Strength In The Numbers Show

“You have to have a good feel for the sport and by having a love and a real interest in the sport it helps you do your job better” According to our guest mentor Dan Crumb, CFO of the Kansas City Chiefs, and to find out why tune into this week’s #sitn where we also deconstruct: - The 4 parts of building a winning finance team and how to keep them competitive into the future - The importance of creating a culture of continuous improvement and being more ready to adapt to deal with the rapid changes we’re facing nowadays - What it was like to be part of Winning the Super Bowl LIV in 2020 - The emerging role of behavioural science 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/268. #SITN #behavioralscience #football

What’s your finance team’s business model? How would you describe it to colleagues? How do you know it’s not outdated and designed to meet tomorrow’s needs & expectations? Most of our audience are either part of a finance team or lead a finance team, but when I’ve asked them to explain their business model, that is, the rationale behind how their team creates, delivers and captures value, few can answer in a consistent and coherent fashion, even though they know finance & accounting inside-out. And because everybody in the team does not have a common understanding of their basic business model this means there are many finance teams out there who are not pulling in the same direction, not delivering the value their capable of and so at risk of gradually become irrelevant within their organisations. In this bite-sized episode I introduce a powerful yet simple tool to help better understand, improve and communicate a finance team’s business model to give you and your team a comparative advantage in today’s an

“What we don’t do enough is communicate what we actually do and why we are important to the business.” Great advice from our guest mentor Lizi Hills, Commercial FD at Burger King. We also deconstruct together on todays’ episode: - The value of customer relations in the finance and why an accounting career is rewarding. - Good reasons why the hospitality industry is a good fit for finance business partners. - 3 steps to start building better customer relations. - The Stereotypical Accountant and what people think about accountants. - How accountants can better answer the “what do you do for a living?” question. 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/266. #FinancialMentor #SITN #FinanceIsFun

What message is the sentence below trying to convey? REVUP5%WITHNOPATINLINEAT10M. How about if we add some spaces: REV UP 5% WITH NOPAT IN LINE AT 10M. Or even more useful in something resembling plain English: Rev(enue) is up 5% (on something) with NOPAT (Net Operating Profit After Tax) in line (with something) at 10 m(illion). In this Monday’s bite-sized episode I share that whilst it’s important to simplify what we do it’s just as important not to oversimplify, and I go through 4 things we can do to get the balance right. #FinancialMentor #SITN #Simplify

A couple of commentators were suggesting that FP&A and Corporate Finance were losing their way, so to find out why we invited them onto the show. In this week’s episode we are joined on #sitn by two panelists, Lance Rubin and Rob Trippe, and together we discuss: - Three steps we can take to get back to basics and not take particularly avoiding a family P&L - Where FP&A need to hold the fort down to make things easier and more valuable. - What Mediterranean sailors and EBITDA can teach us about common language in FP&A to communicate effectively. - Why data analytics is good but not right now and why it’s important to get more stuck into Excel - Why heatmaps and gauges will not fascinate CFOs. 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/264. #FinancialMentor #FPA

What Mediterranean sailors and EBITDA can teach us about common language in FP&A to communicate effectively? It turns out a lot, actually! There were a couple of commentators were suggesting that FP&A and Corporate Finance were losing their way, so to find out why we invited them onto the show. In this bite-sized episode I share why a common language is important. #FinancialMentor #SITN #FPA

“Maintaining connection with everyone is one of the most valuable things you can do,” according to our guest mentor Jennifer Luzzatto, Who also helps us deconstruct for todays’ episode: - Things to do best in this new normal o maintain connections with others o take charge of your finances o get back quickly - Support of people around during these difficult times - Why people are averse asking for help 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/262. #FinancialMentor #SITN #peaceofmind

What should a finance & accounting professional do at present to stay future relevant? This was a question I had this week from an #sitn show listener whose role was made redundant due to a downsizing exercise in their last organisation. In this bite-sized episode I share some thoughts around a potential answer and steps our guest mentors have recommended on the show. #FinancialMentor #SITN #Relevant

“Take your time to understand them, but be who you are,” A key point made by guest mentor John Barrett who also helps deconstruct for us on today’s episode: - The importance of having a fantastic finance team that always looking around the corner - Finding the right burning platforms to drive change - Experiences as an ex-pat in China - Opportunities for businesses amidst the COVID pandemic - Consistency vs. accuracy 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/260. #FinancialMentor #SITN #consistency

Do you keep supermarket lists or batch your shopping for food only when you need it? Most do! Most of us don’t immediately drive or run to the store each time we run out of a kitchen item. It’s inefficient use of our time. However many finance professionals will still succumb to the mental craving of answering those emails and IMs, or jumping on that last minute meeting rather than be out of sync? In this bite-sized episode we go through the dangers of always being in sync and a number of ways finance professionals are managing this in a more virtual and remote environment. #FinancialMentor #SITN #Async

“I want to build a team that is curious, for no one knows everything,” Great advice from our guest mentor Indran Purushothaman, who helps us deconstruct for todays’ episode; - A day as Finance Director at Urban Living Solutions in Cambodia - Providing value in the organization in the midst of pandemic - Functioning at the highest level of CFO even working remotely - Navigating in this crisis together with the business by understanding it from end to end. - The role of finance in the business recovery after the COVID pandemic and emerging of new business practices is something to look forward to. 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/258. #FinancialMentor #SITN #Transparency

Have you found it difficult to concentrate or even a bit lower on energy lately? I only ask because with all the video calls and presentations lately, I and others have felt like we’ve been suffering from Zoom fatigue. So in this bite-sized episode I share how this is being caused by high cognitive load and continuous partial attention, as well as some practical steps we can take to do regain our energy and focus on those things that matter most. #FinancialMentor #SITN #ZoomFatigue https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_load https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuous_partial_attention

"It’s OK not to be OK.” According to our guest mentor Javed Bobat, who helps us deconstruct on today's episode: - Why the finance profession is getting a lot more attention, investment and challenges nowadays. - Ideas for us to maintain mental wellness these challenging times: - How to increase the leaders and team members acknowledge the need for mental wellness. - Getting the best talent on-board that are ready for the future technology and the challenges employers will have in retaining 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/256. #FinancialMentor #SITN #mentalhealth

How would you describe what you do? When we meet new people it’s a common question. So what do you say? Does it differ depending on who’s asking? Or whether you’re at a finance conference, bbq or even a date? #FinancialMentor #SITN #Image

Winston Churchill once inferred we should never waste a good crisis. The current Novo Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic is one we’re currently living through, there have been more regional crises before this and there’s also others down the road like climate change, oil wars, Brexit that will continue to present continuity challenges around keeping our businesses open and essential services running. In this week’s episode we are joined on #sitn by three panelists, Howard Cosby, Louise Miller & Mike Attwood who have a combined experience of over 100 years in finance & business to help us debate how we can keep our businesses open & services going during this crisis. We discuss: - Why the finance community has to be at the forefront of this. - Some golden rules on how to manage through a crisis - The importance of Communicate, Communicate, Communicate! - Leveraging value capture and cost minimisation approaches to turn negatives into positives. - The most important things we can do to emerge stronger from a cri

Have you heard of the expression “A single twig breaks, but the bundle of twigs is strong”? Sure, but do you know what it means and how we can use it to our advantage in finance? In this bite-sized episode I share with you some thoughts prior guest mentors on the show that you can use to improve your resilience and impact in your finance career. #FinancialMentor #SITN #Resilience

How many others have you mentored in Finance? 1, 10, 50, or how about over 700 in the last year alone? Well our guest mentor Dhawal Parvatikar has and he will help us deconstruct on today’s episode how to: - Answer the common questions that young accountants have about their careers - Develop oneself in the right way to begin to learn to understand the business - Manage scope creep by: o Leveraging (virtual) coffee breaks o Having regular monitoring of timesheets o Sending regular insights to management 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/252. #FinancialMentor #SITN #Mentoring

“When did you last make a mistake?” If you can answer this question then good it suggests you’ve probably acknowledged a potentially dangerous closed-loop. In this week’s short bite-sized episode I share some examples of how to break out of a closed-loop. #FinancialMentor #SITN #Closed-Loop

“People could be brilliant but does not necessary means they can work together” as our guest mentor Graham Durgan, will help us deconstruct for todays’ episode where we also: - Why as an entrepreneur an accounting qualification was a great a safety net - Learnings from being an entrepreneur - Things to consider in getting the right people in your team. 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/250. #FinancialMentor #SITN #Entrepreneur #staysafe

With the growing acceptance that diversity is good for business and nature of the work of finance becoming increasingly more global sometimes it can be difficult to know where to start on how to best to get to know and build influence with colleagues from a new country or countries we are less familiar with. In this bite-sized episode I share a useful tool and some thoughts on where you can start. #FinancialMentor #SITN #Culture #Diversity Link to tool: https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison