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The ability to analyze numbers and translate them into actionable strategies has always intrigued me. Early in my career, I realized that finance is not just about managing numbers—it’s about empowering organizations to make informed decisions, optimize resources, and achieve long-term goals.
Beyond technical expertise In terms of taking on essential skills beyond just technical expertise, Wong says becoming a standout finance leader definitely takes more than just mastering the numbers. Advice For younger, aspiring finance professionals, Wong advises: Always look beyond the numbers.
Winnie Law , CFO, Technology & Operations (T&O), Global Functionsand Fit for Growth, Standard Chartered , believes the war on talent continues to be a challenge as the role of Finance pivots from being mere number crunchers and financial journalists to strategy influencers.
Finance teams found their way in 2024 to keep up with the ever-changing market landscape brought about by a number of factors. The accountancy profession, as we know it, faced challenges in technology--what with the concerns on how artificial intelligence poses threat on their jobs regarding the way it can take over their roles.
Analytical Thinking: Turning Data into Actionable Insights Numbers may tell a story, but without analysis, they’re just noise. It’s not just about seeing the numbers—it’s about understanding their story. Collaborative Problem-Solving: Engaging the Broader Team Critical thinking isn’t a solo activity.
Whether you’re a finance professional, business owner, or decision-maker, understanding how to leverage FIS can mean the difference between reactive problem-solving and proactive success. Breaking Down Silos Between Departments One of the biggest challenges in large companies is the lack of communication between departments.
Anderson shared her experiences as a CPA, noting the frustration of dealing with arbitrary fundraising targets or “plug” numbers to balance the budget. Both experts agreed that open communication and realistic goal-setting are crucial for creating a workable budget.
This early encouragement played a key role in shaping my future, as it introduced me to the world of business and numbers. I quickly realised I had a natural affinity for finance and enjoyed working through financial problems. From that point, I shifted my focus to commerce studies, starting in Standard 7 (Grade 9).
Effective leadership goes beyond managing numbers—it involves cultivating an environment where teams thrive, innovation flourishes, and strategic goals are achieved. This builds confidence and encourages proactive problem-solving. Good communication ensures that everyone is aligned and working towards the same objectives.
The research found that the role of a modern-day accountant goes beyond number-crunching; it extends to providing valuable insights, supporting data-driven decisions, and helping organisations navigate complex financial terrain.
Not only does this make your department more efficient, but it also builds problem-solving and leadership skills. Expose the Team to Broader Perspectives A finance team can sometimes operate in a silo, focusing solely on numbers. Breaking out of this bubble is critical for growth.
Guided by influential mentors, Thobile recognized that finance goes beyond numbers—it impacts decision-making that drives business and individual success. This broadened her skills and highlighted the importance of cultural sensitivity, teamwork, and innovative problem-solving. What sparked your interest in finance?
I’ve always had a natural inclination toward numbers; they just made sense to me in a way that’s hard to explain. Fortunately, I had fantastic support from family and friends, many of whom were also fascinated by numbers. Collaboration and open communication are also central to how I tackle difficulties. He was not disappointed!
CFOs typically have a deep understanding of economic theory and practice and strong analytical and problem-solving skills. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment numbers for Financial Managers are expected to rise by 17% over the next decade , faster than the average for all occupations. Financial Manager. According to the U.S.
For instance, collaborating with international clients has taught me the importance of adapting my communication style and accounting methods to align with their expectations and values. Leadership and communication skills are also essential, as you’ll need to clearly convey financial insights to both financial and non-financial stakeholders.
Giselle Arellano-Geronimo A controller, for Geronimo, also has the privilege to make a story out of the numbers and convert the results of the financials into actionable business decisions and strategies that help shape the business. “A
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Knowledge in your Company’s Industry A good Fractional CFO doesn’t just understand numbers and finances, but they also get the ins and outs of your vertical , and what’s most important to your clients and stakeholders. ProblemSolving Skills Sometimes common sense isn’t so common, and critical thinking skills even less so.
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Knowledge in your Company’s Industry A good Fractional CFO doesn’t just understand numbers and finances, but they also get the ins and outs of your vertical, and what’s most important to your clients and stakeholders. Problem-Solving Skills Sometimes common sense isn’t so common, and critical thinking skills are even less so.
Being a financial analyst at a bank requires more than just crunching numbers. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Strong critical thinking and problem-solving capabilities. Financial Analyst. Average Salary: $91,580 per year. Understanding of financial regulations and laws.
Interest in numbers and people have helped career “Numbers have always appealed to me along with an interest in people,” says Jeandre. Having a core team with a high level of trust is key because certain tasks overlap portfolios making communication very important,” he says. “We
AI automates those repetitive tasks so the team can focus on more rewarding work, like using creative problem-solving to improve the financial IQ of colleagues across the organisation. While not seemingly related to crunching numbers, these kinds of tasks are rooted in soft skills.
Fluent in three languages, he found that his experience at Berlitz broadened his perspective and honed his communication skills. He decided to pursue further education in the latter, where his analytical mind and problem-solving skills began to shine. Still, something was missing. Permutive was built to do two things.
From their own words below, you’ll discover how we’ve helped the owners save time through real-time visibility reporting that shifts the burden from top-down leadership to a state where all leaders and managers know the same numbers and can act accordingly. We started communicating with Trusted and began working with them, too.
I just sat there smiling and hoped that nobody would ask me a question,” comments Cox, recalling one of a number of experiences that he credits with helping him to step beyond his accounting career roots. When you have strong relationships among the team, problemsolving is more fun and wins are more fulfilling.”
As a CFO, your role goes beyond crunching numbers— it’s about creating a team that’s dynamic, cohesive, and ready to tackle the financial challenges of today and tomorrow. This includes technical skills like accounting and financial analysis and soft skills like communication and problem-solving.
Challenges often reveal new problems to solve, demanding increased focus on finding innovative ways to improve efficiencies. Customers’ changing needs also require a response identifying and addressing these evolving needs. Innovation: Corda Company: R3 R3’s Corda is a leading DLT platform for financial services organizations.
He’s got a strong background in auditing, and he’s built a reputation for enhancing processes and problem-solving, we want to talk to him about that too. So I think bringing the small SME experience together with the big multinationals honed my skill set, especially on the processes, problem-solving and the strategy side.
” I think your number at the time was somewhere like 15 great fit clients to take on every year. And it was just an unmanageably large number of clients. He did an immense number of sales, and had cultivated a huge number of relationships. ” It’s constant communication through the year.
If you haven’t picked up on it yet, we can learn so much from Tamela’s leadership perspective which is just as essential to an organization and its culture as the numbers and quantitative aspects. Tamela tells us as well that good communication with the board is essential due to the pressure of having to justify decisions.
The number of active Finn users has not been publicly disclosed. This will allow me to be more hands-on and help our leaders problem-solve in real time, while also ensuring that we make our platform vision a reality,” he said. Users will also not pay any service fees that are levied alongside the basic accounts.
Throughout my life, numbers was one of the things that really appealed to me but not only the numbers, there was an interest in people as well. I think the combination really helped me throughout my career thus far, the bridge between the numbers and people. Number one is solid controls to be implemented across the organisation.
I started to like numbers and did very well in Math. This responsibility is challenging but enjoyable — it allows me to demonstrate many skills such as financial and business analysis, communication, negotiation, influencing and thought leadership etc. Woranat Dumrongsiri (WD): My interest in finance began in high school.
As technology crunches the growing volumes of data, soft skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication will become crucial for Finance to succeed. #1 There are a number of advocates and organizations leading the charge to avoid these pitfalls. 1 – Let AI do the heavy lifting.
Part of my studies was Business Information Systems, which contributed to my corporate technical issues problemsolving. Being able to effectively communicate with clients and bringing forth solutions is a crucial part of being in business. How do you balance your personal and professional life?
My interest in finance was sparked by a deep fascination with numbers and their ability to tell stories about businesses and economies. My approach involves staying calm under pressure, analyzing the situation thoroughly, and breaking down complex problems into manageable steps.
My interest in finance was sparked by a passion for problem-solving and analysing numbers. This experience ignited my enthusiasm for business and set me on a journey that revealed finance as more than just working with numbers—it was a powerful tool for making impactful decisions and driving business growth.
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