What’s the number one thing you can do to be a better finance business partner? From my perspective and from talking to literally hundreds of people in workshops, the one thing that’s going to make the biggest difference to you being a more effective business partner is to spend more time out in the business. Understanding the […]
Continue readingBusiness partnering in finance and other functional areas like IT, procurement and HR is becoming more and more common. This is in part being driven by advances in technology. But also by functional professionals themselves wanting more rewarding work. And let’s not forget the changing demands of business itself. Of course being a business partner is a whole lot […]
Continue readingPresenting is part and parcel of the role of a Finance professional. Some love doing presentation. For others it’s more of a struggle. Whenever I’m doing workshops, two questions come up time and time again:How can I be more confident?How can I keep my audience engaged?Let’s explore each of these. Confidence is an outcome. In my experience there are […]
Continue readingThe role of the accountant has changed a lot in the almost 41 years since I had my first job in accounting. Back then there wasn’t the same variety of roles. And Finance Business Partnering wasn’t on the radar. Now, it’s becoming more and more common. So what makes someone a great finance business partner? Here’s my thoughts. Technically competent My choice […]
Continue readingAccounting has changed a lot since I started out in my career in 1980. Finance Business Partnering is a model that many finance teams are working towards or have implemented. Of course one of the big challenges that many finance business partners highlight is a lack of time to focus on the role. One of the reasons why […]
Continue readingA new year. One that follows 2020. A year none of us could have anticipated 12 months ago. Of course there’s plenty of challenges ahead. All of the welcome support provided by government comes at a cost. Economically challenging times ahead. And of course plenty of uncertainty. I work predominantly with accountants working in organisations rather than those who […]
Continue readingI was running a workshop for one of my clients recently. The workshop was all about being an effective presenter. As I always do on these workshops I get delegates to introduce themselves, talk about their biggest presentation challenge and what they want most from the workshop. Almost without exception nerves and feeling less nervous is always […]
Continue reading30 June 2020 it was 40 years since I entered the world of work. All sorts of little reminders have been popping into my head in recent weeks and monthsOne I recalled and brought a smile to my face was when I was in my second job as an Internal Auditor.This was 1986.If you wanted […]
Continue readingThe role of the business partner in organisations varies significantly from organisation to organisation. From my own work and looking at the ideas and thoughts from others, I ‘ve noticed that:Some organisations are at the early stages.Some have implemented.Some have it fully embedded.Whatever stage business partnering is at, what’s important to recognise is that your success […]
Continue readingBusiness partnering in finance and other functional areas like IT, procurement and HR is seen as the big thing. After all many of these functional professionals talk about wanting to have a wider role, make a difference, add value, provide insight and be integral to the success to an entire business or area they support. Of course […]
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