Our Guest Mentor:
Ifeoma Okonkwo is currently a Director of Finance at MG Entertainment Nig. Ltd (Mavin Records) and has 10+ years finance experience gained across a diverse range of industries including hospitality, professional services, banking and PR.
Ifeoma holds an ACMA, ACTI, AAT and FCA designations as well as an MBA from Edinburgh Business School. She is based out of Lagos, Nigeria.
Key Quotes from the Episode:
[On her Eureka moment] “I like to put structures to things. I don’t like anything rule of thumb and that’s what we as accountants do, we put structures to things, there are processes, there are policies most importantly, and then there are even third party reviewers in the form of auditors tax consultants and so on.” [11:43]
[On creative works/talents] “There are a lot of talents. Go to Tik Tok, go to YouTube, go to Instagram. That is all a lot of talents. So she’s just not telling you looking at what can I do with this talent, right? It is a product, you know, how we, produce things to meet a particle.” [18:51]
[On business value of creative works/talents] “So it’s always, the access is always in brand. And then it’s the access is released to meet, um, in particular gap. So that’s what we’ve been strategic about doing. We’re not just blown away by a pretty beautiful scenarios voice, or you can hit all those, all the PS that is not enough. Are you fashionable? Would we be able to sell you to fashion brand? Would you be able to walk on a runway? Would it be able to turn heads, right? Those are the kinds of things we’ll look up. So yeah, the access, like I said is a brand and there are a lot of things you can actually tap from the arts. Just the music is one.” [21:39]
[On the importance of collaboration] “professionally we have a beautiful, diverse and community of professionals that you can always ring up and then they’ll speak to you. And they’re always happy to, I have enjoyed that immensely and I constantly enjoy it.” [31:29]
Key Points from the Episode:
- An introduction to where finance & accounting teams can drive value in their organizations.
- The importance of having good foundations and what these might look like
- Her Eureka moment and current work in the music industry with artists.
- How to consider monetizing intangible assets, creative works and valuing intellectual property.
- Why Ifeoma recommends that finance professionals collaborate more with each other.
Stamped Show Notes
[03:12] Ifeoma gives a quick introduction to her professional journey.
[11:38] Ifeoma shares her Eureka moment
[12:15] Ifeoma discusses the main responsibilities of finance team.
[17:06] Ifeoma talks about how to monetize intangible assets/creative works.
[23:29] Ifeoma explains the valuation of intellectual property.
[26:34] Ifeoma tells what makes financial career exciting.
[27:36] Ifeoma mentions the best advice she has ever received.
[30:40] Recommended resources from Ifeoma.
[33:15] Ifeoma answers where we can connect with her
[33:59] Ifeoma gives her parting thoughts for the audience
Connect with today’s guest:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ifeoma-okonkwo-34ab8a38/
Full transcript:
[00:00:00]
[00:00:30] Andrew: Hi everyone. And welcome to this. Week’s Trenton, the numbers. Hope you’ve been having a fantastic week and really excited to share with you a conversation I had together with Ifeoma Okonkw o
[00:00:39] and I got to know a Ifeoma completely by chance. I come across some comments she made.
[00:00:45] About where finance and accounting teams could drive value in their organizations largely drawing from her current experiences as a finance leader within the music industry.
[00:00:55] So we tell them a lot into some of the key insights out of former has there, but we spent a lot of time also talking about the deliberate diversity
[00:01:03] that foam was introduced into her career path. So deliberately picking experiences that allowed her. To leverage the strong foundation she felt up earlier in her career.
[00:01:15] So those of you listening in trying to understand what those foundations could perhaps look like. I do yourselves in your other stages of your career or actually if you were advising or mentoring some younger professionals in finances to what I saw ideas on things they could look at and take care of,
[00:01:32] I would encourage you to pay attention to what if has got to share on this.
[00:01:35] And then we covered. Off some interesting trends and developments, particularly within the music industry and maybe more broadly in a lot of other organizations out there, how do we consider monetizing in tangible assets, like to create a work of music, artists or value their intellectual property, or how do we assess the market potential a potential intangible asset has.
[00:01:58] Ifeoma shares some sort of key thoughts and also has a very important recommendation for finance professionals as well. Which he shares towards the end of the show.
[00:02:06] That was always, you really appreciate it. When you tune in and share these episodes with your friends and your colleagues, you can subscribe on all the major platforms, iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud, YouTube, Spotify, and Amazon. And if you do want to find out more about a foamer, something key quotes, timestamp show notes, transcripts, or more, you can do [email protected].
[00:02:25] So I think that’s enough for me for now. So without further do overdo your film and the show. So Ifeoma, welcome to the show.
[00:02:37] Ifeoma: Thank you Andrew for having me. Thank you so much for this opportunity.
[00:02:42] Andrew: Hey look it’s our pleasure and what really excites me. I think you’re our first guest mentor with a background in finance, in the music industry. And I’d love, I love, actually where some of that’s going, because I read some of your comments in a recent article. I thought they were fantastic.
[00:02:56] Said we’ve got to share those with our audience, but before we go into all of that, maybe it’d be nice to get.
[00:03:01] to know a bit more about you and your career journey. So would you mind giving a brief story if that, to our audience.
[00:03:06] Ifeoma: Alright. So I am a finance professional with over 10 years expertise in finance and it’s been in diverse industry and that is intentional. I started my career. Favorite off financed. It was, first with a bank as a customer care representative. And all I had to do was talk talk, how you have to provide customer service to people.
[00:03:30] He had got bored. It was interesting. One first, because yeah, green up, I used to be a chatterbox and everybody would say, oh, you do well. Being a lawyer, you do well in beating mass com graduates. Anyway. Speak, but then it has always been financed for me. Like without any doubts from high school I needed, I wanted to be in the accounting field and then in the field office field.
[00:03:52] So it didn’t even take one year, two months for me working in the bank as a customer service representative, to know that this isn’t what I wanted for my career paths, then I started to take professional exams. I am a chartered accountant with, the Eastern sort of chartered accountants in Nigeria. So I started taking the exams, in no far time I was done.
[00:04:15] And then I decided to go into. Because, with audit, you have this diverse, what is it called experience on being specialized? I didn’t want to specialize in a parts of pots in finance. Yeah. So with audits, and then it wasn’t in any of the big fours, like if it was one of the big falls in the audit profession, Feud, you would have to be like specialized.
[00:04:39] So you probably be a corporate service advisor or you probably be an auditor or you probably be an internal audits. So I decided to play in the medium size. Audit spam. Now with that, the advantage with us is today you’re doing corporate finance. Demora it’s taxation.
[00:04:59] Andrew: Yes.
[00:05:00] Ifeoma: Yeah. So it’s just a whole lot of things.
[00:05:03] And then just makes you master each and every one of those industries.
[00:05:08] Andrew: Yeah, It always got, I say a former that’s very interesting that you were deliberate about that
[00:05:12] Ifeoma: It was deliberate. It was very intentional. It was very intentional and working in audits assurance for three years, I had the, opportunity to work in with clients in Marine logistics. Engineering, it was diverse. It was very interesting. It was a beautiful time, honestly. And just make me understand that accounting is actually accounting, whatever the industry, you only just need to understand what the industry is, what, regulations there are.
[00:05:42] And then you apply the same accounting principles. Same finance and what, yeah. So it was so interesting to have that, what is it called opportunity and that, yeah,
[00:05:53] Andrew: That’s a great foundation, right? It’s a fantastic foundation grounding. You could always go by.
[00:05:58] Ifeoma: Exactly after then I got poached by trans cop. I don’t know the very pop line, Nigeria trans cop. But the hotel, because they have a boutique of,
[00:06:08] So I, they have pod.
[00:06:10] They have what is it called? Hotel and all of that. Yeah. So I worked with transport hotels, caliber. That was another interesting one. Accounting for. I can’t think in the intestine, I know it would be called instantaneous industry, actually the hospitality industry that came with its own challenges and it was a lot of learning experience for me again, considering I didn’t do it when I was in assurance.
[00:06:35] So yeah, that, that was another, experience under my belt. It was so interesting. And.
[00:06:41] Andrew: pretty interesting how, like it says where you, when people get poached, people think, oh, maybe they might’ve been the auditor on the account, or they might’ve had some experience. So you, it was your first time seeing a hospitality business, which is quite.
[00:06:53] Ifeoma: Yes.
[00:06:54] Andrew: Quite unique and specialists in itself.
[00:06:56] People think it’s easy to run a hotel or someone might have an Airbnb or something, but actually it is. quite a challenging industry, but it’s a unique service set of circumstances.
[00:07:07] Ifeoma: And then it was like one of the biggest hotels in Nigeria. I think he had about 317 rooms. So it was really challenging. Yeah. So I worked as the assistant financial controller for the hotel and then of course reports it to the financial controller. So it was such an experience.
[00:07:24] Then I went on to, read media radio is actually What would I call it a media PR and media, out speeds. They also will have a governance arm. They run the 2015 presidential campaign in Nigeria. And that was at that same time that I entered as an icon. I joined the company. So that was a whole new experience like running.
[00:07:48] PR accounts, especially one of the biggest campaigns ever in the history of Nigeria. That was when Harry came into pop. Yeah. I had the pleasure of him, the accountants on that. What is it called on that company? And it was, that’s the PR part of the company. He had a whole lot of other people in the company, so that I’m looking at school said that I actually
[00:08:09] Andrew: Yeah.
[00:08:11] Ifeoma: read media.
[00:08:13] Do you understand what I’m saying? So yeah, that, was another good experience. And then from Remy, the idea that three years with written media, I landed in this beautiful place that I am right now. May even records. I don’t know if you’ve done any research about Maven record we’re at the foremost label in Nigeria.
[00:08:33] And we can say in Africa led by the legendary Don jazzy. He’s very popular in the music space in Africa. And I want to believe outside of Africa too. Yeah. So it’s been very interesting. That’s another difference so you can call me, I think I like to just go to new. Industries, I’m always offered a challenge.
[00:08:54] I remember my interview ads even records. I used to just wonder why would a music label need an accountant? Especially a professional like me. I would just expect that they probably want a bookkeeper or like an accountant assistant, but coming for a professional qualified accountants. Really? Why do you need that?
[00:09:15] So it was very curious for me, I, into the interview with a lot of questions. Why’d you need me it was interesting. And then they said it was, I can’t really forget it. It was just one line that made me know that I want to be on this trip. They said what is it was, we’ll trying to Butte something here.
[00:09:32] If he, my head I’m like Butte, Salem, or. Give me my buckets and I, to my hats. I really wants to be building projects. And it was just so interesting because I really like, places that are actually would I say, I could actually call them startups because it was actually startup. Maybe just go to this strategic partnership with
[00:09:56] So it took them from just being a Nigerian company to be. I don’t know if you don’t the capital in the us, it’s in the news. If you check about story of a maiden, so just got a strategic partnership with Gabon. They’re offering resources, financial, Humana, all of that. And I was like, yeah, bring me in.
[00:10:14] But I definitely want to be there. It’s just wanting to get. I guess
[00:10:19] Andrew: Wow.
[00:10:19] Ifeoma: I will say, Hey, if he was psyched to have you on the art scene. When I was like saying here I am, so it’s been pressing it. It’s it’s there is actually no record label, like leaving in Nigeria. So it is totally new. And that comes to what I said when I did the FMR physical beauty processes, sexiness processes, it is just a lot of buildings.
[00:10:45] Has my imprint. And for that reason, you just have to have your rights. You just feel.
[00:10:52] Andrew: If what is, so when they were answering that key question, your why question? I think that’s a great question. It’s an interview is a two-way process. It shouldn’t just be them getting to know you, you need to know what they want and where we can help. What, my favorite way of asking the why is what are your key success factors here?
[00:11:08] So if I’m doing this job well, how does that look like? What does that look like for you? How does it meet your needs? What, why is this role important to you? And like, when they say it about the building piece what triggered in your mind? Like it did it reinforcing look, that’s what we do as accountants and finance professionals is we build things, is that where you said, yes, this is the place.
[00:11:28] Ifeoma: Absolutely. That was my Eureka moment. Like I said, I liked to write set things, right? I like to put structures to things. I don’t like anything rule of thumb and that’s what we as accountants do, we put structures to things there are processes, there are policies. Most importantly, and then there are even third party reviewers in the form of auditors tax consultants and all.
[00:11:51] So you really have to get things right. And especially as this startup, you really have to get the foundation. So it was the trigger for me. We ended up at a, interview that school interview with a seal Tega such an amazing person. He said if it were about to embark on something really exciting.
[00:12:10] Like it’s never been done in lane juries and never been done in Africa. And we’re so excited to be embarking on this and I’m like, Hey. Just hold on, let me get on this train. love the things exciting ride with you. And it’s been not in shopping sites and absolutely
[00:12:29] Andrew: Yeah, I was about to ask you, so you happy you got on the right then, but obviously you are, you say you’re still excited. Yeah.
[00:12:35] Ifeoma: How it is for you to work with. What at me even, I totally understand what so they will say you’re only as strong as the weakest link, is a chain. An organization is a chain. So you have the reason why you have the various departments, everybody doing something, all of which would align to a set goal.
[00:12:54] It’s really. Happening here in leaving. Like you can work in a lot of places on you feel like you’re working in sales, right? You feel like you’re isolated. It feels very routine out. I just call me and I keep the books and I, then I go, you really do not see how your efforts contributes to the goal. That is not as here I’ve made, even it is a chain.
[00:13:17] Like it is so clear. It is. I can’t even say it enough. It’s so exciting. You can actually see how your effort impacts the goal. It is very clearly visible and I can say it as thanks to the directors, the board actually in Ohio. How you set the tone at the top? The vision is clear everyone.
[00:13:37] Is it every of your, what is it called? Ties to the vision and you would be able to measure it. So it’s also beautiful.
[00:13:47] Andrew: I, this is great. So what our thinking is, this is definitely finance team members can operate in this way. I’m always wondering how does that happen because what does it take for it to happen? Is willpower enough is using our skills. Cause if you think about where finance professionals are, we could choose to operate in a silo or we could choose , to be, look at our position in the business and look across silos.
[00:14:13] So we have the, we have the positioning to be able to look across silos, but for that to happen, is it on us to make it happen? Or is it, as you said, does it have to come from tone at the top? The board, like our strategic partner? Where does it come from?
[00:14:26] Ifeoma: I feel like it comes from the top, because they know what they want and they know the people who is key rights to the goals. So I feel like it comes from the top because for me I’m more than just, I’m not an accountant, I’m a CFO, I’m a partner, strategic partner. So I’m not just keeping the books.
[00:14:46] And that is where I would say my smile skill actually is very helpful. I see the numbers, I don’t know weights, actually accounts, it is belated. So you waste for one month to aims to reports. What happens that. But that doesn’t happen with management accounts and you’re seeing the budgets, you’re seeing the actual, you’re sending messages about the triggers, the things you’ve seen.
[00:15:08] So you can actually pull the plug and I’ll wait till it’s be later. So we’re not just finance people working in silos. I wouldn’t even encourage that. I see that in love with finance people. We’re so happy to say, oh we’re back office, or we just keep the books. No, we actually should come out as business strategic plans.
[00:15:26] To the management or the board, however, your level is I am not so far off from the board. So I’m very, an opportunity to advise the, and they totally talk to do not take my advice for granted because I see the books, I see it. I see the numbers. I do the analysis. I do a lot of analysis.
[00:15:47] I’ll do the scenario analysis. I will do stress testing. So I don’t wait for a month aims to just pull out some reports and then just report on the happenings. You are actually working hand-in-hand and yeah. So I feel like it. Since from the top. And then it’s also your own contributions to the success. I feel like once the vision is clear, you know what you have to do to get there.
[00:16:13] You’re
[00:16:13] Andrew: I’d like, not like how you laid it out. I like Loco later for me. So it’s like deficient at the top comes from the top. It’s also the mindset. And I like to say that you don’t wait for a period. It’s like continuous it. It’s not like it’s not like you twins or something. So the whole month, once the numbers are there, it’s you’re speaking, being involved in the business.
[00:16:32] Again, I love some of the things you’re talking about in your industry. Particularly, like given that, I suppose we hear a lot about tech companies and they work with data and information. It’s all very intangible. You’re working with artists who are creative note. We might hear their music, but essentially what they’re creating is intangible it’s from their minds, from their heads are creative.
[00:16:53] How do you monetize such creative work on a regular basis? Turn it into a business.
[00:17:00] Ifeoma: that, still intrigued by that you I can’t even express it enough because like you said, I came in knowing that this is intangible really intellectual property. How do you totally monetize it? How do you, your countries, how do you report. It’s intellectual properties, very intangible assets.
[00:17:16] And a lot of us, I don’t know. I feel like there are enough finance professionals that have know about this, but I would admit that it is my first time dealing with this kind of finance yet. Exactly. So it’s very dressed in. Actually the access to the products, just look at it, access as a product, the access is released or I’ll tell the access is selected because we have a department that’s called SWAT access.
[00:17:43] Right? There are a lot of talents. There are a lot of talents. Go to tick talk, go to YouTube, go to Instagram. That is all a lot of talents. So she’s just not telling you looking at what can I do with this talent, right? It is a product, how produce things to meet a particle and.
[00:18:01] So probably, I don’t know if you’ve been following the story or if you’ve been following the activities of Maven, we just released the superstar IRA stop she’s female. She’s 19. And she’s dangerous. Like you don’t have kind person in the music industry in Nigeria. So we saw that gap and then we’re like, oh, there is so many young female artists in Nigeria.
[00:18:27] The youngest would probably between. Why don’t you bring any team? Tick-tock as are teenagers and they’re like from 15 to 26, the stock markets, they want someone who’s phone vibes on vibe. I don’t know. Like she, when you talk about vibe and vibe in Nigeria, anybody who toys, IRS stuff.
[00:18:46] So we created that Iris staff for that. We just the teenagers and then the Wolf called the funk people. Andrew, I don’t know. I don’t know if you’re current enough to know what work or phone means. I have some learners, kids.
[00:19:01] Andrew: I got to have to defer to my better half on that one. She would be all over this. Me, I’m cell I’m so caught in the noughties. If you look at my playlist, they’re all in the Northeast. I just, but no, I know what I like, or I hear it, so I will have to check up on it. But for audience, do you mind explaining for our audience unfamiliar, Israeli, all, but like what should we be looking out
[00:19:21] Ifeoma: Oh, yes. So I feel like what people on the phone, people that are trained chase us. I don’t even that cold from census, so they know what the train is. If it is fashion on their top of his music, they’re on top of it. There’s
[00:19:34] Andrew: definitely not me though.
[00:19:35] Ifeoma: Yes, they have all of that time. They have a smartphone and they’re trying to optimize the smartphone.
[00:19:42] So if there’s this app needs, if there’s this, gained or needs. So does that, those are the people, right? Yeah. So not to digress so much. Yeah. So the access are really products. We will find out what got to, we need to feel there’s another superstar we have on our label Raymont. Like when we were in he said I would drink trap music.
[00:20:01] We didn’t have. Nigeria Knox’s doing trap. You probably see people speaking in our local diet dialects. And if you want to consume trap, you go to the United States where you have a lot of them. So there was that gap beginning in Nigeria Kayla’s do this. Now. He came in with a trap music and everyone likes I’m like whoop.
[00:20:19] So in Nigeria and think that this is an American culture and all of that. So it’s always, the access is always in brand. And then the access is released to meet in particular gap. So that’s what we’ve been strategic about doing. We’re not just blown away by a pretty beautiful scenarios voice, or you can hit all those, all the PS that is not enough.
[00:20:43] Are you fashionable? Would we be able to sell you to fashion brand? Would you be able to walk on a runway? Would it be able to turn heads, right? Those are the kinds of things we’ll look up. So yeah, the access, like I said is a brand and there are a lot of things you can actually tap from the artist. Just the music is one.
[00:21:02] They actually have brung the bus at those endorsements. Them influence us even because they have a large following those people, when they get on stage people who scream and shout, you see the Michael Jackson effects when he gets on stage, people are fainting and all of that. So those are like really people.
[00:21:19] So you can imagine influencing those kinds of people to patronize a brand is it’s uneasy when actually, so you see brand reaching out to you because you already have your calls or you have your fan base and the channel appeal to those families. So their products, that’s another revenue line.
[00:21:38] The, music, like we said, intellectual property, there are in those men’s there are, what is it called? Influence the campaigns. Those are shorts. And just, I need to do this. Then I need to make this noise, do this thing for me. And there’s just a lot of things. You’d be surprised. Every part of the access can be monetized.
[00:21:56] You’d want a,
[00:21:57] Andrew: I was going to start it. You took the words out my mouth.
[00:22:00] Ifeoma: Yes exactly. You probably want a hand model. And one of our artists has the most beautiful hands, right? That is just for showing your hands. You earn money from it. A whole lot. It’s unbelievable what you can do with the artists,
[00:22:13] Andrew: interesting though, is when you break it down and it’s a bit like you identify as a market opportunity and you develop a product to go meet that around a brand, our brand personality. So I imagine, whereas essay, if you’re in the hospital, toddler, a business, you were looking at a profitability via hotel or a certain type of room or whatever here, you’re looking at profitability of a brand or an artist like an artist PNL Essentially,
[00:22:37] Ifeoma: Essentially.
[00:22:40] Andrew: I’m always curious about this foam and do we like, again, does anyone try and push a vibe? Maybe you do because it’s the market opportunity, but you ever try and put a value on that artists potential. So like we got a P and L, but there’s still like a balance. That goes with that saying, okay, this is the market potential for this artist, or how do we ever try and value that intellectual property does that, is that it’s ours people trying to do that now?
[00:23:03] Ifeoma: Oh, so this is actually a very good question because we’re talking about it only draws yesterday. We’re thinking
[00:23:09] Andrew: Ah,
[00:23:10] Ifeoma: only just yesterday. Totally. Like I was speaking with, accountants in the UK and then our contents here in Nigeria, finding way Mavin has experienced company in the UK, maybe in Google holdings in the UK.
[00:23:22] And then. Maybe Nigeria is actually the subsidiary, the hoodie own stock stereo, maybe UK, and then our strategic partners are compounder capital in the U S so it’s like a multinational, right? You have to talk to this people that people, all of which align. Yeah. So it’s really interesting. And just yesterday, we had this conference conversation about, there were no intellectual property valuation on the balance sheet.
[00:23:49] That is the truth. And that is because a lot of times when we lead an access, you really do not know what spend you have, what development spend you’re going to have on that artist. So you’re spending as you go, right? So we’re thinking two, we need to come up with a figure for the valuation. Do we need to just continue to spend, as we go and amortize, create an amortization policy, and then I’m applied out of the balance sheet.
[00:24:16] I must tell you maybe is new, right? We haven’t figured that out. That’s the truth. That is the truth. We haven’t still figured out how to have, an intellectual property figure in the balance sheets at time of signing the artists, we still haven’t filled that out and we just continue to learn as we go, but it’s just, it’s a conversation we’re having right now. Whether you get constants in the United you’re in conference. And if I could check in leads, I’ll probably tell you or you regardless it is, but the onsets with this is it’s not easy because at the time of signing, the access is a blank canvas, right?
[00:24:55] Andrew: Yeah. Blank. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:24:57] Ifeoma: You don’t know how much you’re going to be able to spend to heat gold when it’s accessed, you don’t know for how long before you begin to even enter return. So it’s difficult at time of signing the contracts. Signing the art system, putting the contracts together to put what that figure is, but I feel like ultimately find out, figure that
[00:25:16] Andrew: Yeah, cause I, I know it definitely. I think I look, I asked, cause I feel the finance has a big role to play in getting towards that because it’s not, you’re not looking at historical numbers here because, there’s not much to have accounted for, but there’s the. Revenue streams and whatever.
[00:25:31] And I was thinking because you’ve just been a new, this new capital or strategic partner comment as well is a lot of venture capitalists when they’re buying into, how do you say new companies? They have an expectation exited. It over the neck and investment to have an exit value of mind revaluation.
[00:25:48] So again, I was just curious if direction it was going, but I suppose, in terms of yourself what’s going on in your world at the moment, what excited you most?
[00:25:57] Ifeoma: Yeah, my rule.
[00:26:00] Andrew: No, no way. It could be a role. It could be finance. What’s exciting.
[00:26:04] Ifeoma: Yeah. So I think what excites me most is how to apply finance. Various industry. And you can tell that already from my treasure tree, I haven’t been in one Pascaline industry. I like to see how are these principles? The principles don’t change the debits, the credits doesn’t change the balance sheet P and L cashflow does not change.
[00:26:24] What is what’s in this industry was very interesting. To me I feel like if I probably would change jobs out, still wants to go to another industry. So those are the kinds of things are exciting. They, I don’t know how to function in stillwaters. I feel you know how they say tablets making know who the most skilled sale is?
[00:26:46] Something like that. I don’t know how to function when the whole thing is calm. I don’t know if that’s a good thing. Really like just heats roadblocks, break them down. courses creates parts and it’s just that’s what excites me, honestly.
[00:27:03] Andrew: I’d like to see. I like that. I see. There was a, there’s a book I read years ago and everything I like it was, if your job’s fine, you’d like it, I’m not that big into jazz book. It was called jamming. And what I loved about it was you take people with these diverse experiences and you just bounce them up into new scenarios and they just bring new stuff to the jam. Right.
[00:27:20] now there’s basic principles, the jamming, that everyone follows, but you bounce off this. I think that comes up that common vision, trying to build something. And I think that’s refreshing because I just had this sense with the digitalization of finance, a lot more specialization. In particular areas.
[00:27:36] So it’s great that you’re calling out a role for someone that’s developing a general background to could take experience of one industry or one area to another and another, and not be phased by it in actual fact, enjoy get excited by the
[00:27:49] Ifeoma: Absolutely
[00:27:49] Andrew: So I think your advice is fine. Fantastic.
[00:27:52] Actually, speaking of which, look, you’ve given us so much great advice. what’s been the best bit of advice you’ve ever gotten.
[00:27:58] Ifeoma: all the best advice I’ve always received is nothing is impossible. Honestly, nothing is impossible. I’m sure we’ve ever thought about making the ethylene.
[00:28:10] possible. I’m sure if I were friends with whoever created the airplane out up, been like, oh really? Hi, is this even possible? So nothing is impossible if you just can’t conceive it, honestly. You can do it. And I don’t know, someone recently said thing too much, staying for a long period on the rule.
[00:28:28] I don’t think there’s a one size fits all that people who would stay in one role for 35 years and they will have the absolutes fulfilled. Exciting.
[00:28:36] Andrew: exactly.
[00:28:38] Ifeoma: And then there are people who would drop Troxell go from one industry to order whatever rocks your boat. Whatever you find exciting just to not be monitoring.
[00:28:48] Why would you want to do anything that doesn’t excite you? I want to wake up in the morning, put up my clothes and I’m excited to go conquer the day. So yeah.
[00:28:57] Andrew: that’s it. For some people to see said it could be moving between roles. Other people are very happy in the role they’re engaged. Yeah, there’s a statistic I saw on a Rudy to me it’s only 29% of finance. People were actually engaged in their work and I’m thinking. We do, we can have so much value to offer whether it’s in a P I need particular type role and finds.
[00:29:16] I think there’s a role for pretty much everyone, to, I, that, that’s what blows my mind, but I think given we spend so much of our lives working, wouldn’t it be nice to actually enjoy what we’re doing?
[00:29:27] Ifeoma: Yes.
[00:29:28] Andrew: Yeah, so it blows my mind. So look, I, again, that’s why we do these interviews almost to share with people. Trigger some thoughts. It’s oh, that’s an industry that I’d like to work in or that’s great. But for advice or didn’t know, you could do that or that’s what’s going on.
[00:29:42] Ifeoma: You really don’t have, you really don’t have to have that industry specific. Experience, you actually can do it at the application is the same. It’s just understanding the industry and then applying the same principles to it. Finance is still financed. However you like it to prepare the PNL, whatever the industry is, you’re going to prepare the cashflow statement, whatever the industry.
[00:30:04] So it’s the same thing. It’s just on the standing,
[00:30:09] Andrew: It comes back to your original point about those foundations you are building or groundings similar principles. A lot of us had gone through very similar learning, similar principles. It was a big community of us out there, and we can apply it to news and lot of these companies now, it’s funny.
[00:30:23] I was doing a talk a few weeks ago. Some of the companies I put up there, they didn’t even exist. 13 years ago, we had the evaluations of over a hundred billion. You’ve had the accountants and finance professionals have to learn new businesses, new industries that came out of nowhere, so I knew it’d be more, so that’s the journey we’re run.
[00:30:40] Ifeoma, you know, are there any sort of resources you could recommend our audience go check out that you use,
[00:30:45] Ifeoma: I actually can recommend books, but I’ll say have a beautiful community of professionals, because I was very clear at the interview to say, oh no, I haven’t worked in a record label at, I don’t even know what your revenue strings are, what your revenue for now. But it’s not something that you cannot, you know, research and find out.
[00:31:05] And then what I did was find professionals, right? Who have this kind of, I had the opportunity of speaking with professional, one of the record labels. And it was just off LinkedIn, just like you reached out to me. We feel people are happy to collaborate. So I would say collaborate collaborate, whatever you can get out of books.
[00:31:25] Yes. But professionally we have a beautiful, diverse and community of professionals that you can always ring up and then they’ll speak to you. And they’re always happy to, I have enjoyed that immensely and I constantly enjoy it.
[00:31:40] Andrew: I think, actually that’s a really great point. I know one who’s engaged in their work. They may be busy, but they pretty much got to where they got to because someone helped them or took The, time to help them. And that’s why if you reach out to these people, they will share their time back. It may not be loads of time, but it might just be over a coffee.
[00:31:56] I find personally people in our community very willing to help
[00:32:00] Ifeoma: The the the cooperation is very weird to totally not only to you. I have enjoyed this. I constantly enjoy it. I will continue to tap into it’s. So Andrew expects me to ring you up soon and say, Hey, I’m.
[00:32:11] Andrew: But I know it’s who do you know? Yeah. That is the problem with this. This podcast is you tend to get to know a lot of people. And I, it’s very hard to say no to help people. So either it’s funny, we had to guess mentor on, and he was the ex CFO of the world bank. And he was saying like, when he gets people’s requests for help, he finds it very hard to say no, because he was helped so much.
[00:32:31] Ifeoma: Absolutely.
[00:32:32] Andrew: Even though it a really busy guy, you know what, he’s flied off all over the world, but look, that’s just the joys of knowing a lot of people and being able to help a lot of people. And I and actually that’s why this platform is great because people in the past, if they wanted a bit of tide, they can always access these episodes for free 24 7, if they want the advice.
[00:32:50] And if they want to learn more, they can always come back. But this could help get, the major percent of the way this conversation.
[00:32:55] So using new technologies or full mutter to modernize and collaborative and better in our profession. So that’s what we’re trying to do. Connecting with each other. How, or where’s the best place our audience can connect with you if they want to continue the conference.
[00:33:07] Ifeoma: So I think the best, this would definitely be LinkedIn. So feel free to share my links. And, I do not joke with LinkedIn because it’s strictly professionals. So I know on like Instagram, you have a lot of people who are just true media. Happy. I dunno. Yeah. LinkedIn definitely. My email, actually, you can share my email.
[00:33:29] I’ll be happy to.
[00:33:31] Andrew: Cool. I will put that in with the show notes as well and encourage people to check out our resources as well that we put in there too. So far Michelle do that and I suppose, look, really appreciate you coming on, being such a great guest mentor before we wrap up. Do you have any maybe parting thoughts to share with our.
[00:33:48] Ifeoma: How would just be, do you I feel like if I have a tattoo, it’s going to be, do you like it’s all in our head, whatever the limitations whatever. It’s just all in our head. Begin to just tell yourself I can’t do it. It’s I just can. Absolutely. I’m sure. Sometimes, somewhere along the lines of nothing is impossible.
[00:34:09] So just do you, if your bird at that job, it’s probably the wake up call for you to find something more exciting. If you feel like your redundant in your role and, giving your best is probably that trigger for you to. Upgrade yourself professionally, take exams, like learning is continuous and we see a lot of things go become outdated and obsolete.
[00:34:32] So you really have to keep up with your continuous development. So yeah. Do a lot of those and you just be well SOPs as you should be.
[00:34:46] Andrew: That’s fantastic. Prior to exhausted in the show on, so Ifeoma thank you so much for coming on. Being a guest mentor
[00:34:51] Ifeoma: me on next on your podcast. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
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