Spend Culture: Stories Of Cfos And Company Culture

Why Finance Leaders Should Stay Informed, Connected, and Humble In this episode, Kingsley Chan, Director of Finance at Finn Ai shares his insights on what makes a forward-thinking, strategic finance leader, and why being informed, connected, and humble and keys to success. In addition, he shares his remote work tips on how Finn Ai was able to adapt with agility to the downturn. Speakers: Kingsley Chan, Director of Finance, Finn Ai Kingsley Chan, CPA, CA is currently the Director of Finance at Finn AI with 14 years of work experience in a variety of company sizes and sectors. With experience in public companies to private companies, the energy sector to the technology sector, he is currently heavily involved in the Vancouver startup scene specializing in scaling companies for hyper-growth. An alumni from UBC's Sauder School of Business, he is both a mentor of CPA students and a creator looking to disrupt the information flow within the finance tech realm through Disrupt Finance, an organization he co-found

In this episode, Dana Small, the Senior Category Manager, Head of Global Commercial Strategic Sourcing at BioMarin Pharmaceuticals, and procurement blogger join us to chat about how women in procurement can thrive in the profession and the category management must-knows for biotech procurement leaders. Speaker: Dana Small, Senior Category Manager at BioMarin Pharmaceuticals & Blogger at Ms. Category Management Dana Small is the current Senior Category Manager, Head of Global Commercial Strategic Sourcing at BioMarin Pharmaceuticals. Dana has over 13 years of experience in finance, with 10 supporting the sales and marketing function including FP&A and Global Category Management Procurement/Sourcing, and over 17 years of experience within the Pharmaceutical / Biotech (BioPharma) Industry. Also known as “Ms. Category Management” on LinkedIn, Dana is also a blogger and public speaker who is passionate about sharing her learnings with the audience.  Please visit her on her website at - https://mscatego

In this episode, John Tabis, the Founder of The Bouqs Company shares his thoughts on why building a long-lasting brand is the best investment against a downturn, and his fundraising journeys through Shark Tank and beyond. In addition, he shares why a vision-driven CFO is the best business partner a CEO can get, and what traits to look for in a CFO hire.  Speaker: John Tabis, Founder and Chairman of The Bouqs Company  John is a proven brand builder and entrepreneur with deep experience in innovative media ventures and consumer products, John Tabis is the Founder and Chairman of The Bouqs Company. In 2012, along with co-founder Juan Pablo Montúfar, Tabis launched the Marina del Rey, California-based company, now an industry leader in the online floral space that delivers flowers and plants fresh from eco-friendly, sustainable farms around the world to doorsteps nationwide. Prior to launching Bouqs, Tabis worked in corporate brand strategy for Disney and ShoeDazzle and advised Fortune 100 clients at Bain &am

In this episode of Spend Culture Stories, Karthik Rama joins us to chat about how procurement can find alignment with finance and work together as business partners, and how procurement leaders can successfully lead a cross-departmental digital transformation project.  Speakers: Karthik Rama, Procurement Doctor Karthik is all about Procurement Transformations, with over 16+ years of experience in helping organizations from varied industries, from all over the world. He is inquisitive to understand the subtle differences in industries and regions and has a complete grasp of the Source to Pay cycle. Karthik has worn multiple hats over the years, right from being the Procurement guy to the IT guy deploying the Procurement System - this gives him an edge when speaking the language of technology to the IT teams and Procurement to the Procurement teams.

In this episode of Spend Culture Stories, Daniel Barnes chats with us on procurement and contract management horror stories he's seen throughout the years, and how to combat the biggest blockers to procurement efficiency. In addition, we chat about how procurement leaders can build a personal brand, and how to communicate the value of procurement in organizations.  Speakers: Daniel Barnes, Founder of The World of Procurement  Daniel Barnes is an independent commercial, procurement, and supply chain consultant that specializes in driving cost savings and adding value to your business. He is also the producer & host of the World of Procurement podcast - talking about all things procurement, supply chain, and contract management. His website, World of Procurement also provides procurement and supply chain content, tips, and thought leadership for the procurement profession. 

In this episode of Spend Culture Stories, Cynthia Del'Aria shares the challenges of launching a startup as a tech CEO, and how to determine the product-market fit for your organization and to validate an idea before seeking investment capital. Cynthia also shares her thoughts on making the right strategic calls on investment to truly build a sustainable business that lasts even during recessions.  Speakers: Cynthia Del'Aria, CEO/COO of Raika Technologies Cynthia is the CEO & COO of Raika Technologies, a company that works with small business owners to turn their tech ideas into higher profits and higher margins for their business. She is passionate about helping new app and tech entrepreneurs spend as little time and money as possible evaluating their idea, helping them get to a go-no-go decision quickly and efficiently.

How to Fundraise and Use Your Startup Capital for Growth In this episode, Roy Stein, the CEO and Co-Founder of Babelbark shares how to set a healthy foundational spend culture for early-stage startups, and how to secure your first stage of VC funding - and spend it wisely to grow effectively and efficiently. Speakers: Roy Stein, CEO & Founder, Babelbark Roy Stein is the founder and CEO of Babelbark - BabelBark is a comprehensive software platform with mobile applications, intelligent cloud analytics, and marketing tools that connects owners, their dogs, veterinarians, and vendors in a comprehensive and completely integrated solution.  Roy is a serial entrepreneur and former executive in companies ranging in size from public corporations with thousands of employees to idea & seed-stage startups, with a proven track record in building businesses and turning a problem or company around.

Category Spend Management Lessons Learned from Zuora & Salesforce In this episode, Maria Centeno, Head of Procurement at Zuora shares her learnings from her many years of strategic sourcing for tech giants such as Salesforce and eBay. She tackles how to best manage marketing and tradeshow spend, and how procurement can work with finance to make the best spending decisions.   Speakers: Maria Centeno, Head of Procurement, Zuora Maria Centeno is the current Head of Procurement at Zuora, a publicly-traded enterprise software company that creates and provides software for businesses to launch and manage their subscription-based services.  Prior to her role at Zuora, Maria led strategic sourcing efforts at Salesforce as the Director of Strategic Sourcing and also held the role of Strategic Sourcing Manager at Ebay.  Maria is a procurement leader experienced in supplier relationship management, contract negotiation, capturing supplier innovation, category strategy development, and execution.

How Future Driven CFOs Approach Crisis Management In this episode, Adam Metzger, Managing Partner at ACM Consultants and ex-financial trader shares his unique perspective regarding what sets top leaders apart in times of crisis and black swan events, and how to leverage the downturn as an opportunity for growth. Speakers: Adam Metzger, Managing Partner, ACM Consultants Adam Metzger has almost 20 years of leadership experience in finance & capital markets, investment management, and business development. For the past five years, Adam has been working as a fractional CFO/advisor for startups and growth-stage companies to provide them with strategic, financial, and operational guidance. His financial and operational expertise in this realm spans a diverse array of industries including saas, media, healthcare, and CPG. Previously, Adam held positions with leading trading institutions including Caxton Associates, Morgan Stanley Asset Management, BNP Paribas, and Loop Capital. Adam received his B.S. from

Scenario Planning for the New Normal In this episode, Debbie Rosler, Outsourced CFO at Burkland & Associates chats with us about best practices for scenario planning, how to get started with an easy five-step approach, and the tactics to extend your runway and cash flow.  Speakers: Debbie Rosler, On-Demand CFO, Burkland & Associates Debbie Rosler is an on-demand CFO at Burkland & Associates. She has 20 years of experience with companies in a broad range of industries and sizes, from early-stage start-ups to Fortune 500 Companies.  With expertise in financial planning and analysis, corporate strategy and financial modeling, Debbie has helped companies establish finance and accounting functions and identify opportunities to improve business processes. She is currently working as an Outsourced CFO  for several early-stage companies.

Lessons Learned from a Fully Remote Virtual CFO Firm In this episode, Jody Grunden, the CEO and Co-Founder of Summit CPA shares his tips on successfully working remotely as a pioneer in the virtual CFO space, and also what well-run companies do differently from a financial perspective within a crisis. Speakers: Jody Grunden, CEO & Co-Founder, Summit CPA Group Jody Grunden is the Co-Founder and CEO of Summit CPA Group, the leading provider of Virtual CFO Services in North America. He is passionate about changing the way people think about accounting. Author of Digital Dollars and Cents, Jody literally wrote the book on helping digital companies create a financial roadmap to success.

In this episode, Ryan Lazanis, the forward-thinking founder of Future Firm shares his insights as a veteran fully remote accounting firm owner on how accounting and finance teams can adapt to the changes to remote work, and how to modernize processes for the future.  Speakers: Ryan Lazanis, CPA, CA  - Founder, Future Firm Ryan Lazanis, CPA, CA founded Xen Accounting in 2013, a 100% cloud-based accounting firm. Following its acquisition in 2018, Ryan started Future Firm, which provides resources to firms looking to modernize and stay on the cutting edge. He has a free weekly email called Future Firm Weekly Top 5 that curates the top 5 pieces of content that firm owners need to know about each week to help modernize their firm.

In this episode, Steve Watson, the CFO of CFSS Arizona shares his insights as the wearer of two pivotal hats - the CFO and CHRO. As a healthcare CFO, Steve shares the challenges of adapting to a remote work model, and how his essential service was able to transition. Steve also shares his passion for helping others save costs related to employee benefits when he founded Trendbreakers.

In this episode of Spend Culture Stories, Helina Patience, CEO of Entreflow joins us to talk about her experience scaling Canadian tech and manufacturing organizations. implementing best practices for finance teams, and change management during times of economic downturn. Entreflow is a boutique management and financial consulting firm with a team of 18 finance legends, HR leaders and marketing ninjas. They're a licensed public practice CPA, accounting firm, licensed recruitment agency and Growth Marketing Strategy Practice.

Having the right finance leader is more critical than ever in these uncertain times. John Kasian, Director of Operations at Signature Analytics breaks down the 'who does what' in key finance leadership roles, and also gives some easy to follow tips on the best internal control practices that every venture-backed company should know.

In this episode, executive recruitment expert Nakita Gates shares her best practices and insights on finding the right procurement leader for your organization, and what makes a strong candidate stand out amongst the rest.

In this episode, seasoned remote CFO and finance executive Suzanne Shifflet of Gym Launch joins us to chat about strategies on managing spending and finance teams in a distributed workforce, and how to keep teams motivated and engaged during the shift to remote work.

In this episode, Anthony Clervi, the CEO & Managing Partner at UNA Purchasing solutions shares his thoughts on why the C-Suite needs to empower procurement as a function, and the role of group purchasing and how it affects organizational spend culture.

Anna Sun, CPA is a former auditor at PwC and now is the newest member of our finance team at Procurify. In this episode, she shares why many CPAs are flocking to startups, and why she refuses to work for a company that does not use technology to level up their finance team.

In this episode, John Evans, the CEO of leading procurement consulting firm Procureability discusses how high growth companies can develop the right procurement strategy to properly track spending and catch maverick spending as they grow.