If like me you’ve probably had a number of teachers and mentors at different stages of your life and your finance career. And whilst it may be easy to pick a favourite it may be more difficult to figure out who was the best for you or even how to get the best of their…
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A few years ago I was asked to sit on a panel assessing internal applicants to a graduate finance training program and what I found was concerning for their future success and their ability to fully reach their potential. I deconstructed the successful submissions in a Wordcloud like the one above and found the most…
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Whilst walking the floor the other day I bumped into a former colleague who is now a Senior Manager of a Global Services contractor at a client of mine and as we got talking he mentioned how his boss judged him on his bottom-line performance, nothing new there, but it turned out his team didn’t…
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Imagine you’re on an operating table and you’ve the option of choosing between a medical student with the best technical knowledge money can buy from the best schools or an experienced doctor who’s maybe not as knowledgeable but instead has a good track record on this particular procedure, who would you choose? Well hopefully it…
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The role of the accounting & finance team is evolving so that it “ . . . can make an important contribution to improving decision-making and ensuring the sustainable success of the business,” according to the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. And that evolution is a result of a more connected, complex & globally competitive world, one that’s…
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You may have heard of the old story about a traveller who came across two bricklayers who were busy working… He asked the first worker what he was doing and the man replied he was laying bricks. He then asked the next labourer the same question and he said he was building a cathedral. They…
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I had finally had enough. With employers complaining accounting & finance graduates don’t have the right skills, with newly qualifieds frustrated they were not getting meaningful experiences to make an impact and most of the rest of us anxious about what the digital disruption from Industry 4.0 means for the future of the profession a…
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As finance business partners we all tend to be pretty busy and sometimes it can feel that there’s simply not enough hours in the day to get all the work done however some people have found a tool that helps them get more done in their time. It’s called a timebox. I was introduced to…
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Accounting & Finance has been around since the earliest enterprises were established however there are two types of finance teams now emerging, those embracing digital disruption and those who aren’t. This digital disruption I talk about has arrived in the guise of what commentators are calling the fourth industrial revolution or Industry 4.0, and in…
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I came across a joke today that asked “what’s the definition of an accountant?” Answer: Someone who solves a problem you didn’t know you had in a way you don’t understand. I found myself conflicted, part of me wants to defend the accounting & finance profession and part of me actually wants to agree with…
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