Ask any marketeer and they’ll tell you the worst way to bring numbers to life…is to use a table of numbers. Why? Any more than a handful of numbers creates immediate noise and potential confusion. Too many numbers means your key message is diluted or even lost. Many...
Did you know there were 3 ways to present the exact same number? The one you pick is more important than you think... £30m This round number is great for impact and simplicity, but it could look like you made it up. So you’re more likely to be challenged on it....
Stop talking about driving performance. It may sound good, but it's killing your influence. And here's how. Finance don’t drive performance. Sales, marketing, and operations do that. If you want to drive it, go and work in one of those. Finance’s role is to help...
80-90% plus of what FBPs do is not finance business partnering. Why? Because it’s reporting, forecasting or budgeting. Which are FP&A activities. Soon to be largely taken over by robots. The future of FP&A is not business partnering. The future of FP&A is...
As finance people we probably already know that focussing on the future is more important than reporting on the past. After all we can’t change the past. The problem is that finance focussing on the future often means forecasting it. And trying to get better at...
What is finance business partnering? I used to be a finance director, then I became a sales director, and I'll show you everything I learned in sales that I wished I'd known when I worked in finance. Finance business partnering is about three things: Number one,...
One of the questions I'm asked the most is: will robot takes our jobs? And I always reply with: it depends whether you're dealing data or insight. Watch the video to find out more. And if you want to future proof your career and prepare for the finance revolution,...
I spent much of my finance career chasing job titles. When I was a finance analyst I wanted to be a finance manager. Then a senior finance manager. Then I wanted to be a head of finance, and a finance controller. As soon as I was a financial controller I wanted to be...
When worked in finance, I thought it was all about the numbers. Show people the numbers, take them through the logic, and surely I'll be able to influence them. The thing is, sometimes the numbers worked for me. But other times they didn't. It wasn't until I moved...
You go for a job, and you don’t get it. The feedback is something like, we didn’t think you had enough experience running big projects. And you think, &£@“ I’ve had loads of experience doing that! It just didn’t come up in the interview so I didn’t get a chance to...
Are you reports and presentations looking a bit dull? Do you want to give your audience something interesting and fun to engage them? Most presentations and reports are made up of tables of numbers and bullet points - yawn central! Bring your next presentation to life...
I started to work for a finance director who had a unique view of the role of finance. He had left finance and spent 5 years in general management. And then he came back into finance. He said it completely changed his perspective. He had unconventional view on almost...
One of the questions I am asked the most is what's the best finance team structure? I always say the same. The mindset of the people you have is way more important than the structure. If your finance team have a commercial mindset, then they will work well in any...
Your team are probably all very busy. But how do you know whether they are busy fools. Or focussed. Efficient. Making a genuine difference. Here's 3 things to look out for. 1. How much time do they spend at their desk? Business partnering doesn't happen in Excel or...
There's always been a gap between data and the people who need to make decisions based on it. Today we live in a World of big data, which basically means there's a lot of it. More than we can really imagine. And it's getting bigger and faster. Meaning the gap between...
Read the average job profile for a finance, HR, procurement or other business partner and the only thing missing is a cape and pair of pants to wear on the outside. In our rush to squeeze in as many capabilities as we can, are we missing the big picture? By the time...
I recently wrote a post questioning whether the title 'finance business partner' helps or hinders our mindset and approach. It got me thinking. This week the England football team are back in action, following a torrid time. I'll be in the pub with friends, cheering...
Referendums. All quiet for decades. Then we have Scotland. Then the EU. What's next? Is it time for the Finance Business Partner referendum? I have a problem with the term. Maybe not so much the term itself, rather how it is interpreted at an unconscious level. When...
I love pizza. It's my favourite food. So much so that a few years ago I visited Naples in Italy, the home of pizza. I had heard about the legendary L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele restaurant. A no-frills haven for the pizza purist. Hailed by many as the home of the...
When I first started working my job title included the word 'accountant'. I was the 'International Reporting Accountant'. Then I became the 'Logistics Accountant'. Then the 'Factory Accountant'. Then I got a new job titled 'Commercial Finance Business Partner'. But it...
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