GrowCFO Show

Wassia Kamon is simply a brilliant person. She arrived in the USA at 17 from Ivory Coast, West Africa, where English wasn’t her first language. She adjusted to a totally new way of life, learning to be part of a minority rather than in the majority.  Wassia excelled, she joined PwC, qualified as an accountant, and is now performing a finance leadership role. In doing so she overcame the triple challenge of language, race and gender. She is naturally an extrovert, but these challenges along with imposter syndrome found her in a place she really didn't want to be. Often the only female or only black person in the room, she found it very difficult to be herself. Her story is inspiring as is her passion to help others. She now wants to pass on the learning she gained from her experiences. Outside work she mentors other people. In particular, she is passionate about helping women develop as leaders. She has quite a story to tell. Listen to the whole of this week's episode of the Growcfo Show. I promise you that you will be impressed! Links Wassia Kamon on LinkedIn Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn Overcome Imposter Syndrome: A Guide to Building Confidence for Finance Leaders CFO Competency Framework GrowCFO Future CFO Programme Free Course: New Role – Your first 100 days Timestamps 1:02 Wassia Kamon's Background 3:16 How did you get to the role of VP of finance? 6:30 Coming to the US as a teenager from Ivory Coast, Africa. 10:56 The things you have to overcome in your mind to bring confidence to your workplace. 14:09 The fear of failure and the fear of not being enough. 19:11 Being part of the finance team and being able to navigate those relationships. 23:17 What’s top of Wassia Kamon's 2023 personal objectives? 27:33 The importance of being a mentor.

On this week’s GrowCFO Show, we're talking about the fear of failure. What happens if it all goes wrong in the first 90 or 100 days in your new role as a CFO or top finance leader? Kevin Appleby is joined by  Catherine Lamb from spectrum 360 coaching career management. Kevin and Catherine discuss how you should approach your first 100 days in a new role. They discuss how to lose your old identity and put on a new one, and spend time looking at imposter syndrome and what to do if you find yourself suffering from it. Do you fear failure when you take on a new role? Don’t worry, it’s quite a common problem, as Catherine Lamb explains. Catherine gives us some great advice on dealing with that fear and some great practical strategies to help you avoid the fear in the first place. We've also got some great free resources to help you go further. Take a look at the links below. Links Catherine Lamb on LinkedIn Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn Overcome Imposter Syndrome: A Guide to Building Confidence for Finance Leaders CFO Competency Framework GrowCFO Future CFO Programme Free Course: New Role - Your first 100 days Timestamps 0:11 What happens if it all goes wrong in your first 90 or 100 days as a CFO? 7:54 The importance of having a mentor in your new role. 13:11 Is there a particular period in a new role where you can get away with asking silly questions? 18:26 Kevin’s first 100 days in business. 23:46 Who are the best people to tell you what’s going wrong? 29:21 The fear of coming up short in the first 100 days. 34:06 The CFO competency framework and how it’s changing.

Ercole Manzi joins Kevin Appleby on The GrowCFO Show to discuss the state of funding markets in 2023 and what this means for your business. Ercole Manzi helps Fin/Tech start-ups to raise funds, improve their valuation reduce tax and funding costs. He has worked in Shenzhen, Milan and London. This gives him a great understanding of the funding markets and he provides some great insights into what might happen in 2023 as the availability of funding reduces. We've already seen the impact of reduced funds in the episode we recorded with Christoph Iwaniez at the bitcoin bank Nuri, and how that stretched his skills as a CFO. In this episode, Ercole tells us other ways CFOs will need to respond to the potential scarcity of funds. Ercole believes that managing risk will be more important in the coming months and years. Ercole Manzi has been working with emerging tech companies in China, and that experience has given him a different outlook. He explains more in the interview. Links Ercole Manzi on LinkedIn Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn CFO Competency Framework GrowCFO Fundraising Transaction Simulator Episode 114 How to lead a team through insolvency with Christoph Iwaniez Timestamps 0:11 What is the state of the investment market in 2023? 4:09 What are the main things that he’s focused on now? 7:17 What lessons did you learn working with tech companies in China? 10:52 Risk must be at the top of the CFO’s agenda for any tech company. 14:53 Ercole Manzi advises that you shouldn't delay in securing your next round of investment. 18:10 What is the definition of a payment startup company? 22:45 Where do you think talent development is going at the moment? 26:27 Global experience is going to be more important than ever. 29:51 When times get tough, one of the first things that usually gets cut is the training budget.

The finance technology landscape is changing quickly. Possibly at a rate faster than ever before. So, what can we expect to see in 2023. Kevin Appleby caught up with Adam Shilton, Founder at Tech for Finance and host of the Tech for Finance podcast. Kevin asked Adam what he thought the best technology for finance leaders would be in 2023. AI is an emerging force, and its role in finance shouldn't be underestimated. We're predicting that technology will have a major impact on financial controllership. The ability of AI to spot errors and anomalies will be considerable and may be one of the keys that will unlock time in the monthly close. We also discuss apps that can help us as finance leaders. Again, emerging apps are making use of AI. Quillbot can improve your writing. Timeflip allows you to better manage and record your time. Todoist lets you manage tasks and Microsoft Viva helps teams engage. Listen to the full episode to find out even more. Links Adam Shilton on LinkedIn Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn GrowCFO Business Partnering Bootcamp Quillbot https://quillbot.com Timeflip https://timeflip.io Appfluence https://appfluence.com Todoist www.todoist.com Microsoft Vivahttps://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/microsoft-viva Whatifi www.whatifi.io Borncapital https://www.borncapital.vc Timestamps 0:11 Adam’s background and how he became a tech expert. 2:10 What are some of the things that you’ve seen in 2022 that might be a huge help? 6:42 What have you seen in the use of AI in finance? 12:00 What’s radically different in the automation space over 2022? 16:53 How do you know if an app is going to integrate? 21:59 What’s the biggest difference between Motion and ScatterPowell? 26:31 What’s your favourite tool? 30:50 Business Partnering Bootcamp –. 35:50 The importance of using the “why” and “how”. 40:00 How to use writing as a therapy tool. 45:01 The stuff you should be worried about is the stuff that never happens.

Christoph Iwaniez describes himself as a Passionate, inspiring and motivating leader. Resilient in times of challenges and determined to get the job done. His unique strengths are in the area where corporate finance meets legal and regulatory issues. This has been put to the test in the last few months at Berlin-based bitcoin bank Nuri. Nuri was founded in 2015 under the name Bitwala with the purpose to make Bitcoin spendable. Trading ceased on 31 December 2022 and remarkably all the bank's customers were able to remove their funds without any losses. In this episode, Christoph Iwaniez tells us how an initially successful fintech company struggled to raise vital funds and ran into liquidity problems and filed for insolvency. The really interesting story is what happened after that and how Christoph then led a small team of committed individuals to wind up the affairs of the bank. This really did require a passionate inspiring and motivated leader to keep the team together and to navigate the legal and regulatory issues. Links Christoph Iwaniez on LinkedIn Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn GrowCFO Business Partnering Bootcamp Timestamps 00:11 Introduction to today’s show. 01:10 How did you get to the situation you’re in? 04:03 What role does the CFO play at Nuri? 09:17 What happened to the business after the first funding round? 14:32 What changed that made a new funding round critical 16:58 Re-branding and raising funds. 22:44 How they’ve managed to keep the platform running even though they are running out of funds? 27:41 How to motivate the team as they wind down. 30:05 Some good people wait for the right time to move on to the next opportunity. 35:07 Which were the toughest challenges

NLP stands for Neuro-Linguistic Programming, and it is a powerful tool that you can use to improve your life. NLP allows you to change your thoughts and behaviors by understanding how your mind works. It can help you overcome fears and phobias, achieve your goals, and much more. In this episode Susana Serrano-Davey and Kevin Appleby discuss what NLP is and how you can use it to improve your life! NLP is based on the idea that the way we think about and interpret the world around us affects our behavior. NLP techniques help us identify and change unhelpful patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving. By recognizing how you respond to certain situations or stimuli, you can begin to make different choices that lead to better outcomes for yourself. One of the most powerful ways to use NLP is to set and achieve goals. By breaking down a goal into small, achievable steps, you can monitor your progress and stay motivated. An example would be if you want to lose 10 pounds in 6 months; you could make a plan with daily or weekly actions that will help you reach your goal. Another way to use NLP is to overcome fears and phobias. By understanding the source of your fear or phobia, you can begin to challenge any negative thinking patterns associated with it. You can also use techniques such as visualization and affirmations to help clear away any blocks or mental obstacles standing in your way. Finally, NLP can be used to improve your communication skills. By understanding how people think and react to certain situations, you can become better at reading their body language and responding in a way that is more effective for both parties. NLP is an incredibly powerful tool that you can use to change your life for the better. Links Susana's Book "I Wish I had Known" is available at Amazon UK and Amazon US Mentoring at GrowCFO with Susana Serrano-Davey Susana Serrano-Davey on LinkedIn Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn Timestamps 0:11 What is NLP and why should we be worried about it? 4:33 Using NLP for a good or bad purpose. 9:00 There is no such thing as the ultimate truth, it’s all an interpretation. 15:13 How do you influence people to get the right outcome? 19:01 What is the connection between values and success? 22:03 It's like an iceberg. The bit above the water is what we know about ourselves and how we interact with the world. Below that lies everything else. 27:56 Do you need to understand where your beliefs come from in order to move away from them? 30:51 How do you use your body as a tool to have better outcomes?

Phil Walker and Geoff Fletcher, Co-Founders of Mettryx join Kevin Appleby to discuss the significance of Providing FP&A as a Service to Clients. Geoff and Phil explain the concept behind Mettryx, and the type of company that they would generally work with. Phil is a recent alumnus of the GrowCFO FutureCFO programme. The new business he and Geoff formed while he was part of the programme is a major change of direction for both of them and is a different approach to providing fractional CFO services. Most finance leaders understand what FP&A is and why it's needed. Many small or medium businesses don't have the financial expertise, and can't afford full-time resources that take them beyond basic bookkeeping. Often these businesses don't even realise what they are missing out on. Navigating growth can be a challenge for any size company. From start-up through to post investment, businesses need to be able to demonstrate a firm grasp on the financials. Strong process and controls, positive cash flow, well managed costs, healthy margins and well constructed business/financial plans. Mettryx provide on demand Finance services to support your business achieve all of this and more.  We talk about the challenges of launching this sort of business from scratch and the obstacles that Phil and Geoff have overcome and we look at where the future lies for both of them and their own business growth plans. Links Phil Walker on LinkedIn Geoff Fletcher on LinkedIn Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn Mettryx Future CFO programme Timestamps 0:11 Introducing Phil Walker and Geoff Fletcher. 2:36 How did Geoff and Phil get together? 5:45 The importance of FP&A as a service for SMEs. 8:18 What sort of analysis would you be doing for one of your typical clients? 10:52 How do you go about marketing your services to business owners? 16:03 Have you managed to find enough clients to fill your service up? 18:51 What apps are you using? What are the most adaptable? 21:18 How do you ensure the quality of what you’re producing is producing a result to hand? 23:28 Why an offering like Mettryx makes more sense than hiring a more affordable, but less experienced accountant into an organisation. 25:17 What do you think the business will look like in five years time?

Jeremy Rudd is an experienced Interim CFO for PLCs and SMEs in the UK. After qualifying as an accountant he worked for Metal Box plc before embarking on a consulting career during which he has worked with clients ranging from computer giant IBM to tanneries and chocolate biscuit manufacturers.In 2017 he published a book '4 Magic Steps to Double Profit' designed to help managers, entrepreneurs and accountants(!) understand business financial dynamics in a fun and insightful way. In this episode we talk about the book, why Jeremy wrote it, and some of the stories he shares. Jeremy comes from a background of business change and business process reengineering, and we talk about the 3 roles the CFO plays. The CFO needs to identify changes that are needed, propose solutions and take people on a change journey from the old world to the new. This week’s guest on the Growcfo Show is an expert in business process improvement and has implemented change programmes in businesses both large and small. Jeremy Rudd shares some of his wisdom on this week’s podcast  Links Jeremy Rudd on LinkedIn Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn 4 Magic Steps to Double Profit on Amazon UK and Amazon USA GrowCFO Business Partnering Bootcamp Timestamps 02:25 Jeremy Rudd's background in the family business. 07:18 How did you get into the business of accounting? 11:07 The vital role of the CFO in business today. 15:26 The CFO’s role in business change is threefold. 19:59 The CFO is in a position where they must engage with their peers and help them enjoy the numbers. 24:40 Who’s your target audience? 29:26 The importance of understanding the costs of your product. 37:39 Why fixed costs aren’t really fixed.

Melissa Hurrington is both CFO and VP of Operations at Premier Claims. This means that besides finance she is responsible for a lot of different functions within the company. In this episode, she shares how she manages these widely varying activities and multiple teams of people. We talk about her route to CFO and how along the way she got to love operations too. We find out why she quit her dream job. How she became CFO at Premier Claims and talk about the challenges she faces day to day and spend time discussing her leadership style. Melissa Hurrington describes herself as a servant leader. Kevin Appleby asks her to explain exactly what this means and Melissa talks about how to create an environment where every team member has everything they need to thrive and perform well. Melissa goes on to talk about setting expectations and managing underperformance. Links Melissa Hurrington on LinkedIn Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn CFO Competency Framework New free resources: The GrowCFO CFO Competency Framework eBook and Career Routes to CFO report Future CFO programme Timestamps 0:11 Introduction to Melissa Hurrington, CFO of Premier Claims. 2:47 How many people do you manage in the context of leading multiple departments? 8:20 Melissa's path to becoming a CFO. 13:22 Why operations is something she fell in love with. 16:09 You’re going to get what you pay for in this space. 21:48 The importance of setting the tone for the week with weekly team meetings. 26:48 How to deal with underperformance in your team. 28:51 Are you on the same page with your team? 34:33 How to know if you’re ready to move on. 39:41 Being clear in what the ask is before anyone works here.

Patrick Butcher learned how to become a leader while undertaking the CFO role at a succession of enormous organisations. His cv includes Network Rail, London Underground and Capita. He admits that he didn't always get leadership right the first time and it took a while to become a great leader. The lessons in leadership he learned on the way have been precious, and he shares them in this week's podcast. It's a great story and well worth a listen. Patrick Butcher is a Board level executive with a track record in financial and operational leadership roles in listed, PE backed and public sector organisations. Proven ability to create value through restructuring, organic and acquisitive growth strategies, and capability building. Combines commercial and transformation leadership skills with a core finance background and strong communication skills. Patrick has developed a great leadership model. He calls it the 5 Cs of Leadership and he explains to Kevin Appleby what this is all about. Links Patrick Butcher on LinkedIn Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn How to Get More Involved in Strategy, A free workshop with Patrick Butcher Timestamps 0:12 Introduction to Patrick Butcher, CFO. 1:32 Why did you decide not to become a lawyer? 4:32 How Patrick’s career in the public sector began. 9:25 What happened after he left London Underground? 12:22 Selling EWS to Deutsche Bundesbahn 18:04 Patrick’s first meeting where he felt he needed to shout at his team. 21:32 What are the questions we have to ask as a business? 24:04 The role of the CFO in creating a more sustainable business. 29:23 What has Patrick Butcher been up to lately after leaving Capita? 32:02 Patrick’s five-step model for leadership.