The world constantly transforms. That's a fact that applies to businesses and organizations. These changes impact individuals and their careers, including CFOs and all financial pros. To manage change, finance professionals need to adapt. But how can they do that successfully and drive their finance career growth and development? Bryan Lapidus has the right formula, which he willingly shares with us today.
Bryan has more than 20 years of experience in the corporate FP&A and treasury space working at organizations like American Express, Fannie Mae, and private equity-owned companies. At AFP, he is the staff subject matter expert on FP&A, which includes creating and curating content to meet the needs of the profession and membership. Bryan also manages FP&A Advisory Councils in North America and Asia/Pacific that act as a voice to align AFP with the professional needs.
In this episode, we discuss advancing financial and professional success, the changing role of a CFO, upskilling financial professionals, and strengthening an organization's strategic forecasting process amongst other interesting topics.
Advancing Financial and Professional Success - Finance Career Growth
The Association for Financial Professionals is a non-profit organization that helps corporate financial professionals achieve their career potential. AFP established the Certified Treasury Professional and Certified Corporate FP&A Professional credentials, setting the standard of excellence in finance and treasury.
“My area is trying to help with educational content and, honestly, helping people be better at their jobs.”
The Changing Role of a CFO
The CFO role constantly evolves — new tools appear, which lead to new capabilities and business models. And those new business models can help place that next dollar of capital wherever it can be most effectively deployed. The CFO is a partner in the business, creating a forward-looking allocation and optimization of where that next dollar goes.
“The CFO is the steward of company capital.”
Upskilling Financial Teams and Individuals to Promote Finance Career Growth
If you want to attract and retain top financial talent, invest in your people. You have to believe in them as individuals, upskill them, and give them opportunities within the job to grow. Focus on training people, helping them find their next role, and keeping their antenna attuned to what is new. Give your team new projects and opportunities to learn, grow, and interact with other business members.
“If we want to be a value-added finance organization, we have to add value.”
Strengthening an Organization's Strategic Forecasting Process
Treasury and FP&A have complementary strengths. By putting them to work together effectively, CFOs can better understand and control the process of making successful investments and allocating budgets.
“Treasury and FP&A are opposite sides of the coin, and putting them together presents the whole picture.”
For more interviews from the CFO Weekly podcast, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and our RSS or your favorite podcast player!
Instructions on how to follow, rate and review CFO-Weekly are here.
Learn about our complete financial business solutions.
