GrowCFO Show

Gary Cokins is an internationally recognized expert, speaker, and author in performance improvement systems and advanced cost management. He believes that many organizations are far from where they want and need to be to improve performance, and they apply intuition, rather than hard data, when making decisions. Gary explains why Enterprise performance management (EPM) provides a portfolio of managerial methods that can make a real difference. These include: strategy execution with a strategy map and its companion balanced scorecard (KPIs) and operational dashboards (PIs); enterprise risk management (ERM); capacity-sensitive driver-based budgets and rolling financial forecasts; product/service/channel / customer profitability analysis (using activity-based costing [ABC] principles); customer lifetime value (CLV); lean and Six Sigma quality management for operational improvement; and resource capacity spending planning. In this episode, we take a brief look at the tools and explore why many companies are slow to adopt them. Links Gary Cokins Website Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn CFO Competency Framework Business Strategy Boot Camp Timestamps 0:12 Gary’s background. 4:37 If your competitors are adopting and integrating all of these methods, they will have a competitive advantage -. 9:43 How do you solve the problem of a company that hasn’t adopted these methods? 13:52 The importance of understanding what people spend their time doing. 15:43 What is customer profitability? 19:21 How to make your customer more profitable. 23:02 Process improvement people get the benefit of the balanced scorecard. 26:27 Gary’s frustration with the slow adoption rate of ABC. 30:11 What might a CFO do in the next 100 days to start going down that journey?

Chris Roling is the CFO at Coinme. He has 25 years of commercial and private equity experience having served in board, CEO, COO, and CFO positions with a number of global public and private companies. His previous experience is deeply rooted in venture capital, making him an expert on the current state of investor funding and how to acquire it in a bear market. Chris provides some great insights into the following: What best practices and insights on critical strategies can assist companies in improving and sustaining their valuation/operations to attract investors What alternative fundraising strategies work in a disruptive market How to seek out and determine which investors best fit a company’s business model  Chris Roling has also been a partner at Ernst and Young. We know from GowCFO research into routes to CFO that it’s very unusual for a resume to contain both CFO and Big 4 partner roles. We find out from Chris how that came about. Links Chris Roling on Linkedin Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn Routes to CFO Research Report GrowCFO Fundraising Transaction Simulator GrowCFO Future CFO programme Timestamps 00:12 Welcome and introduction to Chris Roling. 02:38 How Chris became a CFO at a very senior level. 04:40 What does it mean to be a direct admit partner? 06:54 What is the current state of investor funding? 11:15 If you do not have enough cash runway you can get yourself into a predicament. 14:00 What is the difference between B2B and B2C companies? 16:19 How to separate the wheat from the chaff in the fintech space. 20:24 The importance of having a shortlist of investors to approach. 22:14 What you need to do to become investor friendly. 24:48 The importance of having a cash flow forecast.

They tell you never to meet your heroes. So did Kevin Appleby make a mistake inviting Laura Vanderkam on to the GrowCFO Show? You will have to listen to the episode and make up your own mind about that! Kevin recommends Laura’s book “168 Hours” every time he runs a module 3 workshop on GrowCFO’s Future CFO Programme. It’s essential reading if you need to find a few extra hours every week to sort out your own personal development and career progression. Laura tells us more about 168 hours in this week’s episode. Laura Vanderkam is a keynote speaker and author of multiple books. She is about to release her latest work “Tranquility By Tuesday” based on a time diary study of over 150 people. In the book, you’ll learn nine tried-and-true “rules” to easily build opportunities for joy, nourishment, and fulfilment into your schedule. These strategies will help you make what you want to happen, actually happen, instead of letting the minutiae of everyday life get in the way. Better still, listen to the podcast episode as Laura reveals to Kevin what all 9 rules are. These rules of course are of limited use to Kevin. He might get to have tranquillity next Tuesday, but his problem is he still can’t get the hang of Thursdays! Links Laura Vanderkam website Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn Laura Vanderkam on Amazon UK and Amazon US GrowCFO Future CFO programme Timestamps 00:43 Why is Laura Vanderkam Kevin’s heroine? 01:35 Laura explains 168 Hours 03:40 How do you make time? 5:22 Doing a time audit 7:55 168 hours is a recommendation in Module 3 of the Future CFO Programme 09:15 The importance of a morning routine 12:31 Tranquility by Tuesday 14:10 The 9 different strategies or rules 15:20 Rule 1 – Give yourself a bedtime 15:50 Rule 2 – Plan on Fridays 18:44 Rule 3 – Move by 3pm 20:35 Rule 4 – Three times a week habit 23:00 Rule 5 – Create a backup slot 24:55 Rule 6 – One big adventure, one little adventure 27:27 Rule 7 – Take one night for you 29:37 Rule 8 – Batch the little things 31:20 Rule 9 – Effort full before effort less

Do you want to be a great finance business partner? If so, you’re in luck! In this episode, Oliver Deacon joins Kevin Appleby and gives us some great tips that will help improve your relationship with your colleagues in the rest of the business. Oliver Deacon is a member of the GrowCFO Mentoring team. He runs the GrowCFO Business Partnering Boot Camps and is a former FD at Microsoft. One of the most important things to remember when trying to become a great finance business partner is that communication is key. You need to be able to effectively communicate with your colleagues in order to build strong relationships. Make sure you are always clear and concise when conveying information, and take the time to listen to what others have to say. It is also important to be responsive to questions and concerns that your colleagues may have. It is also essential that you are able to build trust with your colleagues. This can be done by being honest and transparent in your dealings with them. Make sure you keep your promises and always follow through on what you say you will do. If there are ever any issues, make sure you deal with them in a timely and professional manner. Remember that it is important to show your colleagues that you are invested in the success of the organisation. This can be done by offering help and support when needed and being proactive in finding solutions to problems. Your job is to sell ideas and provide options. If you can do these things, you will be well on your way to becoming a great finance business partner. Building a strong relationship between finance and the rest of the business is essential for the success of your organisation. Listen in for some great information on how to make things work well between you and your fellow business managers! Links Oliver Deacon on LinkedIn Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn GrowCFO Business Partnering for Finance Teams Boot Camps Timestamps 00:43 What is a finance business partner? 02:11 About Oliver Deacon 03:26 How to become a great business partner? Where do you start? 03:59 Relationships and selling ideas 05:38 How do you start forming great relationships? 06:15 Asking questions, showing people you are interested in them 09:43 Can you figure out what your business partners’ biggest problems are? 10:39 Stop; Start; Continue 12:16 Turning data into insights 15:40 What are we going to do differently as a business? 16:38 Finance business partnering boot camp 18:48 How is the boot camp structured? 21:17 What’s covered in each workshop? 23:32 How do you attend a bootcamp? 24:41 What surprises people most on the boot camp?

100 Episodes of the GrowCFO Show, that’s 2 years’ worth of podcast episodes. Dan Wells, founder and CEO of GrowCFO joins regular podcast host Kevin Appleby to celebrate the milestone, reflect back on the last two years and talk about some new exciting developments in GrowCFO. Dan and Kevin both choose their favourite episodes of the GrowCFO Show. Dan decided on episode 95 where Catherine Clark, head of mentoring at GrowCFO, talked about making the best decision for both you and your business. Kevin selected episode 102, yes an episode that is yet to be published, where he managed to get a guest from his own bucket list on the show. We’ll leave you to wait another two weeks to find out who it is. The clue is Kevin talks about her book every time he delivers module 3 of the Future CFO Programme. Three significant milestones arrive all at the same time. As well as the 100th episode of the GrowCFO Show we’ve published two great new resources. The first is a 100-page book that describes the CFO Competency Framework. The second is a white paper examining the career paths of 500 CFOs and exploring the many different career routes available to get to the top job in finance. Both have just been made available to download on the GrowCFO website Links Dan Wells on LinkedIn Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn Become a free member of GrowCFO Dan’s Favourite episode (episode 95) CFO Competency Framework New free resources: The GrowCFO CFO Competency Framework eBook and Career Routes to CFO report Future CFO programme Timestamps 01:40 Two years ago, what was the original vision for GrowCFO? 03:17 How did Dan and Kevin end up working together? 06:02 Working with interesting people who simply want to give something back 07:23 Our favourite episodes of the GrowCFO Show 11:38 Whats GrowCFO all about? 16:19 plans for the next 2 years 17:19 The CFO Competency Framework 21:57 New research: What’s the optimum size for your finance function 24:56 Virtual Boardroom and Fundraising Simulator 25:34 Boot Camps for both Strategy and Finance Business Partnering

Alex Budak joins the GrowCFO show on the same day that his new book “Becoming a Changemaker” is published. Quite a coup for the podcast! The book is an excellent read for anyone wanting to become a changemaker, in particular for finance leaders wanting to enhance their ability to be a catalyst for change. As a faculty member at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, Alex created and teaches the wildly popular course “Becoming a Changemaker,” which has quickly grown into one of the most highly-rated courses anywhere on campus. The course is regularly heralded by students as “transformative” and “life-changing” but has only been accessible to students attending UC Berkeley. That all changes from today as the course is condensed into a book accessible by anyone. The Becoming a Changemaker playbook is a guide for anyone looking to lead positive change. It covers the mindsets and leadership skills needed to navigate, shape, and lead change, as well as how to thrive in uncertain times. The book is tailored to millennials and Gen Zers who are leaving school and entering the workforce. It is based on the popular UC Berkeley course by the same name, which students have praised as transformative and life-changing. Links Alex Budak on LinkedIn Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn GrowCFO Competency Framework Becoming a Changemaker on Amazon UK and Amazon USA Timestamps 00:51 Alex explains his background 02:26 Book being published on 13 September 2022 04:05 Change and the CFO 06:17 Technology and change 10:02 Can the changemaker skill be learned? 10:36 The Changemaker index 12:33 Dealing with resistance to change 15:06 Involving people in the change 18:28 Champions, fence-sitters and cynics 23:03 Impact = (mindset+leadership) x action 25:24 Who is the book aimed at? 28:06 How did you get involved in teaching “Changemaker”?

Jeremy Foster is an unusual CFO, he isn’t an accountant and doesn’t have a finance background. His origins are in sales and marketing. He changed course following an MBA at Notre Dame and has subsequently become a highly successful finance leader with strong strategic capabilities and significant M&A experience. Jeremy has been instrumental in multiple equity rounds, debt recaps, and a 9-digit platform sale to PE. Jeremy’s main interest is working with an organisation that wants to drive massive growth. He will typically be brought on board by a CEO who wants a co-pilot to go on that journey. In this episode, we talk about how Jeremy is currently doing that at Talroo and how that differs from his approach at previous companies Homeward and Kasasa. He explains how he operates as a strategic partner to the CEO and gives us some great insights to the thought process a CFO needs in helping build and drive strategy. We explore some of the key KPIs you need to understand when investing in customer acquisition, and we talk about the theory of constraints. Jeremy shows how the skills he learned as a marketing director are extremely valuable to a CFO too. Links Jeremy Foster on LinkedIn Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn Talroo.com GrowCFO Strategy Programme Timestamps 00:53 A background in marketing for a bank 01:29 Did you miss out by not having an accounting background? 02:13 What role do you play as a non-accounting CFO? 04:01 Blitz scaling 05:26 The three big KPIs you need to know 07:53 Profit per customer 10:25 Jeremy Foster’s experience growing the business at Kasasa 12:39 What issues do such rapid growth bring? 15:53 Thinking about communication channels 18:38 The theory of constraints 19:50 The importance of good relationships 21:50 The role of a finance business partner 23:03 What advice would you give to a CFO coming through a more traditional route than yourself? 24:55 What’s the role of the CFO in driving a high-growth business strategy?

Danielle Keeven has had quite a journey to get to her current role as VP of Finance at paddle.com. She has crossed the globe and changed industry sectors. She has gone from roles in large multinationals to working in high-growth startups. Danielle shares her experiences with Kevin Appleby on this week’s GrowCFO Show. Originally working in the Caribbean for large US multinationals such as Marriott and Hyatt, Danielle swapped to working in Europe for booking.com, then moved out of hospitality completely to work in fintech. This was a huge change and she tells us all about the challenges she faced in the episode. Danielle Keeven is currently VP of finance at paddle.com. Paddle offers SaaS companies a completely different way to sell. Instead of assembling and maintaining a complex stack of payments-related apps and services, Paddle provides an all-in-one solution. Danielle explains how her finance expertise is applied to the design of the product as well as to running the finance team. We discuss in detail the problems that products like Paddle solve for SaaS founders, and some of the mistakes Danielle has seen these companies make. Links Danielle Keeven on LinkedIn Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn Paddle.com GrowCFO Future CFO Programme GrowCFO Strategy Programme CFO Competency Framework Free Course: First 100 Days in your new finance role Timestamps 01:00 Born in the Netherlands, growing up in the Caribbean 01:42 The accidental accountant 02:59 Hospitality: Hyatt and Marriott 03:45 Move to Europe and the tech side of Hospitality 05:00 Accounts receivable in a SaaS business 06:41 moving from Booking.com to Messagebird 09:23 Why did you join paddle.com? 11:47 What does Paddle do? 13:18 The complexities of online business and global tax rules 16:13 Will you move on from VP Finance to a full CFO role? 17:19 Roald Dahl’s Matilda 19:13 What sort of mistakes do you see fast-growing SaaS companies making? 22:06 Building a strategy for internationalisation 23:15 Giving SaaS businesses the right data insights 25:26 What advice would you give other finance people looking to move to CFO roles 26:41 GrowCFO Competency framework 27:15 The art of delegation 30:33 The finance leader and fraud

The role of a finance transformation leader is a complex one. It requires someone with great technical skills, as well as strong people skills. A successful finance transformation leader must be able to manage and motivate their team, while also being able to communicate effectively with other members of the organization. Toni Betts, group finance director at The Travel Chapter is one of those successful transformation leaders and she shares her journey with Kevin Appleby on this episode of The GrowCFO Show. One of the most important qualities of a successful finance transformation leader is the ability to manage and motivate their team. A finance transformation is a complex undertaking that requires the efforts of many individuals. A great leader will be able to keep their team on track and focused on the goal. They will also be able to motivate their team when things get tough. In addition to being a great manager, a finance transformation leader must also be an effective communicator. This is important because they will need to communicate with other members of the organization, such as the CEO and CFO. They will also need to communicate with vendors and other outside parties. Effective communication is essential for ensuring that everyone is on the same page and that the transformation goes smoothly. Great people skills are essential for anyone looking to lead a finance transformation. A successful leader will be able to manage and motivate their team, while also being an effective communicator. If you have these qualities, then you may be well suited for this important role. Links Toni Betts on LinkedIn Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn GrowCFO Future CFO Programme Free Course: First 100 Days in your new finance role Susan Jeffers – Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway: How to Turn Your Fear and Indecision into Confidence and Action on Amazon UK and Amazon US Timestamps 01:39 Toni’s new group FD role 02:04 When did you decide to become an accountant? 04:50 Qualifying in an audit practice 06:52 Toni’s first role outside practice and moving on to join American Express 08:10 Being part of a great leadership programme 09:46 Stepping out of your comfort zone: You need to get comfortable with leadership skills and push yourself to use them 11:32 Susan Jeffers – Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway 12:03 Moving on from American Express 15:09 Becoming a finance transformation expert 16:43 Learning from experience 20:24 Some of the practical challenges of transforming finance teams 24:14 Technology is forcing finance to change 25:03 What advice would you give other finance leaders? 27:42 Personal Awareness and feedback from others 29:01 The importance of how you present over what you are presenting 30:45 What does Toni Betts do to avoid stress and burnout? 32:37 What’s the biggest challenge in your new group FD role?

Are you in control of your own life, or are the demands of all the other things around you taking over? Too much pressure at work to have a personal life? Perhaps you aren’t feeling fulfilled? If any of that describes you then it’s time to take control back and make decisions that benefit you and not just your organisation. In this episode, Catherine Clark joins us to talk about the importance of making the right decisions for your own wellbeing. She draws on both her own personal experience as a CFO and the situations she comes across every week when she is mentoring other finance leaders. If you aren’t happy with where you are right now it’s time to do something about it and take action. Catherine has some great advice to offer about how to find out what you really want and then take the right steps to get there. We talk about the importance of having the right mindset, and the importance of stepping forward even when there might be fear and uncertainty. This is the third episode in a mini-series looking at your well-being. In the previous two episodes, we’ve looked at resilience with Leanne Spencer and self-awareness with Susana Serrano-Davey. Links Mentoring at GrowCFO with Catherine Clark Catherine Clark on LinkedIn Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn Susan Jeffers – Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway: How to Turn Your Fear and Indecision into Confidence and Action on Amazon UK and Amazon US Timestamps 01:50 Are you feeling dissatisfied? 03:14 Getting in touch with your feelings 04:00 Go with your gut and your subconscious mind 06:03 Having the right people around you to support you 08:40 Some examples of situations people find themselves in 10:17 The decision isn’t about moving on and changing job 12:01 The mindset shift that’s needed 14:52 The fear of change, doing things differently, making a mistake 15:50 What do you need to stop doing? start doing? continue doing? 16:15 What do you want? 17:16 Overwhelm 18:12 Feel the fear and do it anyway 20:33 Where do you want to be in 3 years’ time? 23:15 Do you stay? Do you move on? 24:50 You can’t lose, just make a decision! 27:06 What do you do after you make a decision? 29:32 Some practical exercises you can do right now