Decisions, decisions, decisions. That’s all a company is made up of. But wait—what happens after the decision is made? More decisions? No, after a decision comes execution. It’s in the execution stage that value is either created or destroyed, although the decision that preceded execution is a large factor in… [READ MORE]
There’s a lot of talk these days about business agility. Yet it’s much more than just a trendy new business term to throw around at a networking lunch. Ask any C-suite executive if their organization could be more agile, and they will likely answer yes. But what does agility mean,… [READ MORE]
Influencers, eh? Aren’t those the people who post funny pictures to their millions of followers on social media, getting paid to pose with various products? Yes, that might be the popular version of being an influencer, however all finance professionals (from leaders to FP&A folk) must become influencers too! Why… [READ MORE]
Insight. The one true currency of a finance professional. If we don’t have any insights to share with our business stakeholders, then we’re not helping improve decision-making. A lot has happened on the insight front in recent years. We’ve talked about going from insights about past events to insights in… [READ MORE]
If there’s one thing a finance professional can do forever, it’s analyze stuff. We’re never short of data to analyze, and there are always more details to be ironed out. We love analyzing stuff so much that we almost forget the purpose of doing the analysis. The purpose is to… [READ MORE]
Why do I ask this question? Because the answer is not as simple as it used to be. Here are some potential answers: The local business intelligence (BI) team (as it used to be) Local users all around the world A center of excellence for BI A robot (or a… [READ MORE]
Now, more than ever, agility is the currency of success. And while agility may be about responding intelligently to the changing nature of the marketplace, those responses must be rooted in a plan. Today, many organizations leverage newer technologies in the cloud for planning, having moved away from manual spreadsheets.… [READ MORE]
The amount of data that business and the finance function must process continues to increase, yet the number of people involved in producing this data is decreasing. This is happening through automation and better integration of systems both within a company and between companies. This also means that you as… [READ MORE]
In June I attended the largest CFO conference in Scandinavia, and two stats stuck in my mind. “800 to 2 and 10 to 10” It might sound like gibberish, but these stats are one of the clearest signs that the finance value chain is being disrupted. The stats, from Microsoft’s… [READ MORE]
The role of financial controller has moved way beyond number crunching. Increasingly, controllers are taking on the job of financial operating officer. They are becoming the CFO’s go-to source to ensure that finance runs smoothly and there are no surprises at quarter end. But leading a smoothly running finance department is a given.… [READ MORE]
