Building a Strong Finance Function from Scratch: A Simple Guide for Finance and Business Leaders.

Day 2/30

#Accounting and #Finance with #Iwelabi

The conversation between Consultant Iwelabi and his client continues:

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Client: Hello, Iwelabi. (sounding excited) I’ve got to give you major kudos for yesterday’s session! You really helped me boost my rating here.

Iwelabi: Fascinating! What happened?

Client: You won’t believe it. This morning, I had a quick session with the senior management team, and I’ve never been prouder of myself. The Group CEO asked me to share how I plan to build the finance function for maximum efficiency and productivity. He even commented, "We were impressed by your experience and performance during the interview, but now we want to hear how exactly you’ll set up the finance function from scratch."

Guess what? I took them through everything you shared in our last session, and they were sold! One of them even joked, "with this knowledge, hope you're not planning to join Amazon anytime soon!"

Iwelabi: (laughing) That’s fantastic! I knew you’d represent well.

Client: Thanks, but we need to keep this momentum going. I need to make my impact felt fast before they think I’m just good at talking.

Client: In fact, given that it might be difficult for other professionals to see the intrinsic values of the finance team and what we do, I’m thinking of preparing a 5-year financial forecast for the firm, laying out what to expect in terms of income and expenditures. At least this aligns with what you said yesterday about planning Cash Flow and Treasury Management. Plus, it’s something tangible and measurable.

Iwelabi: (chuckling) I understand the desire to make an immediate impact, especially when the stakes are high in a new role. But remember, you mentioned yesterday that the first step should be understanding the business, the industry, and the management's specific needs. That’s where you need to start if you want to build a sustainable finance function.

Client: True, but don’t you think that sounds a bit theoretical and might not yield any immediate tangible results? Or what do you think?

Iwelabi: First off, it’s crucial to understand the value of gaining deep insights of understanding what you are dealing with for proper direction. As for quick, tangible results, let’s focus on one of the first set of things you need to understand from yesterday—understanding management’s needs.

Iwelabi: When I joined a firm as Head of Finance some time ago, the first thing I did was have 1:1 meetings with the senior management team. In one of those meetings, the Head of Engineering mentioned they were struggling to secure a grant that could reduce our cloud infrastructure costs. I took it upon myself to secure that grant and ended up saving the company $100k in tech costs—within my first month! That boosted my standing significantly. Imagine if I hadn’t organized those 1:1 meetings, I wouldn’t have known about the problem or been able to make such an impact.

Iwelabi: To truly understand management’s needs in order to build an efficient and effective finance function, do these:

Schedule 1:1 Meetings: Make sure to hold individual meetings with all senior team members, even if their schedules are tight. These 1:1s are crucial for understanding the overall goals and challenges each department faces.

Prepare and Share Your Agenda: Always go into these meetings with a clear agenda. Share this agenda with the team member ahead of time so they know what to expect and can prepare for the conversation.

Ask Targeted Questions: Focus on asking questions about their future plans and specific pain points that the finance team can help resolve. Ask open-end questions and don't make assumptions on their behalf. This will give you valuable insight into how finance can play a role in supporting their goals.

Discover Unseen Needs: You will often uncover new insights and priorities that you wouldn’t have considered on your own. Listening to other leaders' perspectives allows you to create a more comprehensive finance strategy.

Build Relationships with Small Talk: Relationships are essential for collaboration. During your first meeting, engage in small talk to make them comfortable. Ask about their background or interests to build rapport. This makes it easier for them to share information with you and creates a foundation for future communication.

Be Patient, Not Pushy: Don’t rush or pressure them for answers. Let them open up naturally and share as much as they feel comfortable. This will provide you with the most useful insights for building a finance function that truly supports their department.

Set Regular Follow-ups: Once the initial meeting is complete, establish regular check-ins with these senior members to continually refine and update how the finance team can support them moving forward.

Client: Wow! Thanks so much! This is really helpful and practical. I think I have enough to work with for now. I'll spend the week applying everything we discussed.

Iwelabi: Please do! I’ve personally seen how much impact this approach can make over the years. Trust me, you’re on the path to making a big difference even before everything is fully set up.

Client: I would be very glad! Thanks a lot once again.

Iwelabi: See you in our next session.

Cheers,

#Iwelabi.