GrowCFO Show

Kevin Appleby is joined by David Appel from Sage Intacct to discuss reporting for a SaaS business.

5 Stages of SaaS business growth

David Appel discusses with Kevin the 5 stages a SaaS business will go through, also what they need to accompany them:

At this stage the simple goal is to create product market fit.The next stage is for you to prove you can sell your product and hire reps. Here, David explains, the focus needs to be on billing and cash flow. The metrics are around customer acquisition and sales efficiency. This is when you want to prove your net renewal model. This means you can hold and upsell the customers that you have. David indicates this is why more mature finance leaders are hired here. There needs to be a large focus on tracking performance obligations and contract obligations, tying every upsell back to them. As this continues, the finance function becomes more complicated.Make it predictable and scalable. This is when you will start to hire a more skilled finance team.This is the big outcome. It will be a strategic exit or IPO where the company will go global. Due to the higher stakes, there is a lot of additional pressure and scrutiny.

With a SaaS business, recurring income makes meeting shareholder expectation easier.

What’s the typical time-scale between more basic (receipts in shoe box) to thinking about the big outcome?

David explores how SaaS businesses are getting faster and faster at this transition. However, investors always want it to go faster.

For the top 10% who get there, it can be 6-7 years. Others can take 15, and up to 20 years. This can be down to the markets moving and customer sentiments changing. David suggests you have to be lucky to have everything fall your way.

There is a lot of change as a lot of different things happen to finance.

How often do folk scaling realise systems aren’t good enough?

Classic process optimisation means you can break it down. There is such a cultural component to this. Is everyone clear on the simple mission of the company? And what role each has to achieve that? That’s critical to truly being able to scale. 

Kevin adds importantly to what David says by pointing out: you have to think like a business of the size you want to reach. The systems you put in now will fit your company when you get where you want to be. 

What metrics are key from CFO’s point of view?

Each one is different at a different stage. David indicates towards using your resources around you like mentors and advisors as no one can do it all themselves. Someone will have been where you are and worked their way through it.

David discusses 3 metrics:

Velocity. This is the pace your going at. You could calculate it by using your revenue growth or your net dollar retention. There are many ways of calculating this but investors want transparency. Profitability. You need to look at what your customer acquisition cost is. An understanding of the lifetime value of a customer is vital. Capital efficiency. You want to know how much money you are bringing in against how much it is costing you. What is your net new ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue) divided by your net burn?

What Sage does

David works for the successful company Sage, majoring in the Intacct Product. He briefly tells us the benefits of using them which include:

Helping you through the stages you will go through and helps you close.

Not only do they help you close, it will be a quick close, possibly as quick as 5 days.

Find out more about GrowCFO

If you enjoyed this podcast you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favourite podcast app. The GrowCFO show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Google podcasts and many others. Why not subscribe there today? That way you never miss an episode.

GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. You can join GrowCFO as a free member today and take part in our regular networking events and webinars. 

Premium members also have access to our extensive training centre. Here you can enrol in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programmes. 

You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net

Kevin Appleby is joined by Chris Tredwell to discuss this years GrowCFO finance systems survey and how the results will help them structure future sessions.

The finance systems survey

Chris explains what the survey's purpose is and the benefits using it brings. He touched on an area of benefits that hearing the results from peers or the people who actually use the systems bring.

It brings to light what people think about the finance systems they use. This helps GrowCFO to structure their sessions and become more adapted to what people are actually using.

Last and this year's finance system surveys

There was a lot of continuity in the results, Chris explains. However, due to the events of the past 12 months some questions were more suited to how you had adapted to working in the pandemic.

There is still miseducation among people as to what their finance systems can do as some responses were contradictory. Chris shows us how this can be helpful as fellow peers can help improve each other's knowledge of the same system.

increased systems footpring better represented situatuin riim

Finance systems that increased footprint

Kevin and Chris explore what finance systems have increased their footprint over the last year. Chris indicates that there has been shifts towards finance systems such as Cloud.

Despite the large changes of last year, most people were still able to use the same finance system that they were using before, remotely. Only some of these people had to slightly modify these systems.

We hear from Chris about the new intel on Unit Four as more people are using it, in comparison to last year. Alternatively, he discusses a recurring name from last year, the finance system Zero. The responses indicate this is used more frequently by start-up businesses to facilitate their early stages.

How GrowCFO uses the finance survey to help

Every Tuesday at midday GrowCFO holds a Future of Finance session. Chris tells you some topics that will be covered in coming weeks; Cloud, integrations and where roles are likely to be based.

This is due to most saying they will not work solely from home or remotely. This leads to people deciding whether to train or hire people for their finance team. Due to the results, you will see more advice on how to hire the right staff.

Chris also suggests that GrowCFO will be focusing on period end close and management packs as these were areas where the time spent was highly varied. This is a continuing issue despite improving technology.

Chris also touches upon this as to why people feel they don't make the changes to the system that would improve this. GrowCFO looks to help people counter the issues they face such as they don't believe it will be a quick fix or fix anything in the long run.

All Future of Finance sessions are recorded and featured on the website.

New integrations and innovations

Chris tells you what new players and integrators they want to look at. He lists; business intelligence, OCR, robotic process automation and ground workflows. These are all things that people wanted to tighten in their business.

Find out more about GrowCFO

If you enjoyed this podcast you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favourite podcast app. The GrowCFO show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Google podcasts and many others. Why not subscribe there today? That way you never miss an episode.

GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. You can join GrowCFO as a free member today and take part in our regular networking events and webinars. 

Premium members also have access to our extensive training centre. Here you can enrol in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programmes. 

You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net

Change is an important part of the CFO role. Change is a big part of a transaction, a business restructure or a systems implementation. The CFO is involved in leading all three. We look at each of these in this weeks podcast. The CFO's role in business change can't be underestimated, the CFO is a catalyst for change.

GrowCFO's future of finance functions group meets every Tuesday over Zoom. I'm looking at Change and specifically how it relates to finance transformation on the last Tuesday of every month.

The CFO's role in business change is covered as one of the core competencies of the CFO. The CFO as a catalyst of business change forms a key element of the GrowCFO competency framework.

https://youtu.be/JuO2fKb5zuY

The CFO's role in business change is in 3 areas

The transaction, after a merger or acquisition, or before a divestment

Systems project, putting new IT into finance or the wider business

Driving a step change in performance, reshaping the business model

The transaction

As CFO you will have a major involvement in any transaction and a key part in making it happen. After the transaction you need to be involved in the business change:

After a merger or acquisition you need to drive integration of the new business, particularly in the back office

Before a divestment you need to make sure the bit of the business you are selling is properly decoupled, and there's no ongoing dependency for systems and processes with the parts of the business you are retaining

Step change in performance

The CFO is at the heart of driving business performance. As CFO, its you job to look for opportunities to improve the bottom line. The CFO's role in business change could involve you in one or more of the following:

A business restructure

Cost reduction, reducing the cost base of the business

Driving a Zero Based Budget. To direct spend to the key business objectives you and your C Suite colleagues are committed, and eliminate spend that isn't focussed on these.

You have a key role in decisions concerning pricing and product mix. You need to know which customers and products are profitable and which are not. The CFO view of the best parts of the business might be very different from the sales and marketing view. So, you need to:

Understand the economic engine, not the P&L account

Know which products & services drive cost. High margin might look attractive to the sales team, but if the product is low volume and there are lots of demands on customer service time then the overall contribution might be negative.

Systems project

You have an important role leading business change in a systems project. This might include:

A Finance Transformation. Most finance functions have big scope to modernise and automate. Finance is your home turf. You need to get change right in finance to be trusted with change in the wider business.

Wider business change, which will nearly always impact you and your finance team

Delivering business benefits rarely comes from system changes, it more likely comes from changes relating to people and process that surround the system. People change is the hardest part.

As CFO you have a vital role in people change. Leading change is all about leading people through the change process.

Learning more about the CFO's role in business change

If you want to deliver a successful business transformation then you need to understand how to lead change. John P Kotter outlines an 8 step process in his book Leading change

The sessions I'm leading each month for GrowCFO's future of finance functions group is exploring the Kotter 8 step process. One step at each month's session.

Dr Kotter cultivated the 8-Step Process for Leading Change from over four decades observations of countless leaders and organizations as they were trying to transform or execute their strategies. He identified and extracted the success factors and combined them into a methodology, the award-winning 8-Step Process for Leading Change.

Create a sense of urgency

Build a guiding coalition

Form a strategic vision

Enlist a volunteer army

Enable action by removing barriers

Generate short term wins

Sustain progress

Embed the changes

If you want to find out more about Kotter here’s a great article

Why not take the growCFO CFO competency framework?

The GrowCFO Competency framework is part of our library of training programmes for premium members. It starts with a self assessment. This allows you to assess your own capabilities in each of the following skills:

Foundation skills:

Governance and Control

Operational driver

Financial Planning and Analysis

Implementation skills:

Strategic Business Partner

Catalyst for Change

Fundraising and M&A

Impact skills:

Leadership

Commercial mindset

Soft skills

You will receive an email which contains your results and your peer group benchmarking report. This report will include an action plan to help you address each of your identified skills gaps. There are training modules in each of the competencies and regular Zoom workshops you can join in covering aspects of each competency area.

Find out more about GrowCFO

If you enjoyed this podcast you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favourite podcast app. The GrowCFO show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Google podcasts and many others. Why not subscribe there today? That way you never miss an episode.

GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. You can join GrowCFO as a free member today and take part in our regular networking events and webinars. 

Premium members also have access to our extensive training centre. Here you can enrol in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programmes. 

You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net

The CFO and CEO's roles have an important relationship. On this episode of the GrowCFO Show Kevin Appleby looks closer at this relationship with Richard Medcalf, founder of Xquadrant . Richard is a mentor to CEOs and tells you how the CFO should work with the CEO and also how to make the jump from the CFO role to the CEO one.

About Richard Medcalf

Richard studied at the University of Oxford and is now a leadership strategist to top tech CEOs. He is the founder and CEO of Xquadrant.

Imposter syndrome and the CFO and CEO relationship

Imposter syndrome is where you may feel out of place in your new role, or as though you don't know how you have ended up with it. Richard explains how this shows that you are developing and learning.

CFOs and CEOs are both senior positions meaning that you will be playing a bigger game. You will constantly be experimenting as to what will work best for you.

Richard importantly states that "there is no learning in the comfort zone, and no comfort in the learning zone".

The ways the CFO and CEO should work together

Richard expands on how the CFO should be the CEO's right hand. He describes how the CFO should make the CEO's case for change by using the numbers to back it up but then give a further insight to the executive and the board as to what the numbers mean.

CEOs look forward for goals that will improve the business. This means, a CFO cannot be completely focused on the last quarter, but also what should happen in the next.

The CFO's and CEO's need for time balance

CFOs and CEOs both need a high level of skill in time management. Richard covers how you need not only to be focused on projects and execute them to a high level, but also to have time for strategic activity.

If you do not time manage and are not involved, it can hinder your progression in that role. Reliability to answer questions about your section of the business is important and this means you have to have time balance so you can have that availability.

The jump from CFO to CEO

Richard and Kevin discuss ways to make this jump;

One is to make sure you are doing more than what is required of an average CFO. This includes taking a larger interest in all the sections of the business as this is a key role of the CEO.

Secondly, you have to be big on vision. The CEO looks forward and looks at what the company wants to be. The CFO often looks at what has previously happened, so there has to be a balance of looking forward but also seeing what has worked in the past.

Lastly, you need to be ready to leave numbers behind. It is a new role,so don't try and be a better CFO than yours. You will be expected to be well-rounded and have expertise in all areas, not only finance.

How can a CFO build business relevance:

Richard discusses this in two parts;

He looks into why you shouldn't look to wow with your finance skills, show your business skills. You need to add perspectives and not only see the business from a finance point of view. Also look commercially at what risks would be beneficial to take.

Richard then delves into why you should not only have a financial plan but also a plan for finance. This will help you to uplevel your finance function which, if you can't do, you won't be able to do for the rest of the business.

Richard's website

Richard's website has many complementary features to GrowCFO's lessons. It includes things such as the kryptonite test which will highlight your teams' weaknesses and areas that need management. The CFO can also utilise this as it can see what impact finance wants to make on the business.

You can also find an executive productivity assessment. This will show your benchmark and how you are doing. It will also help with time balance as you can see the least prioritised areas for work.

Find out more about GrowCFO

If you enjoyed this podcast you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favourite podcast app. The GrowCFO show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Google podcasts and many others. Why not subscribe there today? That way you never miss an episode.

GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. You can join GrowCFO as a free member today and take part in our regular networking events and webinars. 

Premium members also have access to our extensive training centre. Here you can enrol in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programmes. 

You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net

Great communication is a vital part of the CFO's brief. Using the right language is often the difference between good and great communication. On this episode of the GrowCFO Show Kevin Appleby discusses the power of language with Susana Serrano-Davey. Susana tells us about the many ways the right language can make a difference. The right language is vital to communicate to a team or individual effectively. 

Susana expands on the ways we can adapt our language and how this adaptation can lead to better results. 

About Susana

Susana is a GrowCFO mentor. She is also an executive director with international experience in commercial finance, business transformation, commercial management, FP&A, financial control and audit.

Be mindful to use the right language 

 Susana discusses how we need to be aware of our environment to give the most effective message. This means we need to use the right language for that situation. 

When we meet different people our language has to adapt so we can communicate with them in the right way so our message comes across the way we intend it to. Just a few words can make a large difference on how the sentence is received. 

Right language is needed so you don’t reflect our emotions in what you are saying. Using a word like ‘always’ can add layers of frustration and alter how the sentence is received. 

Why do we need to change our language to the right language?

Susana dives into how things such as  culture can have an impact on the way we communicate, for example, differing nationalities can also lead to different attitudes but also accents can make us sound more or less aggressive. 

This means we have to identify factors on what we ourselves need to work on to be able to communicate most effectively. This may mean adapting words that we say but also how we say it. 

Talking from the other person's perspective

You will hear Susana explain how being aware of how other people perceive you is vital for good communication. The way people perceive you will determine how they respond to what you are telling them. Specific words will change the impression your sentence leaves, whether it shows you are being aggressive or feeling frustrated.

It is also important to understand that the impression you leave does not only come from what you say but also how you say it as this creates an atmosphere. Susana discusses how being impatient can give an atmosphere that will not lead to the person you are speaking to work at their best. This is why you need to understand the impression you give and use the right language to get people to work with you.

How do cultural differences affect right language?

Susana illustrates how the right language can mean different things in different countries and cultures. She talks about the difference in attitudes to giving your boss feedback in Spain. This is where it is considered less acceptable to challenge your superiors.

She tells the story of returning to her native Spain after working in the UK and finding it odd that her direct reports were so reluctant to give their opinions.

Why do you need the right language to give feedback?

You need to see how context can affect the feedback you give. You need to see how the negative can be seen in a different perspective like how, if it was resolved, it would lead to more opportunities. 

Going further into this, Susana explains how this can vary from giving feedback to an individual as opposed to a group setting, where you need to be more careful as there is more room for misunderstanding due to a less tailored message.

Find out more about GrowCFO

If you enjoyed this podcast you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favourite podcast app. The GrowCFO show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Google podcasts and many others. Why not subscribe there today? That way you never miss an episode.

GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. You can join GrowCFO as a free member today and take part in our regular networking events and webinars. 

Premium members also have access to our extensive training centre. Here you can enrol in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programmes. 

You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net

Hugh Watchorn is the latest member of GrowCFO's mentoring team. Hugh brings with him a wealth of experience, and he's passionate about passing it on to the next generation of finance leaders. Kevin Appleby catches up with Hugh on this week's GrowCFO show and finds that its a combination of business and people that keeps him motivated. Listen to the audio recording and find out more.

About Hugh Watchorn

Hugh spent 15 years as CFO of Bonhams. Bonhams is a privately owned British auction house. It is one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The Bonhams name is recognized worldwide throughout all sectors of the fine art, antiques and collectors market. Several of its departments are established world leaders within their specialist category.

Hugh's passion for both business and people is clear from his time at Bonhams. He talked to me about growing the business. A merger with Phillips followed by acquisition of other businesses. He also talked about the fascinating people he got to work with.

Hugh's mentoring experience

Hugh is passionate about business and people. This is why he took up mentoring. He is a former mentor in the ICAEW F-TEN programme. F-TEN® is a unique business leadership, mentoring and peer-to-peer network programme designed for ambitious senior finance professionals who are one or two career stages away from a group CFO or equivalent-level role. Hugh Watchorn now brings all this experience with him to GrowCFO's mentoring programme

His passion for business and people

I delved deeper into Hugh's passion for both business and people. He has already had a long and successful career. Hugh could easily retire and just watch cricket. Instead, Hugh remains highly motivated. He is no longer working as a full time CFO, but he is still involved in a number of businesses. He is a portfolio CFO and has a number of non executive roles. His current project is supporting Prestige Pawnbrokers as part time finance director.

We went on to talk about communication. Hugh believes that it is communication skills that set the good CFOs apart. We also discussed charisma. The really great communicator is also a charismatic character. I asked Hugh if charisma is a quality that you can teach. His answer was very interesting. Listen in and find out what Hugh thinks.

Find out more about GrowCFO

If you enjoyed this podcast you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favourite podcast app. The GrowCFO show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Google podcasts and many others. Why not subscribe there today? That way you never miss an episode.

GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. You can join GrowCFO as a free member today and take part in our regular networking events and webinars. 

Premium members also have access to our extensive training centre. Here you can enrol in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programmes. 

You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net

GrowCFO mentor Catherine Clark often finds assertiveness to be an issue when she is helping aspiring and new CFOs. She tells Kevin Appleby why that is and what you can do to be more assertive.

Catherine and Susana Serrano-Davey recently covered assertiveness in the GrowCFO Women Finance Leaders group and on this episode of the GrowCFO Show she shares the key messages from that session

Why do some CFOs find it difficult to be assertive?

Catherine believes that the rout cause of a lack of assertiveness is closely tied in to a lack of confidence and to imposter syndrome. We covered imposter syndrome in Episode 15 of the GrowCFO show

Often the new CXFO hasn't risen to be co-pilot to the CFO, instead one of the other c-suite members is first among equals on the board and has more influence both in the room and with the CFO.

A new CFO may feel unworthy because she is underpaid, and does not feel on an equal footing with the rest of the leadership team.

What can you do to be more assertive?

We discuss a number of things you can do to become more confident and more assertive. These include:

Improve the quality of relationships, take time to get to know people better and understand their problemsMake time to think and reflect, often there's more than one way to approach the situation and you need the right game planUnderstand the other persons viewpoint, find out the root cause. Often the immediate issue you are addressing isn't the route cause to their resistanceYou can't change the other person, but you can change your own behaviour. If you keep approaching things the same way and don't get results then doing more of the same rarely works.

The DEAR technique to be more assertive

Catherine has an interesting model to help you be more assertive. There are 4 parts to the request you want to assert

D = Describe the situation

Start by describing the situation as you see it to the other person. "It appears that....."

E = Express your feelings

Next, bring emotion into the conversation. "This makes me feel.........

A = Assert your belief need or want.

Make sure there's an action. Not a place to say sorry. Be clear what you need from the other person. "I would appreciate you doing......"

R= Reinforce other person

Let them know you appreciate them. A thank you in advance is a great way of getting the action you want.

Find out more about GrowCFO

If you enjoyed this podcast you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favourite podcast app. The show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Google podcasts and many others.

GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. You can join GrowCFO as a free member today and take part in our regular networking events and webinars. 

Premium members also have access to our extensive training centre. Here you can enrol in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programmes. 

You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net

Mike Whitmire is CEO and founder of FloQast. He's based in Los Angeles and is a CPA turned Entrepreneur. Mike loves building software that helps accountants go home early. Mike and Kevin catch up to find out how you can use technology to improve the culture in your finance function.

About Mike Whitmire

Mike founded FloQast in 2015, but it isn't the first venture he's been part of. He was previously senior accountant at Cornerstone OnDemand during their successful IPO. His earlier background is at Ernst & Young where he started as an auditor and specialised in working with media companies in the LA area. Kevin thinks this was a ploy to get himself on screen in some major production or other!

What is FloQast?

FloQast is the leading provider of accounting workflow automation created by accountants for accountants to work smarter, not harder. By automating common accounting workflows and helping to streamline and make them more efficient, FloQast is the place where accounting teams want to work so they can focus on what matters most, even when that’s just going home on time.

What does Mike Whitmire look for in a CFO?

FloQast are currently recruiting a CFO to work alongside Mik. I asked Mike what he thought made a good CFO and what skills he's looking for. He gave me a great insight. Mike recognises 3 types of CFO, all of which are good. He wants one particular type. Listen in and find out why?

Technology driving culture

Mike Whitmire is passionate about people, and believes technology needs to support the workforce and make people feel part of the team. He understands that millennials really want to know how they fit into the big picture. Having an engaged workforce is important, and creating a great team and culture are core parts of this. FloQast introduces a transparency into the finance team, everyone sees what everyone else is doing and it introduces a new dynamic. Peer pressure! Mike explains this in far more detail in the audio recording.

Find out more about GrowCFO

If you enjoyed this podcast you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favourite podcast app. The show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Google podcasts and many others.

GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. You can join GrowCFO as a free member today and take part in our regular networking events and webinars. 

Premium members also have access to our extensive training centre. Here you can enrol in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programmes. 

You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net

Do you feel that you are delivering your full potential within your finance leader role? During this week's episode of The GrowCFO Show, I talk to GrowCFO's Founder and CEO Dan Wells. Dan explains how your CFO Programme will help you to maximise your performance within your finance leader role.

What is the CFO Programme?

The CFO programme is a blend of workshops, self assessment, and online learning. This programme will take you from being a back office function leader to becoming the co-pilot to your CEO.

There are two elements to the programme as described below:

Nine group mentoring sessions lasting 90 minutes covering our nine modules over a six-month period. We deliver these online with a maximum of six people. Each session is run by an experienced CFO and professional mentor, with additional input from other CFOs and also CEOs. During these sessions, you will also build up a strong peer group buddy support network.Six months of one-to-one executive mentoring support from an experienced CFO, with flexible timing. Each session lasts for 90 minutes, including a bonus up-front strategy session. You will also get ad hoc support during this period. In addition, you will benefit from a strengths assessment, workbooks and tools to support your mentoring journey.

What are the key activities in the CFO Programme ?

There are three key topics within the programme:

Catalyst for Change helps you to transform your team into an essential business function that creates value and transforms operations.Strategic Business Partner supports you to deliver data-driven strategic insights to challenge the Board, influence strategy and drive key decision-making.Inspirational leader will develop you into an externally-facing leader, a vital Board member and the co-pilot to your CEO.

We’ve broken down each of the three sections into three modules, giving nine modules in total. You can find out more and take your first steps to join the programme here:

Here is a diagram that provides an overview of your nine modules:

What will you achieve?

Our CFO Programme will help you to:

Discover and work with your areas of strength and development objectives;Determine ways to overcome any barriers to your success;Provide different perspectives when thinking through issues; andImprove your knowledge and confidence to maximise your performance.

Mentoring is a great way of supporting your development and personal growth by ‘stretching’ you, helping you to move out of your comfort zone and closer to your full potential.

Who is the CFO Programme designed for?

Our CFO Programme will appeal to passionate finance leaders who are keen to develop a well-respected finance function that provides vital support, influence and value creation across your business.

To qualify, you should be leading a finance function and reporting into the board. For example, acting as the CFO, Head of Finance, Finance Director, VP of Finance). You may be fairly new into the role or still learning the traits of becoming a successful CFO. Participants understand the importance of investing time to help achieve your full potential.

Alongside your peers, you will become the best version of yourself and act as a positive role model who challenges the status quo. You will also learn how to develop a mindset for success, whilst living by your values and demonstrating a willingness to expand your perspectives.

Who leads the CFO programme?

All activities are led by an experienced CFO and professional mentor.

Our mentors are experienced CFOs who have made the journey before, conquering the challenges that our mentees will face. Think of us as your motivator, sounding board and biggest supporter – your number one career buddy!

The programme will also feature various guests who can provide additional perspectives across several of the workshop modules.

How long does the CFO Programme last?

The programme lasts for six months and requires a time commitment of around one hour per week.

Your peer group workshop dates will be communicated to you in advance so that you can fit them into your diary. Each of these will be arranged around your existing commitments to avoid any clashes.

Participants can also select the most convenient dates for your individual mentoring sessions by liaising directly with your mentor.

How do you get started?

Finance leaders should click here to fill in our short online enquiry form. You will then receive a message from a member of our GrowCFO management team to schedule a call. Following that, you will be able to make an informed decision about whether this is the right programme for you.

Iain Nairn is an experienced insolvency practitioner. In this episode of the GrowCFO Show I chatted to Iain about the role of the insolvency practitioner. Why and when and why a company should call on his services? We also took a look at the state of the economy following Covid-19. We discussed how great the negative impact on business actually is. Listen to the podcast to find out more.

About Iain Nairn

Iain Nairn started his career in corporate recovery and insolvency. He has also been a finance director, an business development manager and an investment manager. He now heads up the team in North East England for Leonord Curtis Business Solutions Group.

Iain is an accomplished sportsman. He is very proud to have been captain of the England Physically Disabled Cricket team. Iain lead them to victory in the inaugural multinational cricket tournament for people with disabilities in 2015. The team then went on to win the World Series in 2019.

When might you use an insolvency practitioner?

If your company is experiencing financial distress, you may be considering appointing the services of an insolvency practitioner. The insolvency practitioner will help you navigate your current situation. For most CFOs its unlikely you have dealt with an insolvency practitioner before. You may be unsure exactly what they do. An insolvency practitioner can add a lot to your business if engaged at the right time. During the early stages of financial distress the role might be vital to saving your business.

What is an insolvency practitioner?

An insolvency practitioner is someone who is licensed to act on behalf of companies and individuals. He will act when they are facing insolvency or acute financial distress. Practitioners are also able to help directors of solvent companies who have chosen to liquidate their company.

In the majority of cases, a company director will voluntarily approach an insolvency practitioner. In matters of compulsory liquidation, the courts will appoint an Official Receiver who will act as the provisional liquidator. They may later request that an insolvency practitioner be appointed to take the liquidation forward.

Is an insolvency practitioner the same as a liquidator?

A liquidator is one of a variety of roles an insolvency practitioner assumes. The role depends on the case they have been appointed to deal with. In matters concerning limited companies, the three main roles an IP will undertake are as follows:

Liquidator – Acting as a liquidator in both solvent and insolvent company liquidations. The insolvency practitioner’s role here is to realise company assets and ensure these are distributed appropriately to creditors. In insolvent liquidations such as Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidations, creditors typically comprise of suppliers, banks, and other lenders. In an MVL, which is the liquidation of a solvent company, directors and shareholders are often in line to receive the proceeds.Administrator – An insolvency practitioner will be appointed the administrator of a company in both administration and pre-pack administration cases. They will work to realise a better outcome for creditors. This is through arranging a sale of the company or facilitating an ordered shutdown of the business.Nominee and Supervisor – In Company Voluntary Arrangements an insolvency practitioner will take on the dual roles of nominee and supervisor. They will first act as a ‘nominee’ and will be responsible for putting together a viable proposal for the CVA. A Statement of Affairs (SOA) will be produced. Creditors will be informed how much they could expect to receive should the CVA be implemented. Once the CVA has been passed by creditors, the insolvency practitioner will become ‘supervisor’ of the agreement. He will oversee matters throughout the duration of the CVA. The ongoing performance of the business will be monitored to ensure the company remains on track to complete the CVA. Hopefully the company will emerge with a good chance of enjoying a successful future.

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