For Finance professionals who want more for their career and greater impact in business:
Whether you want rapid
progression to a CFO role
OR
want to quickly
level-up your business influence and impact,
TODAY could be a turning point
Just two things separate great CFOs and FDs
from those who merely aspire.
And I’ll come to those in a minute...
Register My Interest in CFO Readiness BuilderFrom Andy Burrows BSc ACA BFP
One of the "top voices on LinkedIn in Finance and Accounting"*, and contributor to:
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From the desk of: Andy Burrows BSc ACA BFP, Finance professional coach and mentor
If you’re a qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, CPA, CGMA, etc) working in a business Finance department under a CFO or a Finance Director...
... you may often wonder whether you’re at risk of underachieving in terms of your career goals. And if so, you’re not alone. Many mid-career Finance professionals, with varying degrees of ambition, have similar worries.
And it’s either because they don’t know what additional skills they’d have to learn to get into one of the top roles in Finance (CFO or FD),
OR
... it’s because they don’t feel they can get the right experience in the job they’re in, or in the jobs they can realistically target next.
Read on if you answer ‘yes’ to any of the following questions:
- Are you disheartened in your current role, because you can’t get the experience you feel you really need to progress?
- Do you feel a little lost when you do your annual Personal Development Plan, not knowing what you should be learning to take your career forward?
- Do you feel confused when you think about your career options?
- When presented with a promotion or job opportunity, do you agonise over whether it will move you forward or hold you back in the long run?
- Do you dream of progressing to a more influential role in the business, where people value your knowledge and insight, rather than just seeing you as the spy from Finance or the back-office report-cruncher?
- Do you really want to be a CFO one day, but you’re stumped when you try to plan how to get there?
Based on what I’ve heard, I can bet that at some point you may have wondered...
“what does it take to get to the top?”...
and
“how can I get what it takes to get to the top?”
And you’ve gone round in circles with questions like:
- What courses and professional development programs will help?
- What experience do I need?
- What job roles and moves will give me the experience I need?
- Should I be working in a large, medium or small company?
- I’ve worked as a Financial Controller, but do I need exposure to FP&A as well?
- I’ve been a Finance Business Partner, but do I need Reporting and Control experience as well?
- Should I change industry sector or stick with what I know?
- Will an MBA help my career progression?
- What if I’m working in Internal Audit, Tax, Treasury or Accounting Operations? How can I progress from there?
These are all questions I’ve been asked as I’ve talked to Finance professionals about their career challenges.
So, no-one could blame you if you’re confused! You’re in the same boat with the vast majority of early and mid-career Finance professionals.
And the consequence of all that confusion is most commonly lack of motivation. That ‘Sunday evening feeling’ when you realise that you don’t want to go back to work after the weekend.
But also:
Procrastination – you choose CPD courses almost at random, don’t read any books, and don’t feel like you’re growing at all
Job hopping – you choose jobs based on how much they pay. You’re rarely satisfied. And you’ve now worked so many different places that you don’t know what to do next
Stagnating – you’ve reached a level in your career that you can’t get past, and you don’t know why, and you may be resigned to being stuck in the same job for the rest of your career
But The BIG Question remains: How can you make yourself CFO-ready?
So let me assure you...
It IS possible. You can do it.
YES YOU!
And, as with anything else you set your mind to, you have to “start with the end in mind”.
So it starts with the realisation that:
Great CFOs are business leaders,
NOT accountants
Sure, great CFOs and Finance Directors must have solid foundations in Accounting, Treasury and FP&A (Financial Planning & Analysis).
But (with those foundations in place), it’s clear that the two things that set them apart are:
Business Acumen and Leadership.
That’s what makes them... Business. Leaders.
So, how can you get yourself CFO-ready – ready to step up as a business leader – if you’re not committing yourself to knowing, practicing and refining the skills and attributes of business acumen and leadership?
Mastering business acumen and leadership is the fastest way to get yourself into senior Finance leadership and well on your way to a CFO role
Yes, you definitely need the technical foundations in accounting, FP&A and treasury. No question about that (sorry if you thought you might avoid boring accounts – you can’t!). But I’m talking about what you need to build on those foundations all the way to the CFO/FD’s office.
So, how can you do that?
In my experience, and from my research, it means committing to grow intentionally through five steps:
- Being eager to learn and able (not just wanting) to change
- Being a high performer
- Getting results with your team through great leadership
- Getting a great reputation throughout business
- Developing strategic insight
You’ll notice that all those steps are about the way you think and the way you act, NOT about technical knowledge or technical skill. These are behaviours, habits and attributes.
But that still leaves questions ...
How do you learn them?
How do you practice them?
How do you demonstrate you have them, so that you can move up the ladder?
Thinking through the answers to those questions is what led me to what I want to share with you today...
It’s what I’ve designed to put you on the transformation journey to being CFO-ready...
COMING SOON:
CFO Readiness Builder
CFO Readiness Builder isn’t just another course like the ones you may have bought from the CPD catalogues.
It’s a 12-month transformation journey, that will change you...
From the back-office accountant, humble analyst or report cruncher...
To the business leader you really want to be.
In short: We’ll get you CFO-ready!
- You'll learn the habits of high performance that enable you to deliver consistently week after week after week
- You'll discover how to build a reputation within your business that will get your name mentioned in high places (in a good way!)
- You'll learn how to think strategically and to see everything in terms of how it helps the business, which supercharges your impact and influence
- You'll discover practical steps you can follow to make you a great leader, even if you don’t already have a team
- You'll get templates, checklists, questionnaires and cheatsheets to make the learning quicker, and to help you practice effectively
- By the end of 12 months, you’ll be well on the way to being actually CFO-ready, and not just having more good stuff in your brain
Reviews
CFO Readiness Builder is a new development opportunity that has never been run before. Hence, I can’t share any specific testimonials (I’m hoping you’ll be one of the first to write one!).
But here are some comments on my training courses, coaching programs and other material.
Great motivator in day-to-day work
“The Drive! course is a great set of videos which really got me thinking about how the business does what it does, why it does it and how it can improve. It's also been a great motivator for me in my day to day work, remembering the purpose of what I'm doing in the moment, linking it to the strategy of the business and, at time, questioning whether it really needs to be done at all. The framework that's explained makes it easy to see the 'bigger picture' and break down the 'thinking' that needs to be done into chunks, whilst also a reminder of how and why it all fits together.”
– Marie Forde, My Finance Coach member
Kept Me on Track Towards My Goals
“My Finance Coach has provided me with organized and clear content, simplifying the complex world of Finance and Business Performance Management. The coaching calls have kept me on track towards my goals and have provided world-class techniques and feedback personalized to my journey. Andy and his team's vast knowledge and on-going support continues to impress me, always showing their true care for my personal and professional success!”
– Darin Leonard, My Finance Coach member
Other comments
“Perfect: This is a very comprehensive overview of what Finance teams can do to drive business performance. Everything is well and easily explained and describes a framework with individual components and, perhaps more importantly, the inter-relation. Not only great if you want to think about what you can do to improve your value add, but also a great frame to explain to your business colleagues when they challenge you on the role of Finance.” (Anonymous student, Drive! Course)
“The content... offered a fresh perspective.”
“… interesting and useful…”
“Drive has been great value for me and I am thankful for your work.”
“Man, really cool stuff you're doing. Love the value add for F&A professionals. I haven't seen anyone else put out this kind of content - keep up the good work!”
“I am big fan of your work. I really enjoy reading your emails and your thoughts about finance profession.”
“I think your articles and advice are great and I will continue to look out for them and read them. Keep up the great work.”
“Hello Andy! Thanks a lot! Just wanted to write that you do a great job!”
“I’ve learned a lot reading from your articles and watching your videos.”
And also...
Check out my LinkedIn profile if you want to see loads of great recommendations based on my previous work!...
… my favourite is, “If Carlsberg made Finance Directors …”! (Perhaps you’re too young to remember the classic Carlsberg adverts?) And that was from a non-Finance project manager.
And, my blog articles, webinars and videos have been very popular over the last few years.
I’ve been named in lists of “Finance thought leaders you must follow on LinkedIn” * published by Anders Liu-Lindberg of the Business Partnering Institute. Anders said, “… you’d be missing out if you didn’t pay attention to what Andy is doing.”
I’m also a contributor for CFO.University, the Business Partnering Institute and Generation CFO, and have appeared on podcasts and webinars for CIMA-AICPA, IMA, FP&A Trends, CFO.University and The Strength in the Numbers Show.
See what's in store for you when you enrol
My guiding principle for CFO Readiness Builder is a phrase I keep repeating:
I don’t just want to fill your head. I want to change your life!
What that means practically is that I won’t be overloading you with teaching videos and reading. My focus will be giving you the knowledge, and the exercises and shortcuts, that will help you actually make the changes and get the growth you need.
At the core will be 12 monthly live online workshops (recorded for those who can’t attend live). The first six are the core modules, the other six are bonus modules.
In between each module, once a month, there’ll also be a live support call (recorded) in which I’ll be online to help you with any question that will help you to get CFO ready.
It’ll be highly interactive and completely geared to your success. And that’s why we will have to limit the intake to only 30 places.
So, what are we going to be working on together?
6 Career and Business-Impact Building Modules
- Build Your CFO Career Strategy
- Level Up Your Performance
- The Secrets of Reputation and Influence
- Build Your Business Acumen
- Be a Leader... Even Before You Have a Team
- Develop Your Strategic Thinking
Including:
Module 1
Build Your CFO Career Strategy:
How to Make a Great Career Plan
We’ll start with being clear about your objectives, your current state, and then help you make a plan to bridge the gaps.
Your objectives involve being ‘CFO-ready’, but what does that mean? And how can you measure yourself?
So, in this module, we’ll get specific about what CFO-readiness means. And we’ll give you a framework and some tools to help you measure yourself (self-assessment and 360-degree assessment). And then we’ll give you the tools to help you plan to address any gaps, and to help you to decide what additional learning you need, when to move roles and which job moves will help.
INSIDE YOU’LL DISCOVER:
- The skills, habits and behaviours you need to be a successful CFO/FD, and the things you need to get promoted through the levels to get there
- How to use self-assessment and 360-degree feedback to highlight your development areas
- How to use all that information to make a plan and make decisions about your career development
- ... AND MORE!
By the end of the module you’ll have a clear plan for getting the experience and developing the mindset, skills, habits and behaviours you need to be a CFO-ready. From then on it’s execution, learning and review!
Then we’ll knuckle down and talk about...
The first thing that gets you up the ladder is great performance. Be great at what you do, and you’ll catch attention in a good way!
I think you’ll agree. If you think about the CFOs and Finance Directors you know, especially the ones you particularly respect. They weren’t merely average performers earlier in their career. They had to impress, otherwise they wouldn’t have got promotions.
So, in this module, we’ll teach you some habits of high performance. It’s a matter of self-belief, and disciplined self-leadership and self-management. These are things you can (and should) learn as a foundation for everything else.
INSIDE YOU’LL DISCOVER:
- Why self-belief is essential, but it doesn’t mean arrogance
- How to be clear about the most important priorities every day
- How to rigorously focus to make constant progress in high priority goals
- ... AND MORE!
By the end of this module, you’ll have a much clearer idea of how to identify your mission, goals, objectives and priorities. And you’ll have the tools to make sure that you get the most important things done, week after week after week!
After that, we’re ready for ...
Module 2
Levelling Up Your Performance:
How to Be Great at What You Do
Module 3
The Secrets of Reputation and Influence:
How to Be Known for the Right Things
Once you’re on the way up the ladder, your reputation within the business starts to matter. How people see you outside of Finance can either catapult you forward or hold you back.
If people in the wider business are talking about how helpful you are, and how you understand their needs, then that’s going to get back to the senior leaders who are influential in appointments and promotions.
So, in this module, we’ll look at how you can build that reputation quickly and easily... and enjoy doing it! It’s not about tacky manipulation. It’s not about having to put on a persona. It’s about being your authentic self in a way that builds trust and generates understanding.
INSIDE YOU’LL DISCOVER:
- How to make every interaction count
- How to conquer the mistrust of Finance people
- How to be positive in relationships even when others are negative
- ... AND MORE!
By the end of the module, you’ll be able to see how you can use the work you do, and the person you are, to have people singing your praises to the top management. And you’ll have concrete steps to take that will give you the reputation and influence you need.
And then it’s time for...
I often say that the purpose of the Finance function is to drive business performance. So, you need to understand how your business works and how it makes money.
How can you be the business leader that the CFO is meant to be if you don’t understand the business and know how to improve performance? This is what that mysterious thing called business acumen is all about!
So, in this module, we cover the steps you can take to improve your understanding of the business – including using what you already have access to in the accounts, knowing the right questions and who to ask, and how to piece it all together to demonstrate you’re more of a business partner than an accountant.
INSIDE YOU’LL DISCOVER:
- How to find out the critical success factors of the business
- How to use business and accounts knowledge to help your non-Finance colleagues
- The right questions to ask to gain the business understanding you need
- ... AND MORE!
By the end of this module, you’ll be naturally learning and talking the language of business more than the language of debits and credits, P&Ls and balance sheets!
Then we’ll also need to look at...
Module 4
Building Your Business Acumen:
How to Understand the Business Inside-Out
Module 5
Being a Leader... Even Before You Have a Team:
How to Help Others for the Common Good
A CFO or Finance Director is a leadership position. The CFO may have a large team. But they’ll also be expected to lead the business into better performance.
Leadership skills are essential for senior roles. Without leadership skills, you’ll end up with an underperforming, misaligned Finance team, high rates of staff turnover, and low motivation. And all that adds up to you being overworked and stressed, feeling that everything is working against you.
So, in this module, we’ll unpack the basic foundations of great leadership – including how to start being a leader even when you don’t have a team, and how to empower people and give them vision and direction.
INSIDE YOU’LL DISCOVER:
- How to be a good leader, even if you don’t feel like a natural
- How to delegate effectively
- How to make your Finance team’s performance more than the sum of the parts
- ... AND MORE!
By the time you’ve been through this module you’ll have people inspired by your vision, wanting to follow you, and motivated to go with you, as you clearly outline how Finance can move the business forward.
And finally, because strategy is key to business performance, we’ll look at...
What makes a CFO the CEO’s right-hand person? Strategic insight!
Once you understand how the business works, you start to understand how the industry works, how competitors work and what the future might look like for your industry. Strategic insight comes from being able to pull all those pieces together to clarify the risks and opportunities your business faces.
So, in this module, we’ll look at how to develop your ability to think strategically, looking forward rather than back; how to sift a variety of information sources to identify the key issues; and how to assess strategic opportunities.
INSIDE YOU’LL DISCOVER:
- What is strategy?
- Where to focus to improve your strategic thinking, without spending 8 hours a day reading newspapers!
- How to get strategic insight, without going to Harvard or getting an MBA
- ... AND MORE!
By the end of this module, you’ll be getting used to thinking ahead and identifying strategies that set your business apart from your competition.
And to make sure all this sticks...
Module 6
Developing Your Strategic Thinking:
How to Be Fluent in the Language of Business Success
Monthly Support Calls
Between each monthly module (including the 6 bonus modules – see later), there will be live online support calls. These will be an opportunity for you to ask questions for clarification, and to get help with any elements of the exercises you’re stuck on.
And they’ll be recorded, so that you can catch up if you can’t make it. You’ll be able to submit questions by email beforehand as well.
Enrolment opens
Enrolment for the first CFO Readiness Builder program will open in
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Frequently Asked Questions
Any questions?
Below is a list of the questions I think you might have. When we open for enrolment there will be chance to ask any other questions that spring to mind.
What does CFO-ready mean?
Can you really get me CFO-ready in a program that only takes 12 months?
Iām nowhere near a CFO role yet. Is this still worth me doing?
Is CFO Readiness Builder available to anyone in the world?
Does this qualify for CPD credit?
This sounds overwhelming. How much time will I need to set aside to get the most out of CFO Readiness Builder?
What if the support calls are at inconvenient times?
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I'm interested in getting CFO Ready* Article: “Here Are The Top Voices On LinkedIn In 2019: Finance, Accounting, And FP&A!” by Anders Liu-Lindberg (Jan 2020)
