GrowCFO Show

One of the biggest challenges of financial modelling is creating models that are accurate and realistic. Financial modellers need to have a good understanding of all of the different formulas and functions in order to create an accurate model. Many people, even experienced modellers, use less than 5% of the functions available. Excel models need to be properly structured too so that others can eas...

It’s no secret that boardroom experience is important for aspiring CFOs. But what happens when you don’t have access to boardrooms? How can you overcome this obstacle and get the experience you need? In this episode Dan Wells, founder and CEO of GrowCFO, joins Kevin Appleby to discuss the launch of GrowCFO’s Virtual Boardroom. Over 80% of aspiring and first-time finance leaders h...

As finance leaders, we are always looking for ways to help our businesses grow. But in order to grow, we need to have a clear strategy in place. Without a strategy, it’s difficult to set goals and measure progress. And without communication, it’s impossible to get everyone on the same page. That’s where strategy software comes in. Strategy software helps you document your strateg...

How Can CFOs Use the P = Potential – Interference Formula to Boost Team Performance? CFO Julian O’Neill uses the principle of Performance = Potential – Interference (P = P – I) to unlock greater productivity and mindset shifts in his finance team. By identifying and reducing internal and external interference — from negative thoughts to environmental distractions — finance leaders can help teams p...

Do you have a strategy? If so, congratulations – you’re ahead of the curve. Many businesses don’t take the time to develop a strategy, and as a result, they struggle to achieve their goals. But having a strategy is only half the battle; the other half is making sure that your strategy is executed properly. In this blog post, we’ll talk about how to close the strategy execution ga...

Strategy is the backbone of any successful business. Without a strategy in place, it can be difficult to make decisions and achieve your goals. Many CEOs try to implement the strategy on their own, but this can be difficult if you don’t have the right tools and resources. In this episode, we will discuss how to embed strategy in your business and make sure that it is a part of everything tha...

How Did Jimmy Vassilas Go from Big 4 Auditor to CFO of SantéVet? Jimmy Vassilas’ journey from audit to CFO is anything but linear. In this episode of The GrowCFO Show, he shares how strategic horizontal moves, international assignments, and a deep focus on tech shaped his career. From qualifying as a Canadian Chartered Accountant at Deloitte to rising through Autodesk into CFO roles at Receipt Ban...

Richard Haywood left school at 18 and started work as a trainee accountant in a manufacturing business. He studied for the ACCA qualification on day-release. His route to qualification took 5 years and he moved to become a financial controller in the record industry at a time of huge change from vinyl to CD. His challenge, keep his manufacturing unit viable and one of the last vinyl production fac...

Many people gain experience by changing jobs and moving between organisations. Tony Fossey took the opposite approach and forged his early career rising through the ranks in a single company. He joined Halliburton, part of civil engineering giant KBR when he left school in 1976 and remained in KBR for the next 29 years. Tony took advantage of the size of the organisation he joined to get a wide ra...

Manu Gupta has acted as CFO of several high growth businesses including MyDrive Solutions, GridDuck, and Brisk. He shares his unusual journey to his first CFO role and becoming a board advisor. Manu isn’t from a traditional accountancy background. He started his career in sales. A finance-based MBA then took Manu into a career in management consulting. He chose to leave consulting and move to a st...

What Can You Learn from Julian O’Neill’s Journey from IT Director to CFO? Julian O’Neill’s unconventional route to CFO — via IT leadership and a brief stint as CEO — offers a powerful reminder that finance careers aren’t always linear. In this episode of The GrowCFO Show, Julian shares the pivotal decisions, career shifts, and lessons that shaped his path to CFO at Ardent Hire Solutions. His story...

Conflict is a natural and unavoidable part of life. It can arise in our personal lives, with friends and family, or in our professional lives, with co-workers. No matter where it happens, it’s important to learn how to manage conflict effectively. If not handled properly, conflict can lead to hurt feelings, damaged relationships, and even lawsuits. In this podcast, Susana Serrano-Davey and K...

As a finance professional, you are often required to provide financial information to people who are not finance professionals. This can be a challenge. It is important to communicate the information in a way that is easy for non-finance leaders to understand. In this podcast, Asif Ahmed, author of The Finance Playbook for Entrepreneurs joins host Kevin Appleby. We discuss the issues involved in p...

Chris Fry has the best CFO job in the world. He’s group CFO at SISTER. SISTER is the organisation behind recent TV blockbusters “The Split”; “This Is Going To Hurt”; and “Chernobyl”. So why is the CFO of a TV production company the best job in the world? First of all, it’s a very demanding position that comes with a lot of responsibility. But if you&...

Who is your boss? Do you have more than one boss? Perhaps you are number 2 to the CFO and you report indirectly to other people too. Maybe you are the CFO and you need to be mindful of the needs of both CEO and investors in the business. Getting the relationship right with all those people is important. Finding the right balance between your needs from the relationship and their needs is key. It&#...

As a finance leader, you are constantly juggling responsibilities between financial and non-financial analysis. On one hand, you need to make sure the company is meeting its financial goals and obligations. On the other hand, you may be called upon to provide insights into non-financial areas such as operations, marketing, or human resources. This can be a daunting task, but with the right tools a...

As a finance leader or CFO, you have a lot of responsibilities on your plate. From ensuring that the company is making money to managing the budget, there are a lot of tasks you must complete on a daily basis. On top of this you will be involved in change projects. Then there is your role as a trusted advisor to the rest of the management team. You need to manage your workload. You need to make su...

It’s no secret that communication is hard. We’ve all been in a situation where we just can’t seem to get our point across. And it’s even harder when the person on the other end of the conversation has a different personality type than us. When you’re trying to communicate with someone who has a different personality type than you, it can be easy to get wrapped up in y...

As the finance lead, you probably present the business profit and loss account at many of the business meetings you attend. You place huge value on the financial results of the business each month or each quarter. But is that correct? Does the P&L account tell you what you need to know? Does it paint an accurate picture of business performance? Sometimes it does, but quite often it doesn&#8217...

Are you ready to be a CFO? To step into your first CFO role. How do you know if you are ready to make the transition to that number one role in finance? That’s the question Kevin Appleby posed to Dan Wells on this episode of the GrowCFO Show. Kevin asked Dan if there is any such thing as a CFO readiness indicator or CFO readiness index. Dan doesn’t believe there is one single measure o...

Do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day? Chances are, you don’t. All too often, our natural talents go untapped. We devote more time to fixing our shortcomings than to developing our strengths. So, Do you play to your strengths? Do you even know what your strengths are? Or how to best use them? The good news is that Strengthsfinder 2.0 from Gallup can give you...

When did you last get your whole finance team together in person outside the office for a team event? Probably a long while ago. Your team has been working remotely for extended periods in the last two years. They may have started coming back to the office, but are rarely all together on the same day. Training and team development are some of the things that have suffered. You have struggled to in...

Things are changing fast in finance. You are more than likely struggling to keep pace with the latest technology. You might be in a fast growing business and your team is struggling to keep pace. There’s pressure to get better management information sooner. These are all challenges for the finance team leader. In GrowCFO, the Future of Finance Functions regular events are designed to help yo...

Do you struggle to write compelling reports that get the right response from the rest of your business team? Business Writing doesn’t come naturally to many finance leaders. You are probably much more comfortable with an excel spreadsheet than drafting a report that needs to be persuasive and encourages others to back your arguments or take the right actions. When you produce a finance repor...

You have just landed your dream job. Now your challenge is how to make an impact in that new finance role. You need to hit the ground running. What you do in your first hundred days in your new role is critical. If you get the first 100 days right then you will get the first year right. Get the first year right and you will set yourself up well to excel in years two and three. The first 100 days a...