Finance Power Hub: Are You Ready to Become a Great Finance Leader?

The role of a good finance leader is immensely valuable to the success of any business, and fulfilling this position is an empowering challenge. Embracing economic changes, nurturing talent retention and promoting sustainability are just some of the exciting opportunities that can make a positive impact on your organisation's future.

Whether you’re preparing for an interview as a CFO, new to the role or looking to steer your business in a new direction, we can help you reach your full potential, with the help of five of our most popular and useful guides to financial success.

They’re packed full of expert advice, up-to-date trends and valuable insights, as well as practical worksheets and checklists to help you turn everything you’ve learnt into actions. They’ll answer the following questions:

1. How do you prepare for a CFO interview?
2. How do Finance Leaders set budgetary priorities?
3. How do Finance Leaders help build business resilience?
4. How do Finance Leaders stay ahead of macro trends?
5. How do Finance Leaders consolidate ALL spend?

Let’s start at the beginning.

1. How do you prepare for a CFO interview?

Confidence in your own skills and experience is essential to gaining competitive advantage when interviewing for a new role. But how do you know what’s required of today’s CFO?

For your CFO interview preparation we’ve put together a How to Become the Next CFO eBook,  a rundown of the skills you’ll need to demonstrate in your interview. In it, we debunk common myths about what a CFO role might entail and discuss the importance of technology, the not-so-secret weapon that gives CFOs the insights they need to undertake their responsibilities. We also explore the finance and professional skills you’ll need, including expense management, strategic planning and tax strategies.

Over to you:  Don’t forget to fill out the Quarterly Action Plan which helps you set priorities, targets and deadlines!

2. How do Finance Leaders set finance priorities? 

The first 90 days as a CFO are all about listening and being responsive to the needs of employees, team leaders and the organisation. From this jumping off point, you can then action meaningful change, clear roadblocks and guide the business towards its goals.

We’ve compiled a practical month-by-month guide to structuring your first three months of CFO priorities. Use the New Finance Leader Checklist: 30-60-90-Day Action Plan to check off your progress and prioritise your efforts.

You’ll learn how in the first month you should focus on building relationships and having key conversations. In the second month you’ll turn these findings into actions, by identifying opportunities and forging deeper connections. In the third month, you’ll choose which technologies will transform your plans into reality.

Over to you: Use the handy month-by-month checklist tear sheet to stay on track in your new role.

3. How do Finance Leaders help build business resilience?

With everything being thrown at businesses, from high inflation to persistent talent shortages, finance leaders have an opportunity to build stability and resilience into an organisation. It’s no longer good enough to make decisions that are right “for now”, you must look back at what’s happened and forward to what might happen.

In our guide Another Year of Uncertainty, CFOs Become Paragons of Business Resiliency, we discuss how CFOs must weigh up risks and opportunities in equal measure and how a 360-degree of business spend is essential to getting the balance right.

You’ll discover how investing wisely in automation, advanced analytics, AI, machine learning and natural language processing will become more important as CFOs battle a complex, evolving business landscape.

Over to you: Equip your organisation with the right tools to optimise cash flow, minimise risks and reduce costs.

4. How do Finance Leaders stay ahead of macro trends?

Finance leaders must keep on top of the macro trends in finance that impact business in the short and long term. You don’t have to look far back to see how much has changed in a short time. For example, new workplace and workforce realities mean flexibility must be built into any new finance process.

In our guide Five Trends for CFOs to Watch, we explore five key trends that are impacting the role of the finance leader. You’ll learn how digitisation is the key to thriving, whatever the market throws at you. You’ll also discover how the application of automation saves your organisation time and money whilst improving compliance and productivity.

Over to you: Sign up to newsletters and connect with thought leaders on LinkedIn to stay on top of important changes.

5. How do Finance Leaders consolidate ALL spend?

The spending decisions that every employee makes have a huge, overall impact on your success or failure as a finance leader. By automating spend management across all areas – including expense, travel and invoice – you give employees the easiest, most accurate and stress-free way of keeping your business compliant and profitable.

In All Together Now we explore why this is so important and how by acting now to automate, you won’t be left playing catch up. There’s also insight into the practicalities of maximising VAT reclaim, managing invoices in increasingly complex supply chains and the role of automation in meeting your sustainability pledges.

Over to you: Introduce a user-friendly, mobile spend management platform that encompasses expense, invoice and travel.

It’s time to reach your full potential!

In our many years of experience working with finance leaders, we know that finance leadership is about more than just numbers – it’s about employee experience, collaboration and building a strong finance team too. We’ve also got a deep understanding of the financial trends that will help shape your career in years to come.

Above all, we acknowledge that finance leadership requires courage and resilience, as its far-reaching impact on every aspect of the business can be both challenging and incredibly fulfilling. Embrace the journey, we’re here to support you every step of the way.

Here’s a reminder of the five essential guides you need to take your career as a finance leader to the next level.

• Prepare for the next step in your career with How to Become the Next CFO eBook
• Hit the ground running with New Finance Leader Checklist: 30-60-90-Day Action Plan
• Strengthen your business resilience with Another Year of Uncertainty, CFOs Become Paragons of Business Resiliency
• Take a bird’s eye view with Five Trends for CFOs to Watch

Put the power in the hands of employees with All Together Now