GrowCFO Show

Jim Simpson is this week’s guest on the #growcfo show. He is the founder and CEO of Ziptech services, a company that specialises in supporting CEOs and CFOs to help them understand and make use of the latest advances in technology. Jim and Kevin chat about some of the latest developments in the technology field, focussing in particular on automation and AI. CFOs in charge of IT have a real challenge when it comes to keeping up with the latest innovations. Jim and Kevin look at practical ways to take advantage of the latest developments and make sure your organisation doesn’t get left behind. As a CFO, you will often need to make strategic choices in areas where you have little or no expertise.  This makes it difficult to reach informed decisions. Some of the common questions Jim finds CFOs ask include: Business process automation – How could it improve my business and how do we get started? Governance and financial controls – How do I know when I am getting ROI from my IT spending? Security and compliance – How do I know if my network and remote workers are secure? Future-proofing your investment – How can I build an infrastructure today that will see me through tomorrow? https://youtu.be/1A1M6HxNp_Q Links Jim Simpson on LinkedIn Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn GrowCFO 2023 Predictions Ziptech Services Directors Briefings Timestamps 00:11 Kevin introduces Jim Simpson, a technologist. 04:59 What’s going on in the world around automation and artificial intelligence? 10:30 How do business leaders keep themselves up to date with technological changes? 14:30 How do you make sure you’re getting the right people along? 19:25 How to write a blog post with Otter. 24:21 Software that can look for errors and patterns. 29:31 How do we get our heads around some of this? 32:01 What sort of person or people would you be looking at for this role?

Yoana Land is inspirational. Originally from Transylvania, which is part of Romania, she moved to the United States and has risen to become CFO Transformation at L’Oreal North America. She tells Kevin Appleby all about the challenges that her journey has given her and how she overcame them. We talk about taking on a role in China during the pandemic. Not the best time to attempt a move to the far east! Yoana goes on to explain her current role and tells us what a CFO Transformation actually does. This role is another big challenge as it’s a brand new role and Yoana has nobody to learn it from. Yoana Land is a dynamic, hyper-growth-driving CFO offering 20+ years of financial and business acumen developed in Fortune 500 companies. She has an MBA in strategy and finance from Duke University and an MS in Finance from Harvard. Yoana is a strategic financial advisor to the CEO, and her background includes financial planning and restructuring, M&A deals, digital transformation, operational controllership, global change management, strategic planning and analysis, vendor negotiation, emerging and developed market growth strategies, organizational turnaround initiatives and IT implementation. https://youtu.be/JaZ_vncfLWE Links Yoana Land 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 Today’s guest: Yoana Land 2:33 How good was your education in Romania? 7:01 Why she started a master’s in psychology at Harvard. 9:31 How much FPA experience did you have from American Airlines before you took the CFO role? 15:12 What did you have to do in that role? 17:27 You don’t have to be a subject matter expert to be successful in business. 22:33 What went wrong and what did you do about it? 24:59 The story of getting Yoana to Shanghai. 30:04 What does the CFO Transformation do? 31:30 What are the challenges of being in a brand new role?

Victoria Topham is the commercial director at Profit Impact. Profit Impact helps accountants get to grips with ESG and sustainability. She comes from a finance background, and we discuss the role of finance teams in ESG and sustainability. The finance team plays a critical role in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and sustainability reporting. This reporting is intended to provide stakeholders with an understanding of the company’s current performance in areas such as climate change, social equity, and corporate governance. The finance team should ensure that ESG and sustainability reporting includes accurate data for all relevant metrics used to measure organizational performance. They should also be responsible for managing the process of collecting data from various sources, ensuring its accuracy and timeliness. Furthermore, they should help interpret the results of the reports to identify any trends or unmet goals that can be addressed with proposed solutions or adjustments. Finally, they should lead the effort in developing strategies designed to improve the organization’s ESG profile over time. Some finance teams are playing a critical role in developing reporting for B Corps. A B Corporation (or B Corp) is a for-profit company that has been certified by a third-party organization with regard to its social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. B Corps are committed to meeting higher standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability — as outlined in the B Corporation Declaration of Interdependence. These companies strive to create a positive impact on society, workers, the community and the environment in addition to pursuing profitability goals. This certification process requires businesses to meet and provide evidence of both their social and environmental performance. By becoming certified as a B Corporation, companies demonstrate their commitment to making decisions that serve the greater good, rather than just maximize profits for shareholders Links Victoria Topham on LinkedIn Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn GrowCFO Finance Predictions 2023 GrowCFO Finance Team Training Timestamps 0:11 Introducing Victoria Topham 2:20 Sustainability and finance in the real estate industry. 7:04 Is the pressure coming down the supply chain around sustainability? 9:18 What does Profit Impact do? 13:37 Why should the finance person be taking a lead in sustainability? 17:46 What’s a B Corporation? 20:39 Female founders vs male founders in B Corporations. 24:38 What’s the impact of ESG on the environment? 29:40 Is the need for consistency and discipline around reporting going to be a major factor in the future?

Hannah Munro returns as this week’s guest on the GrowCFO Show. Last time we discussed managing change, this time we looked specifically at the month-end close. Hannah Munro is the Managing Director at ITAS and host of the CFO 4.0 podcast. Hannah’s company ITAS are often involved in helping clients implement new accounting solutions, so she has lots of practical experience in using software solutions to speed things up and improve reporting. Kevin and Hannah take time to consider how technology can help you improve your close. Hannah believes that technology isn’t really the issue. The normal cause of a long close is a poor process. You need to sort your processes out before you use technology, otherwise, all you do is automate inefficiency. Real-time reporting is one of the key GrowCFO predictions for 2023. You need to have great processes before you can make the step away from the traditional month-end. To run a successful business, you need accurate and up-to-date financial information to make important decisions that affect the future of your company. Each department needs self-service access to this information on a real-time basis in a flexible format. However, most companies still rely upon month-end reporting, which is based on past data and is less user-friendly by nature. The increased adoption of real-time financial software will continue to revolutionize the way organizations view their finances. By accessing live data, companies will make decisions much faster and smarter than ever before. In turn, this will streamline the month-end reporting process and lead to the eventual phasing out of the monthly close process altogether. Listen to the full episode and find out more https://youtu.be/5A7nsg-o0kw Links Hannah Munro on LinkedIn Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn GrowCFO Finance Predictions 2023 Future of Finance Functions GrowCFO Show Episode 13 with Hannah Munro Timestamps 1:09 Is shortening the close process something you see as a task quite often with your client? 5:54 What is the difference between a key performance indicator and a result indicator? 12:27 Is it important to be accurate to the last penny? 16:06 How long do you spend in a business meeting where you have multiple versions of the truth? 21:07 The importance of using numbers in finance. 25:44 What AI can do for reconciliations and checks. 29:41 The importance of getting data right the first time is the first step towards the continuous close. 33:07 How technology needs to fit into your automation process.

Amy Spurling is Founder and CEO at Compt. She is a seasoned executive with over 20 years experience in leadership roles at venture-backed companies ranging from early start-up phase through high growth and ultimately exit. Amy’s backgound is finance and her resume includes CFO roles at Jana; Backupify and EXOS and COO at Bedrock Data. She has completed successful fundraising rounds at each of these organisations, including a $57m series C. Now Amy Spurling is running her own company. Compt helps companies build, streamline, and scale employee perk stipends that delight teams and give companies a more productive and engaged workforce. Everyone has different needs, and she beleives that when perks take this into account the value to the employee goes beyond just beer or catered lunches and becomes so much more. We talk about the concept behind Compt, and look at how you can retain people and improve employee engagement very effectively without breaking the bank to do so. Something thats very welcome when you have budget constraints. Links Amy Spurling on LinkedIn Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn Find out more about Compt Flexible training at Learnerbly CFO Competency Framework New free resources: The GrowCFO CFO Competency Framework eBook and Career Routes to CFO report Future CFO programme Timestamps 0:11 What role do you have in Compt? 4:12 What’s the current state of employee perks in the US? 9:06 Sustaining employee engagement is part of a multivariable puzzle. 14:03 The company gets to customise what they want employees to be able to focus on. 19:19 What is the difference between a benefits system that is personalised to company culture and one that is aligned with the company culture? 22:47 The learnerbly allowance 28:25 Why is all of this on a budget? 33:30 How do you approach that particular conundrum at the moment if you want to reduce the number of people you’ve hired?

Timothée Clément, Country Manager in UK and Ireland at Agicap joins Kevin Appleby to discuss How to Implement a cashflow forecasting system. Cashflow forecasting is one of the most important aspects of financial planning for any business. Unfortunately, it can also be one of the most difficult things to get right. Many businesses choose to use Excel to create their cashflow forecast, but this can often lead to mistakes and inaccurate data. In this episode, we discuss the benefits of using a cash flow forecasting app instead of Excel. Having an accurate cashflow forecast is essential for any business, whether they are just starting out or have been running for years. Fortunately, new technology has made it easier than ever to create accurate forecasts. One major benefit of using a cash flow forecasting app is that it eliminates user error when inputting data into spreadsheets. Excel spreadsheets require manual entry which leaves room for mistakes such as incorrect formulas or typos which can lead to inaccurate results. Cash flow forecasting apps automate much of this process so you don’t have to worry about making errors while entering data into your spreadsheet. This helps ensure that your projections are always accurate and up-to-date. Agicap is one such system, and Kevin and Timothy discuss how you might go about switching from Excel, the change process you might go through, and the benefits to your business. Links Timothee Clement on LinkedIn Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn Agicap cash flow management software CFO Competency Framework Timestamps 00:11 What is Agicap? 04:26 How to update the cash flow model in real-time 06:12 What’s the difference between a cash flow model and accounting software? 09:57 The first step of transformation is confidence, then implementation. 14:24 What is the success of this system? What constitutes success? 18:47 What are some of the new product lines that you’re offering? 22:58 How can you be sure your data is still secure in the cloud? 27:42 What are some of the biggest changes you need to make in the business when you implement this? 32:09 What are the benefits of having a system like this?

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.