Financial Management (FM) magazine

Rhymer Rigby shared advice for how to deal with co-workers' annoying habits and how to succeed in remote meetings in previous FM podcasts. This episode is the conclusion of a three-part conversation with Rigby, a regular career contributor to FM . He responds to questions about how career management has changed since the onset of COVID-19, how recruiting without boundaries can be good (with one po...

CIMA President Nick Jackson, FCMA, CGMA, says finance leaders have a fundamental role in building resilience -- both for themselves and their teams. They also need to invest to ensure employees are equipped with the right tools and have access to the right data to do their job effectively. What you'll learn from this episode: The meaning of "resilience". Why leaders need to be clear about team pri...

At the end of 2020, Rhymer Rigby addressed how workers could deal with some of their colleagues' annoying habits . In 2021, discussion of remote-work relationships continues with Rigby, a regular FM magazine contributor and the author of the book The Careerist: Over 100 Ways to Get Ahead at Work . In this episode, Rigby is prompted to revisit a comment made in the summer about why Zoom or other vi...

For some of us, pet peeves or complaints regarding co-workers have been diminished or taken away by COVID-19 and remote work. But the new remote realm has created more ways in which others get under our skin, even from a distance. Career expert Rhymer Rigby shares more on the quibbles we have with colleagues and how to resolve them in the first of a multipart podcast conversation. What you'll lear...

Rebecca McCaffry, FCMA, CGMA, associate technical director–Research & Development, Management Accounting at the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, is author of the recent CGMA report, The Power of People: Business Relationships in Difficult Times (CIMA member login required) . She describes in this episode how management accountants' skills of communication, empathy,...

When shopping for vegetables, do you look for "aubergine" or "eggplant"? What you say depends on where you learned English. US copy editor Pam Nelson and UK writer Samantha White discuss the rise of "awesome", why some seemingly simple words have different pronunciations in the UK and US, and more. What you'll learn from this episode: How English speakers in different parts of the world pronounce...

COVID-19 has reinforced the importance of adaptability for Jo Hunter, ACMA, CGMA. She has been living that lesson for much of 2020. Hunter works part time in a finance role with GlaxoSmithKline. She also plays forward for Great Britain's national team in field hockey. Team GB is the reigning Olympic champion from 2016, but its quest to win a second consecutive gold medal was put on hold last sprin...

Even without the disruption of COVID-19, budgeting and forecasting for the year ahead are challenging tasks requiring months of back-and-forth negotiations between departments and senior management. Prabhu Sivabalan, professor of accounting at the UTS Business School in Sydney, who has spent years researching budgeting, talks about the problem with using budgets for performance evaluation and sugg...

CIMA President Nick Jackson, FCMA, CGMA, is a strong advocate for responsible business. The theme for his presidential year is "responsible financial leadership", and in this episode he shares how businesses can go beyond shareholder considerations and adopt a sustainable, multi-stakeholder approach to value creation. What you'll learn from this episode: - Jackson's commitment to public service an...

In this interview recorded before COVID-19 had fully taken hold, Heather Baxter, ACMA, CGMA, administrative director at the Royal Ballet in London, describes the company's funding model and complex multi-season budgeting process. She also gives advice for management accountants on developing careers in the arts that are interesting if sometimes nonlinear. What you'll learn from this episode: - Abo...

The remote work revolution has been accelerated dramatically as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. How our work environments look in the next year remains unsettled, but some changes are already evident. Career expert and author Rhymer Rigby, a regular contributor to FM, offers advice for workers who no longer commute to an office, wonders why video meetings now seem to be a communication defau...

Andrew Harding, FCMA, CGMA, chief executive–Management Accounting at the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, reacts to the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer's Summer Economic Update and describes UK advocacy efforts on behalf of Association members. What you'll learn from this episode: - Details of the 20 recovery suggestions that CIMA presented to the UK government. - Th...

Loretta Outhwaite, FCMA, CGMA, a director and CFO with a particular interest in wellbeing, shares tactics leaders and managers can use to better support employees in these turbulent times. What you'll learn from this episode: - The way people cope with uncertainty and stress differs from person to person, but there are ways managers can spot the signs that an employee or colleague may be suffering...

Whether you are making a big speech as a CFO or having a one-to-one business conversation, there are simple ways to ensure your message is heard, says speechwriter, author, and TEDx speaker Simon Lancaster. What you'll learn from this episode: - How you can enhance your communication by "painting pictures". - Why the use of metaphors is so powerful. - The "rule of three" and why it is effective in...

Many organisations have had to rethink their business continuity plans in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic — if they had a plan to begin with. Cecilia Locati, FCMA, CGMA, the founder of consulting company Internal Control Toolbox, has worked with organisations of many types, and she shares where they fall on the spectrum between "no plan" and "world-class plan". She describes the key traits of a...

CIMA President Amal Ratnayake, FCMA, CGMA, who is also CFO of the Official Community Corporation in Canada, and Sherin Cader, CFO of the financial services industry group and executive vice-president at John Keells Holdings Plc in Sri Lanka, discuss the skills and experience needed to become a trusted and effective CFO. What you'll learn from this episode: - How the scope of the CFO's role has exp...

Tim Burghout, ACMA, CGMA, the head of finance and accounting for Metro China, a wholesale cash and carry, tells about how he built a playbook as changes due to the novel coronavirus progressed, why it's important to take time thinking through decisions, and why we see empty shelves in supermarkets. What you'll learn from this episode: - Burghout's road map the past three months. - If he could go b...

Numerous in-person professional events have been shifted to online only, delayed by months, or cancelled in 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. That doesn't mean that we can't strengthen connections with those we know or make new business contacts, according to Todd Cohen, a consultant, speaker, and author. What you'll learn from this episode: - Tips for how to display presence on a vide...

Ankur Agrawal, McKinsey partner and co-author of "The CFO's Role in Helping Companies Navigate the Coronavirus Crisis", offers tips and insights on how CFOs can most successfully steer their organisations through the crisis.

When one country after another took measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus, BrewDog faced a 70% drop in revenue because customers could no longer visit its 102 bars worldwide. The Scottish brewer, distiller, and bar operator decided to switch from producing gin, vodka, and rum to making hand sanitiser. Ben Press, ACMA, CGMA, BrewDog's retail finance manager, explains how the international...

CIMA President Amal Ratnayake, FCMA, CGMA, and Alfred Ramosedi, FCMA, CGMA, the CEO of Bayport Financial Services in South Africa, discuss the traits of effective leaders and how they can get "buy-in" from employees to drive change.

Chris Clearfield, author of Meltdown: Why Our Systems Fail and What We Can Do About It, talks to FM magazine senior editor Drew Adamek about how the coronavirus pandemic is exposing complexity in global supply chains, trade, and economies. Clearfield offers advice on how finance professionals can improve their strategic decision-making in the face of this complexity.

Byron Patrick, CPA/CITP, CGMA, knows what he is talking about when it comes to technology — he co-authored FM's popular 2019 article "100 Quick Technology Tips", which included ways to save time when using email. In this podcast episode, he shares more advice on how to use email effectively: what to do, what not to do, and why you should think twice before sending email.

Since the start of the coronavirus outbreak, companies in Asia have been dealing with supply chain disruptions and have implemented large-scale work-from-home policies to keep the business going. What can companies in other parts of the world learn from their experience? Guru Balasubramaniam, ACMA, CGMA, acting managing director of Rentokil Initial Hong Kong, and Arthur Yu, FCMA, CGMA, China CFO o...

Organisations that have agility built into their budgets are better equipped to pivot when needed, as when major events such as the spread of the coronavirus occur. They also will be more prepared for the next crisis, according to Steve Player, CPA, CGMA, the owner of consulting firm The Player Group. "This won't be the last pandemic we face," Player said.