FP&A Today Robin Kiziak: There’s nothing funny about Finance
Robin Kiziak is Financial Controller and Finance Business Partner at VF Corporation (home of outdoor brands Vans, North Face and Timberland). Previously he has been a finance business partner at Hotel Chocolat and UK home improvement leader, Wickes. He also runs the website, There’s Nothing Funny About Finance which aims to move finance away from stereotypes (think Dr No or Beancounters). In this episode Robin reveals how he has used humor to disarm tension in meetings and become a finance business partner trusted by his colleagues
In this episode:
- Robin’s Favorite Finance Joke
- How to be a finance business partner (“with a part of the business that don’t want you there”).
- The negative stereotypes of finance and how to overcome them
- The power of soft (or human) skills
- The distribution metrics behind Vans and Timberland’s finance successes
- Costs vs service as the “holy grail” in retail
- How to start off in a new finance role – which financials to look at first
- The biggest financial surprise you found
- Snagging an unsung hero award
- Biggest advice to an aspiring FP&A professional
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Links – There’s Nothing Funny About Finance
Follow Robin Kiziak on LinkedIn