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In the latest episode of CFO 4.0, Hannah Munro talks to Darren Woods, CFO at Freedom Fibre about building the ideal finance team.

Darren has a degree in Finance and Accounting in Portsmouth, over 20 years of experience working in finance including multiple CFO roles as well as a stint as a consultant helping other companies develop teams.

Also covered on this episode:

• Darren’s passion for people and team development
• Does finance invest enough in different skills?
• What are the potential skill gaps in finance teams?
• Finding the right balance of personalities and skills when recruiting in finance
• How do you approach the assessment of skills and personal development to build the team that you want?

Links referenced in this episode:
Freedom Fibre: https://www.freedomfibre.com/
Freedom Fibre LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/freedomfibre/
Darren’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darren-woods-4508a26/

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In the latest episode of CFO 4.0, Hannah Munro talks with Jon Gruda, who is the Assistant Professor of organisational behaviour at Maynooth University.

Jon has a joint PhD in Management and Psychology and is currently researching the role of leadership; the relationship leaders have with their followers and what that means in regards to the changes in management.

 Also covered in this episode:

• Building and developing the right relationship between a leader and follower
• How to set yourself up for success as a leader before you even start the role
• What does a good relationship look like?
• The differences between a leader and a mentor
• What characteristics make a strong leader?

 Links referenced in this episode:

• National culture comparison by country: https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/
• Leadership values by country: https://globeproject.com/results#country
• Jon Gruda’s university profile page: https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/people/jon-gruda
• Jon’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jongruda/ 

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We all know that year-end is the time of year that most finance teams dread but surely we shouldn’t have to work late, avoid taking holidays or feel stressed out about it, it happens every year! So, we have a challenge for you - how about we make next year’s year-end the least stressful to date? Whilst it's fresh in your mind, join us on the newest FTL session as we unpick the factors that stress us out at year-end and put forward strategies to deal with them.

Links for this episode:
Learn More about Financial Transformation
Follow us on LinkedIn for our Live Sessions

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In the latest episode of CFO 4.0, Hannah Munro talks with Michael Ryan, the Founder and Managing Partner of Finance Transformation UK. 
 
Michael is an independent transformation consultant who previously has worked for several large corporates including Argos and Whitbread and we discuss what it takes to do Financial Transformation well.
 
 Also covered in this episode: 

• Michael discusses his 25-year history with Financial Transformation 
• The opinions on what is the secret sauce to success in terms of adoption 
• What are the big mistakes found in transformation projects? 
• The difference between Project Management and Program Management
• The top tips for someone who wants to embark on a financial transformation project

Links referenced in this episode: 

• Michael’s Linkedin 
•  Most recent issue of Finance Transformation Magazine 
•  Finance Transformation Website 

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The Redefined CFO - Sage's Latest Research - The latest and aptly named CFO 4.0 Report from Sage brings you the results from the latest study of global CFOs on how the role has developed. After the success of our joint panel at Accountex, we've invited Richard Moorin (Head of Finance, Sage) and Mark Jackson (VP of Medium, Sage) to discuss the findings on the podcast. 

This time the tables have turned and Mark takes over hosting the show whilst Richard and Hannah discuss the outputs. Topics covered in this week's episode include:

• The three personas that the Redefined CFO
• The increasing importance of ESG and value-led finance
• Some interesting and unusual stats that came out

If you would like to learn more, listen to the podcast or download the report yourself, click here.

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In this latest episode of CFO 4.0, Hannah Munro sits down with Alan Jagolinzer, Professor of Financial Accounting at Cambridge Judge Business School.

Alan is a member of the editorial boards of The Accounting Review and The Journal of International Accounting Research. In 2015, he was a Fellow of the International Accounting Standards Board, London.

Also covered in this episode:

• Alan’s background and his journey from Pilot to Professor of Financial Accounting at Cambridge Judge
• What are the risks within finance?
• Is it something CFOs should be concerned about?
• What can be done to mitigate exposure?
• Importance of bringing awareness to disinformation

Links referenced in this episode:
Alan's LinkedIn

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In this episode of CFO 4.0, Hannah Munro chats with James Owen, Global Chief Financial Officer at Kantar, about the Future Focused CFO,  and how to build a transformational mindset within your finance team.

Also covered in this episode: 

• James’ journey to becoming Global CFO of Kantar Profiles & his work with CIMA/AICPA
• How has the CFO role changed and how will the CFO role change over the next few years?
• How far away are we from where we need to be within the CFO role? 
• What is holding CFOs back from stepping into that role?
• How to build a transformational mindset within your finance team
• What are the challenges with managing a global team?
• What key things do you need in place to be a successful CFO?
• Understanding cultural differences within a finance team
• Critical changes finance leaders need to make for the future
• What James is doing to set his team up for success both now and in the future

Links mentioned in this episode:
James' LinkedIn
Kantar
Listen to more episodes

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In this session, Hannah Munro talks about how you can re-design your Chart of Accounts (COA). Ideal for those who are thinking about or currently going through the process, we give you the methodology and the framework to ensure that you not only make no mistakes but that you design a robust COA that can deliver on your reporting needs, ensuring it is futureproofed so you won't have to re-do it again next year!

Links for this episode:
Learn More about Financial Transformation
Follow us on LinkedIn for our Live Sessions
Register for our Upcoming Webinar: Sage Intacct's Multi-Dimensional Nominal

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In this episode, Clive Webb and Tim Barber join Hannah Munro to talk about the increasing importance of understanding and communicating value in finance.

Clive Webb, Head of Business Management at ACCA. Clive deals with business and technology-related matters from the perspective of the CFO. 

His research interests include the application of digital technologies to the finance function, and how they impact the people and processes they support. 

Clive has a particular interest in the personal developmental aspects of an organisation.

Tim Barber has worked in the Business Consulting arena for nearly 30 years, with UK, Australian, and Saudi Arabian consultancy practices, following 7 years of line management experience in logistics and operations. 

In June 2021, Tim was appointed a Visiting Fellow at Hull University’s faculty of Business, Law, and Economics, with a focus on exploring the potential for the employment of relevant systems thinking to support the successful adoption of social value principles into business. 

He is also currently on the advisory boards for a couple of new businesses that are focused on addressing the sustainability agenda. 

What else is covered in this episode?

• What is the change that we’re seeing in finance teams and what does that have to do with value?
• How do we define value?
• How value goes beyond economic impact
• What are the components of economic value identification?
• Examples of the value identification conversation
• What this means for the skills in finance

Links referenced in this episode
Clive's LinkedIn
Tim's LinkedIn
ACCA Website

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In this episode of CFO 4.0, we have a return guest, Ash Noah, Vice President, CGMA External Relations at the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (the Association), representing AICPA & CIMA, to talk to us about finance, mindset vs skills, and how the existing workforce needs to adapt.

In his role as Vice President, Ash serves as a liaison to CFOs and CEOs to understand how finance teams are evolving and guides the Association’s initiatives to help management accountants create more value for their organisations. 

What else is covered in this episode?

• What new skills/mindsets does the finance workforce need for the future?
• What does the structure of this new organisation look like?
• What's driving the urgent need for change? What will happen if we don’t?
• Where is the next generation of finance teams going to come from?
• How does the existing workforce need to adapt?
• How do we address the non-technical skillsets needed?

Links mentioned in this episode:

Download the slides PDF
Follow Ash on LinkedIn
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