Finance for Non-Finance

E19: Sailing Through storms how the CEO and CFO thrive in VUCA

E18: The Evolving landscape of Finance

E17: Inescapable Brands with a Financial Edge

E16: From Crisis to Prosperity - Finance Leader's Journey

E15: Finance in Tech Industry

E14: The Impact of Technology on financial management

Navigating uncertainty and Value creation Teaser

E13: Navigating uncertainty and Value creation.

E12: A journey to financial wellness with Noura Zein ll episode 12

Procurement Value Proposition Teaser

E11: Procurement Value Proposition Captain Belal Moosa I episode-

Introduction to treasury Teaser

Introduction to Treasury With Hesham Moustafa | Podcast Episode

3 Elements of podcast | Short audio reflection on the 6 months millstone of Finance for Non-Finance podcast

1st One Dollar Investment

Luxury Brands and Value Creation

E7: Unlocking Procurement's Value and Financial Impact Teaser

E7:Unlocking Procurement's Value and Financial Impact

E6: Soul, Heart and Mind of Finance Teaser

Soul, Heart and Mind of Finance

Human Capital Teaser

Human Capital

Supply Chain and Finance Synergy Teaser

Supply Chain and Finance Synergy

Introduction to Finance Teaser

This episode comes with a flavor of Finance 101 for beginners, and we have the best guest to give that introduction. Mohamed ELRouby is a sessional finance leader and a well-known Finance active that promotes the value creation of Finance and the important role of Finance business partners in business.

We have started the episode with the myth and truth about Finance, which is essential to highlight before introducing the Finance function.

1-   Cutting budget vs ROI partnering:

Finance wrong perception that they always cut the budget and use every opportunity to be slim on the budget to maximize profit regarding the business understanding or need. However, Mohamed shared how Finance can partner on how to spend the money more rationally, ensuring ROI, and we're gearing resources in the right direction, asking the right questions to align investment with company strategy.

2-   Numbers Only vs What is behind number:

Another point has been shared that Finance only focuses since most of their work on numbers, so they got obsessed with only numbers, which is again not true and the role of Finance to understand what is behind the number, the business story behind numbers, commercial drivers and business logic that generates these numbers.

3-   Process and System oriented vs business oriented:

The last point is that Finance is obsessed with processes and systems and doesn't belong to business; however, it should be business oriented, which is critical for the company's value creation and protection.

Non-Finance professionals need to understand who is doing what in Finance and who they should approach for different financial support required to grow the business.

Finance planning and Analysis ( FP&A) or commercial Finance:

Accounting and controlling: 

Treasury:

Tax:

Internal audit and control :

Mohamed ELRouby shared that a great concept about Finance business partners is a mindset that is not linked to seniority or entry-level within Finance. Suppose you are keen to support business, turn data into insights, and have the curiosity to understand business and what is behind numbers. In that case, you're a true finance business partner, but if you act like a policeman. Some people label the CFOs as CFNOs as CFOs keep saying Nos to all requests, and partners are avoiding dealing with them.

"Finance business partner is not a title; It's a mindset, "said Mohamed

Commercial Leadership & Finance

Our Journey of Finance for Non-Finance podcast has reached a great station with our great guest Saeed Alghafri where you will watch the tremendous commercial leadership and how it relates directly to Finance.

The episode is sponsored by a teste of growth drivers that reflects on personal and professional development.

Saeed Alghafri purpose is obvious to create impact by inspiring people and talents. He believes that inspiring people has a domino effect. He believes that the foundation of a purposeful life is self-awareness. As an agate for self-awareness, Saeed believes that mindfulness is an enabler for self-awareness.

Analyzing, then reacting. A vital aspect Saeed shared is asking for feedback and accepting feedback. He agreed that feedback is the cornerstone for personal growth.

" There is a correlation between happier people being successful ", said by Saeed.

He also shared that there is not one definition of Success as it varies from one person to another. People relate success to work usually; however, you can be successful by being a good father, mother or at sports.

Growth or profitability paradox :

Saeed shared that growth and profit depend on the vision and where you want to be. For example, a start-up looks after growth mainly.

He explained that both could be achieved by selecting suitable cells to grow, like tapping a new market that drives profit and growth.

Overall companies performance on both growth and profit. That's why he emphasized that the growth strategy has to be crystal clear, as this will impact the long terms plans of any organization.

"To be in a growth company is more enjoyable ", said by Saeed.

Finance is the language:

Saeed shared how Finance has evolved from before, and now it's more than setting a budget. He gave an example of how project finance became creative and put a project in the sky or sent the project to end.

The CFO role is significantly essential, and this role mediates within the business and ensures all business parties are connected to take the right informed decisions. The misconceptions about CFO cutting budget have to be corrected,

and a budget cut is a company strategy, not a CFO call only.

Saeed advice for the young generation, which is about to join the workforce, is to take care of themselves physically and mentally. He sees this as vital for all people.

Please check the links for all channels YouTube, Spotify, iTunes and Google podcasts.

YouTube link for the full episode: https://youtu.be/D0uz7HL2gSQ

Commercial Leadership & Finance Teaser

Finance for Non-Finance podcast is pleased and honored to have James Todd as a guest. In this article, we will be sharing a summary of the rich conversation.

If you want to watch or listen to the full episode, please follow the links in the comments.

Purpose-driven, diverse background and great leader:

We started the conversation on how James, with a Philosophy background, being a musician and Finance leader, came up with this mix. James highlighted that all these three words have many common things, but the most critical points are love and joy for all of them. James’s purpose is making the impossible out of the unexpected, which is linked directly with all the complex roles he played in his 30+ years of experience.

Discipline, painting pictures with numbers and the art of dealing with people:

A critical common word between Philosophy, music and Finance is the discipline where he explained the following. 

⦁ Philosophy without discipline is just talking. 

⦁ Music, unless you know the harmonic structure and without discipline, can be noisy.

⦁ Finance is all about structure and discipline.

James shared how Finance paints a picture with the number to explain situations, guide the business toward a common goal, and consider that Finance is the bloodstream of any company that ensures all business parties are connected.

One of the strengths that James shared is the art of dealing with people, which is a key asset for any business member, where he shared that his Philosophy supported him in that strength big time.

Finance made simple, A new definition of financial statements and Everyday ethics:

It was a spot-on point where James shared that many Finance transactions are about simple math and logic, such as addition, subtraction, and multiplication. For Non-Finance background, if they put the effort behind can quickly master it, and it’s not as complex as it seems. 

It was interesting that with the data and analytics, we need to build relations between different variables and re-define the shape of the financial statements that service the business purpose, such as P&L, where we can start with market share, customer service or stock level and build the right co-relation with the essential P&L elements that will make these statements more relevant to non-Finance colleges.

James also highlighted the importance of everyday ethics and how new generations need to be clear on how to run a business and ensure ethics in everyday matters. 

Digital Finance, Change management and Finance role in the organization:

James shared how digital Finance brings democratization to the whole structure where the analytical tool and anyone in the business can observe, examine and come up with vital insights regardless of seniority. Also, Digital Finance supports the business and Finance team to focus more on the more interesting analytical part of the business and less on the repetitive process. He also shared that non-Finance could benefit from digital finance through the discipline that digital Finance brings into the company and a no-touch process that helps everyone, such as payments.

Change management requires people with empathy and regular reflection to ensure you land change management smoothly. But it remains a challenge.

The finance role should be more strategic, steering the business and tapping all opportunities. The finance role should be clear on the gaps and opportunities and manage all the offline alignment with other business stakeholders to ensure the CEO is fully equipped with data-driven decisions.

YouTube link: https://youtu.be/R7GhxkKczs4

Finance for Non-Finance podcast is pleased and honored to have James Todd as a guest. In this article, we will be sharing a summary of the rich conversation.

If you want to watch or listen to the full episode, please follow the links in the comments.

Purpose-driven, diverse background and great leader:

We started the conversation on how James, with a Philosophy background, being a musician and Finance leader, came up with this mix. James highlighted that all these three words have many common things, but the most critical points are love and joy for all of them. James’s purpose is making the impossible out of the unexpected, which is linked directly with all the complex roles he played in his 30+ years of experience.

Discipline, painting pictures with numbers and the art of dealing with people:

A critical common word between Philosophy, music and Finance is the discipline where he explained the following. 

⦁ Philosophy without discipline is just talking. 

⦁ Music, unless you know the harmonic structure and without discipline, can be noisy.

⦁ Finance is all about structure and discipline.

James shared how Finance paints a picture with the number to explain situations, guide the business toward a common goal, and consider that Finance is the bloodstream of any company that ensures all business parties are connected.

One of the strengths that James shared is the art of dealing with people, which is a key asset for any business member, where he shared that his Philosophy supported him in that strength big time.

Finance made simple, A new definition of financial statements and Everyday ethics:

It was a spot-on point where James shared that many Finance transactions are about simple math and logic, such as addition, subtraction, and multiplication. For Non-Finance background, if they put the effort behind can quickly master it, and it’s not as complex as it seems. 

It was interesting that with the data and analytics, we need to build relations between different variables and re-define the shape of the financial statements that service the business purpose, such as P&L, where we can start with market share, customer service or stock level and build the right co-relation with the essential P&L elements that will make these statements more relevant to non-Finance colleges.

James also highlighted the importance of everyday ethics and how new generations need to be clear on how to run a business and ensure ethics in everyday matters. 

Digital Finance, Change management and Finance role in the organization:

James shared how digital Finance brings democratization to the whole structure where the analytical tool and anyone in the business can observe, examine and come up with vital insights regardless of seniority. Also, Digital Finance supports the business and Finance team to focus more on the more interesting analytical part of the business and less on the repetitive process. He also shared that non-Finance could benefit from digital finance through the discipline that digital Finance brings into the company and a no-touch process that helps everyone, such as payments.

Change management requires people with empathy and regular reflection to ensure you land change management smoothly. But it remains a challenge.

The finance role should be more strategic, steering the business and tapping all opportunities. The finance role should be clear on the gaps and opportunities and manage all the offline alignment with other business stakeholders to ensure the CEO is fully equipped with data-driven decisions.

There is no time when Finance can be more integral in business, economy and personal life than today.   I believe in the importance of Finance and how Finance uplifts the entire organization.  I believe that Finance is not a cost center, it’s profit center. Finance is not a showstopper, It's your partner to win. And not only about profit and number. It's about informed choices and return on investment.   Welcome to my new podcast, where leaders will come and share their wisdoms and passion with you. Stay tuned!