About 8 years ago, I read a book that changed how I approached being a CFO:
The Financial Controller and CFO's Toolkit by David Parmenter.
Here's why:
It connected the dots for me between future-facing forecast reporting, and backward-facing financial statements.
If you're not a CFO, or finance professional, this might sound wonky to you.
So if that's the case, here's the normal-human version:
It taught me how to connect the easily-accessible information about a company's financial past
To the company's less-sure but more-interesting financial future
Such that I could make decisions using the info
Aka. Actually use it to do something.
Some key learnings?
If you want to make the numbers matter, set goals or targets for them.
Speed up historical data by building your systems with simplicity in mind.
An estimate with context is more useful than a 100% accurate number that's too late.
How a report LOOKS to your CEO and how it makes them FEEL matter more than the exact numbers.
If you're looking to learn more about the CFO role,
Or more about Finance can help your organization,
And you're willing to get a bit nerdy,
I highly recommend!
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