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37 essays on this topic.
On 31 December 1999, Citigroup stood as the colossus, while JPMorgan trailed as the also-ran. $10,000 invested in each, with dividends reinvested, has grown to $131,000 and $5,300 today. The gap comes from arithmetic and from decisions taken in the good years…
In 1965 a Bletchley Park codebreaker said our first ultraintelligent machine would be the last thing we invented, provided it remained compliant enough to explain how we could control it. We now depend entirely on that proviso…
A chip supplier is discussing anchoring its own customer's $100bn listing. When that supplier finances the customer, some revenue represents its own money flowing back, and revenue no longer provides independent evidence of demand.
Reviewing a piece of AI work costs $86, compared with $361 to do it yourself. It looks like a saving of three-quarters, and it is, but that $86 is priced in expert hours and has stayed the same even as the cost of generating the work has dropped a thousandfold.
Most firms have quietly acquired a critical supplier they don't manage — for the most important input they buy: thinking. Procurement solved this problem decades ago. It's time to apply the discipline to cognition.
Finance is built on the premise that an answer is either right or wrong. The business it reports on has never worked that way — which is why the habit of updating cleanly is a CFO's real advantage.
I want you to look at the graph for a second. Really look at it. Look hard.
I've been thinking about this a lot lately, and I've come to believe there are really only two types of financial leadership — and the difference between them isn't talent or in…
A 10-part series — 3 parts on this topic
Over the last 25 years in finance - more recently as CFO - one thing has become clear to me:
Two months ago, I posted an article, on what I thought were the 10 commandments of FP&A story telling. It was born out of the some of my past frustrations of working with FP&A p…
In November 2023, I had posted an article about a storytelling cheat sheet for CFOs. This artcile is a continuation of that post, but targetted towards juniour FP&A professional…
Being a CFO in fintech sounds cool—until it’s 2:47am and you're wide awake, wondering if your fraud controls holds, your Series C runway will stretch, or your compliance stack i…
Ill thought tariffs, and unthought taxes are squeezing margins. Populist political agendas are resulting in unwanted (and shall I say unnecessary) challenges to the fragile busi…
Strategic planning and strategic preparation, while closely related, offer distinct approaches to achieving organizational success. For a CFO, understanding the nuances between…
As we approach the close of 2024, I find myself revisiting the series of articles I’ve shared here on LinkedIn over the past twelve months. When I began posting about a year ago…
I often find myself reflecting on how companies, teams, and even individuals measure success. In my opinion there are three distinct approaches : output focus, outcome focus, an…
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are often seen as a fast track to growth, innovation, and market expansion. With what is possibly the beginning of interest rate cuts on both side…
In November 2023, I had written a post explaining why storytelling is a CFO’s secret superpower. Having seen firsthand how compelling narratives can transform dry numbers into i…
The role of a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is evolving and leveraging technology has become even more important to create value. After all, how good can a CFO be if they can't…
In a society that reveres stories of heroism and dramatic success, the image of a decisive, action-oriented leader dominates our collective imagination. This leader, lets call h…
Self-confidence and self-doubt play pivotal roles in business and personal growth. While the former is often viewed as a hallmark of success and leadership, the latter is typica…
In a world where change is the only constant, the art of building great teams requires more than just matching skills to roles. It demands a deeper understanding of the innate q…
Today, I'm writing about a topic that marries the ancient wisdom of collective decision-making with the cutting-edge challenges faced by modern CFOs. Inspired by the recent re-r…
In the heart of Vietnam War history lies a powerful lesson on resilience and faith, known today as the Stockdale Paradox. This concept was named after Admiral James Stockdale, w…
This week , I am departing from writing about something topical, but rather expressing a \strong\ point of view on why Treasurers should be considered as top candidates for CFO…
Generally, finance is a world of numbers, graphs, and cold, hard data. Nevertheless, behind the world of spreadsheets and financial models, there is a very human sea of emotions…
In continuation of my recent post on the Future of GPT, I have been thinking about the role of leadership in the swiftly evolving landscape of General Artificial Intelligence (G…
Generative Pretrained Transformers (GPT) are a breakthrough, in the field of intelligence. They have completely revolutionized our understanding of what machines can do with the…
In this age of information, the significance and usefulness of traditional financial statements, for assessing a company’s wellbeing have become a topic of intense debate. As a…
As we stand on the brink of another year-end, I find myself musing humorously over a question that's more philosophical than financial: Why do we move forwards in time and not b…
As a CFO, my perspective on business strategy has always been grounded in the principle of focus. In a competitive marketplace, companies often face the temptation to diversify…
In the world of finance, numbers reign supreme. But what happens when the CFO decides to take a page out of a storyteller's book? Magic. Here are ten compelling reasons why the…
As CFOs, we are often likened to navigators steering through the treacherous waters of corporate finance, where the twin beacons of growth and cash flow guide our journey. The p…
It’s more than a year since I posted on LinkedIn about the 10 commandments for the newbie CFO. It got over 4,000 impressions (number of times the post was displayed on a screen)…