you are very clear about your purpose that is when it’s very easy to inspire other people” as our guest mentor Talita Ferreira will help us deconstruct for todays’ episode where we also go into: - The importance of post-COVID leadership transformation - The seven shifts to follow this post pandemic period - An effective way to investment in development post pandemic 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/282. #FinancialMentor #SITN #7shifts

Have you heard of Reframing before in Finance? Have you ever seen it in a textbook? Well it happens a lot in good Sales & Counselling, however it is also a key skill for finance professionals and accountants who wish to become more influential, impactful and have more fun and meaning in our careers. In this bite-sized episode I deconstruct reframing into 3 steps to use it to your advantage including a bonus one at the end. #FinanceMentor #SITN #Reframing

"Most people think accounting and finance job is boring, but I think it’s one of the most interesting jobs in the world” according to our guest mentor David Axson who will help us deconstruct for today's episode: - The 3Ts that are democratizing the accounting and finance profession - The Impacts of COVID19 on many businesses - Liberating the accountant from the tyranny of the spreadsheet - 3Ds that are liberating the finance and accounting profession 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/280. #FinancialMentor #SITN #spreadsheet

Have you ever heard of the planning fallacy and how it could be hurting your impact? In Finance we do a lot of planning of budgets, close cycles, payment runs, etc… , but there are so many more tasks that we need to plan to do that it sometimes feels that there are simply not enough hours in the day. Without proper awareness and management of this planning fallacy it could be seriously holding us back from not only enjoying our work but also from making a bigger impact? In this bite-sized episode I explore some thoughts on what the planning fallacy is and how we can actually use it to our advantage. #FinanceMentor #SITN #PlanningFallcy

“Throw a hundred pieces of wet tissue paper on the wall and something is going to stick,” According to Mark Samowitz, our guest mentor for today, who shares his experiences to help us deconstruct how to: - Juggle between singing at the same time as practising accounting career - Forge your own path and journey to be your own boss - Use 3 steps to get on the same page with others 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/278. #FinancialMentor #SITN #learning

What does it mean to be Diplomatic in Finance? When you hear the word Diplomacy it conjures up images of government or state officials negotiating and influencing outcomes. Sometimes these diplomatic acts make the news such as the well-publicised Trade Wars between the US & China or how to coordinate nations to better deliver on climate change targets, although most go unreported. So I was a bit taken aback when someone said they thought I had been diplomatic during the week, because I didn’t really think of our work like that and also I didn’t deliberately know how to be diplomatic. So In this bite-sized episode I explore some thoughts on as what diplomacy might look like in Finance and how we can get better at it. #FinanceMentor #SITN #Diplomacy

Join Izwan Zakaria to learn about technology disruption and opportunities in the legal and accounting spaces. Izwan shares his challenges in growing a tech and startup focused law firm in South East Asia, and how accountants play a crucial role especially for early stage startups and tech companies. 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/276. #FinancialMentor #SITN #law #startup

#275: Monday Memo: Why do most finance transformations fail? by Andrew Codd

"One of the most important traits of any professional is the ability to step back and ask the question, why?” according to this week’s guest mentor Thomas Gustafsson who helps us deconstruct on our latest episode: - The links between how we look at nature and better business partnering; - 3 tips on how to seeing the bigger picture; - The importance of asking how much it costs not having something; and - The “why” and duality of finance and accounting; 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/274. #FinancialMentor #SITN #businesspartnering

Is Cash Really King? We’ve a saying in Finance that cash is king. There have been many profitable businesses, with great growth potential but ultimately went bankrupt because they did not have enough cash at the bank. However is this always the case? In this bite-sized episode I explore some thoughts on why it might not always be this way. #FinanceMentor #SITN #CashIsKing

“We are far from each other yet so near because of technology” according to our guest mentor Simone Collins, who will help us deconstruct for todays’ episode: - The benefits of dropping “finance” from the role title finance business partner. - Getting more virtual learning into finance to learn and share best practices across our profession. - 3 steps to transition between industries using the example of moving for a tech business to insurance. 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/272. #FinancialMentor #SITN #businesspartnering

How do CFOs and Finance leaders decide on who and where to hire into their finance organisations? Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock you’re well aware of the rate of change impacting many of our enterprises and industries. And, of the many jobs within these organisations, one of them in particular has become much more demanding, the role of CFO and their finance team, who are responsible for ensuring that the organisation they serve is growing both sustainably and profitably. In this bite-sized episode I share some thoughts on this conversation and how to answer this question. #FinanceMentor #SITN #CFO

“Look at data analytics holistically in a way how people work and behave rather than from a technical perspective” as our guest mentor Prashanth Southekal, who helps us deconstruct for us on todays’ episode: - His top three practices to drive business performance using data analytics - The importance of viewing analytics in terms of products that meet people’s needs as opposed to projects - Why Post-COVID data analytics will play a bigger role than it was before. - Why it’s important to define the cost of not knowing the value of the right information and KPIs. - Advice to start-up and small companies to get a jump start in using data analytics 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/270. #FinancialMentor #SITN #Analytics

What’s one of the biggest fallacies in business & finance and which is holding our performance back? It’s that performance & results of both staff and enterprises follows a normal bell-curve distribution! It simply doesn’t! Intuitively we know this because 50% of newly registered businesses will fail in 5 years following an exponential Paretian power curve, 5 companies make up 18% of the stock market value in the US, and on sports teams most of the money goes to those who generate the most value with most of us earning below the average. In any endeavor there are those who smash performance out of the park and then the rest of us, or as some call the long tail. In this bite-sized episode I explain why so many of us continue to use the normal distribution fallacy and a more appropriate way of looking at this. #FinancialMentor #SITN #Performance