171. Beyond Numbers: Cultivating a Business-Focused Finance Mindset with Andy Burrows
Apr 9, 2024
auto_awesome
Join Hannah Munro as she chats with Andy Burrows, CEO of Supercharged Finance. They discuss developing a business-focused finance mindset, bridging skills gaps in finance teams, and cultivating business acumen. They explore the Value Driver Tree model, strategies for enhancing business acumen in teams, and embedding finance within organizations.
Developing business acumen is crucial for finance professionals to transition into strategic business leaders.
The value driver tree model aids in understanding business performance and emphasizes revenue generation.
Encouraging curiosity-driven exploration and intentional learning enhances business acumen within finance teams.
Assessing and enhancing team business acumen involves gathering 360-degree feedback and non-finance perspectives.
Deep dives
Evolution of the CFO Role
The CFO role is rapidly evolving from a cost controller to a strategic visionary, offering new opportunities for growth and development. The focus has shifted towards strategic leadership, driving career progression, and enhancing business impact. CFO readiness is emphasized as key to advancing in the finance function, highlighting the importance of developing business acumen and behavioral skills.
Skills Gap and CFO Readiness
CFOs often face challenges with their teams not aligning with their strategic mindset. To bridge this gap, CFOs need to cultivate CFO readiness, evolving beyond technical expertise to focus on business acumen and interpersonal skills. The shift towards business leadership requires a mindset change from traditional financial roles, emphasizing holistic business understanding and strategic thinking.
Developing Business Acumen
Fostering business acumen within finance teams involves intentional learning and curiosity-driven exploration. Encouraging insatiable curiosity and intentional knowledge acquisition plays a key role in developing business acumen. Implementing projects that require research on value drivers, organizational structures, and cross-functional perspectives helps in enhancing business understanding and relationship-building.
Value-Driven Finance Mindset
Adopting a business-focused finance mindset shifts the focus towards value creation rather than just cost control. The value driver tree model aids in understanding the key drivers of business performance, emphasizing revenue generation and strategic value creation. Embracing a benefits-led approach in project evaluation and focusing on strategic insights contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of business value.
Assessing Team Business Acumen
Assessing and benchmarking team members' business acumen involves gathering 360-degree feedback and engaging non-finance perspectives within the organization. Emphasizing personal development through high-performance habits, diverse experience exposure, team feedback, and non-finance stakeholder interactions helps in evaluating and enhancing individual and team business acumen.
Measuring Progress and Continuous Improvement
Measuring progress towards CFO readiness involves tracking key milestones such as high-performance habits, diverse experience acquisition, and team feedback integration. Encouraging a value-driven mindset, strategic insight, and continuous learning enables finance professionals to advance towards CFO readiness. Self-assessment checkpoints and 360-degree feedback mechanisms play a crucial role in guiding professional development.
Enhancing Interdepartmental Collaboration
Promoting collaboration and understanding between finance and other business functions is essential for holistic business acumen. By fostering a culture of partnership and shared business goals, finance leaders can enhance cross-functional understanding and productivity. Encouraging a shift from viewing other departments as 'customers' to integrated business partners supports cohesive organizational alignment and strategic value creation.
This week on CFO 4.0 join Hannah Munro as she converses with Andy Burrows, CEO and Founder of Supercharged Finance. Dive into the critical aspects of developing a business-focused finance mindset and understand how finance professionals can transcend traditional roles to become strategic business leaders.
This episode explores:
The mission and impact of Supercharged Finance in the realm of online training and development for finance professionals.
Identifying and bridging the skills gap in finance teams, with a special focus on CFO readiness.
The concept of business acumen: How finance professionals can cultivate it through strategic curiosity.
Insights into the Value Driver Tree model and its significance in understanding business operations
Strategies for finance leaders to assess and enhance the business acumen within their teams.
The importance of embedding finance within the organisation
