- Disruption – A Key Ingredient in a Successful Startup
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- The recap of a panel discussion with 3 successful leaders in the startup world Allie Magyar, Mahmood Sher-Jan and Steve Barham, 3 successful leaders in the startup community, joined the Association for Corporate Growth event in Portland to share how they disrupted their market and the challenges they have faced along the way. Maggie Finnerty, Executive Director at the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network moderated the panel with probing questions that led to insightful answers.
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Take Assessment Watch Video- CFOs – Are You a Vanguard or a Villain?
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- I continue to get mixed signals regarding how advanced CFOs are with their journey to become the “strategic advisor” that is so frequently mentioned in finance and accounting magazines. But I am unsure how much the evidence supports the vision. The CFOs who are bold will candidly describe their managerial accounting practices and systems as aged and Medieval at the extreme. The bold ones are unafraid to admit that their existing reported information is both flawed with inaccurate costs and incomplete by not providing P&Ls by customer including channel, selling, customer service, and marketing related “costs to serve” which are arguably more important than product costs.
- Innovate: How to Speed Up Your Financial Processes
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- A financial innovation that will drive value for your business – Process improvement can yield high returns with little or no capital investment. We live in a world of scarce resources. One of the major challenges business leaders face is how to drive great results with limited capital. In the race for resources many businesses don’t place enough value on preparing timely and accurate financials. This is an area where a limited investment in capital can create large returns for the business. Every minute spent reviewing the past is a minute not spent on building your future.
Governance & Controls – structure and controls.
Transaction Recording – systems, transaction processing and closing the books.
Reporting - efficient, timely and accurate information for decision making and meeting compliance requirements.
Accounting
Business Planning - provide the financial roadmap for the company with supporting analytics.
Financial Forecasting - integrate the company’s current performance relative to budget with the real-time business environment.
Investment Analysis - the framework to analyze new opportunities as they present themselves.
Finance
Cash Management - the discipline to ensure cash is available to operate the business normally.
Funding - Planning for and raising funds to meet the needs of the business.
Risk Management – Identification and mitigation of key business risks.
Treasury
Self-Awareness - Internal.
Team Building - External.
Strategy & Culture – Motivate people to follow you.
Leadership
Four Pillars of Executive Expertise
CFO.University is built around the Four Pillars of CFO Success. These Pillars are supported with Core Competencies. Our framework allows you to master your role as a senior financial officer. The Four Pillars are made up of:
Accounting – Governance & Controls, Transaction Recording and Reporting
Finance – Business Planning, Financial Forecasting and Investment Analysis
Treasury – Cash Management, Funding (Capital Raising) and Risk Management
Leadership – Self Awareness, Team Building and Strategy & Culture
