Career

How to Become A Top Performer in Finance?

How can you become a top performer in finance, and do you want to be noticed among the crowd? Most importantly, you will need to possess certain qualities and characteristics that will help you advance in your career.

Traits of A Top Performer in Finance

Here are the qualities that set-top achievers in finance apart from the rest.

Top Performer in Finance Analyzes Sales, Margin, Overhead, and Headcount

Learn to analyze these indicators to become a top performer in finance. In addition you will be able to bring value to your company so the management can count on you to get insights.

Master The Budget Process

Mastering this process will place you at the center of the strategic planning decisions and bring you closer to management and the head of other functions.

Become A Great Finance Business Partner

It will allow you to navigate the organization easily and move forward quickly. Also, it will bring you a step closer to becoming a top financial performer.

Top Performer in Finance Needs to Optimize Reporting

It will make you more efficient at creating reports and allow you more time for added-value tasks.

Use Storytelling to be A Top Performer in Finance

Above all, you need to master your communication since the world rewards the people who are best at communicating ideas but not those with the best ideas. Moreover, you can not become a top performer in finance if you don’t possess the required communication skills.

Feedback from The Finance Course

Here are what students commented about the course.

Sahil Kamani:

“Yes, I would recommend the course. Nicolas’s course is tailor-made for professionals wanting to take the next step in their careers. His 1-on-1 consultation was also a great addition to the course. Nicolas was a good listener and gave very specific ideas about some of the roadblocks I faced.”

Burak Dagkus:

“Yes, I would recommend the course because the content was clear and detailed designed.”

Emilia Cucu:

“The course is well structured, and it covers most of the relevant topics. For deeper questions, there are lots of useful links provided.”

Enid Silva:

“I am very happy with the course. I’m very much into the PVM, so I have dug a lot into that and ran some tests with my company information, and those are coming very, very well. I have gone into the others, and they are great as well.”

Judit Kovi:

“Yes, I would recommend the course. It is a very practical and comprehensive material to get insight into FP&A processes. ”

James Fields:

“I am really dedicated to doing what I can to advance my career now so that later on, I can enjoy more overall success. I feel like this course can potentially help me gain stronger skills in some of my currently weaker areas within FP&A.”

The Bottom Line – Become A Top Performer in Finance

It took me 14 years to learn these skills. But, if you want a shortcut and take advantage of my experience, I can help you.

I have created an online video course where I teach these five concepts and help you become a high performer.

You can click here to get instant access to the course.

Career

How Can You Transition from Audit to FP&A?

Today, I am going to explain how you can transition from audit to FP&A from my personal experience. So, five years ago, I made four changes in my professional and personal life:

I changed my country (moved from Luxemburg to Germany).
I changed my language (French to German).
Also, I changed the industry (Financial Services to aerospace, transport, and defense).
I changed job (audit to controlling).

Here is what I will share with you:

The skills I developed from my audit experience and used as strength to change to controlling
Moreover, what I had to learn to transition to controlling
The different fields of controlling
How I continue to grow

The Transferable Skills Needed to Transition from Audit to FP&A

I always believed that an auditor has a good base to work in the controlling/FP&A. And here is why:

An auditor has strong accounting knowledge, which is the base for all finance jobs.
Additionally, working for audit and consulting companies teaches you to be structured, efficient goal-oriented.
Being in an audit team and working under pressure is a good accelerator for improving his communication skills at work.
Furthermore, jumping from one assignment to another and having to gain trust and knowledge from your client will help you be quickly operational in any new job.

What Do You need to Learn When You Transition from Audit to FP&A?

As a controller (or FP&A), you need to learn new concepts as your focus will be to provide value to your business partners.

A deeper understanding of profitability, price sensitivity, and cost accounting
Learn the key KPIs
Get the most out of the ERP and reporting tools to deliver efficient & valuable reporting/analysis
Budgeting, forecasting, modeling
How to improve processes to be more efficient as a finance function

The Different Fields of Controlling/FP&A

Once you dive into the controlling/FP&A world, you discover that depending on the company and the industry (automotive, ecommerce, retail, industry, services…), there are many roles to learn like : commercial controlling, project controlling, cost controlling, industrial controlling, financial planning & analysis, reporting and etc. Also, you can continue developing yourself by changing roles and tracing your own career path.

Conclusion – How I Continue to Grow

For the last five years, I have already experienced different roles (head of controlling, business partner, business controller, finance transformation, and ad hoc controlling work..). As a result, each time, I get to learn more about controlling and how I can bring more value to my organization.

Also, I recommend exchanging best practices with your colleagues but also with people in your professional network, like LinkedIn.

If you want to receive more finance tips like this, feel free to sign up for my newsletter. If you subscribe, every two weeks, you will receive an email from where I share best practices, career advice, templates, and insights for Finance Professionals.

Career, Skills

Data Visualization Guide for Finance Professionals

Are you looking for the best way to present some data? How can we decide which data visualization method to use when there are so many options?

To choose which data relationship is most crucial to your story, there are certain categories. Then, take a look at the many types of charts inside each category to get a sense of what could work best.

This list is a helpful place to start when creating informative and relevant data visualization, but it is neither exhaustive nor a magic bullet.

In this guide, the visualizations are arranged by type of data relationship, and then you have a short explanation to guide you in choosing the most appropriate chart.

Categories for Data Visualization

Here are the categories for data visualization.

#1: Deviation

Emphasize deviations (plus/minus) from a constant reference point. The reference point is usually zero, although it can also represent a goal or an average over a long period of time. Also, it is useful for expressing emotion (positive, neutral, or negative).

Example: Trade surplus/deficit, climate change

#2: Correlation Data Visualization

Demonstrates the connection between two or more variables. Be aware that unless you tell them differently, most readers will assume that the connections you present are causative, meaning that one causes the other.

Example: Unemployment and inflation, income and life expectancy

#3: Ranking

Use whenever the order of an item in a list outweighs its relative or absolute value. Therefore, don’t be scared to draw attention to the important details.

Example: Richness, league tables, and outcomes of elections

#4: Distribution

Displays the values in a dataset together with their frequency. In other words, a distribution’s shape (or “skew”) might serve as a memorable approach to drawing attention to the data’s lack of equality or homogeneity.

Example: Population (age/sex) and income distribution

#5: Change Over Time

Puts a focus on evolving trends. These can range from brief (daily) motions to lengthy sequences that span decades or centuries: In order to provide the reader with appropriate background, it is crucial to choose the appropriate time period.

Example: Changes in share prices and economic time series

#6: Part-To Whole Data Visualization

Demonstrates the division of a single entity into its constituent parts. Therefore, consider a magnitude-type chart for data visualization if the reader is just interested in the components’ sizes.

Example: Fiscal budgets, corporate structures, and election results

#7: Magnitude

Display size disparities. These may be related (merely having a vision larger/bigger) or imperative (must see fine differences). Typically, these display a “counted” number (for instance,
barrels, money or individuals) as opposed to a computed percentage or rate.

Example: Market capitalization and commodity production

#8: Spatial Data Visualization

Used for data visualization only when exact geographic locations or data patterns exist that are more significant than everything else in the reader’s eyes.

Example: Locator maps, population density, locations of natural resources, the chance and effect of natural disasters, catchment regions

#9: Flow

Demonstrates to the reader the amounts or rates of change between two or more states or circumstances. These might be physical sites or logical sequences.

Example: Financial flow, commerce, migrant flow, legal disputes, information flow, and connection graphs

Here is an illustration of the data visualization categories.

Conclusion – Data Visualization Is a Must for Finance

Using visual information, data visualization offers a rapid and efficient method for disseminating information across cultures. Additionally, the practice can assist businesses in determining the variables that influence client behavior and identify areas that require improvement or additional attention. Furthermore, it makes data more memorable for stakeholders, figures out the best times and locations to sell particular products, and forecasts sales volumes.

Career

Quelques mots sur mon expérience en audit (French)

Un étudiant m’a envoyé quelques questions sur mon expérience en Audit. J’ai décidé de prendre le temps de lui répondre par écrit.

Voici mes réponses:

Concernant votre expérience d’auditeur

Quelles ont été vos responsabilités et vos missions principales en tant que manager ?

Planifier l‘audit (equipes, risques, timing, rdv clients et partner)
Executer l‘audit (revoir les tests d‘audit et la documentation)
Conclure l‘audit (preparer rapport d‘audit et reporter les problemes)
Suivi du budget
Former les equipes (suivi des carrières, feedbacks, donner des formations)
Participer aux activités transversales avec les autres managers pour améliorer nos outils et process

Etiez-vous spécialisé dans un secteur d’activité particulier ? Est-ce obligatoire ? Est-il imposé par l’entreprise ? Si non, comment s’effectue le choix de ce secteur pour un auditeur ?

J’étais spécialisé en audit de société d’assurance mais j’avais d’autres industries dans mon portefeuille comme société commerciale ou fonds d’investissement.

En tant que junior, le choix de l’industrie est fait par la société sur base du profil de l’employé. Cependant il est très facile de changer d’industrie en se proposant sur d’autres missions. Il est même possible de se réorienter sur d’autres departement comme consulting.

Est-ce un métier qui a vous passionné ? Si oui, en quoi ? Si non, pourquoi ?

Oui ce métier m’a passionné du fait de la diversité des clients, des équipes et des missions.

Le rythme de travail est intense et les exigences de haut niveau. Cela permet d’apprendre beaucoup et d’évoluer rapidement.

J’appréciais aussi la transparence des etapes a effectuer dans la carrière d’un auditeur: 2 ans de junior, 3 ans de senior et 5 ans de manager avant de passer directeur et plus tard partner.

De plus la possibilité de donner des formations et de participer a des missions de consulting rendait le travail plus intéressant.

Pourquoi avoir choisi PwC Luxembourg ?

A l’époque je rentrais sur le marché du travail en pleine crise financière. Peu d’entreprises voulaient recruter. En France les sociétés d’audit étaient très focalisées sur le classement de l’école dont on sortait. De plus les places étaient limitées.

Plusieurs anciens de mon école qui s’étaient déjà exilés à Luxembourg m’avaient fortement recommandé de les rejoindre du fait de la balance entre challenges professionnels, place financière et côté international du Grand Duché.

De plus, PwC Luxembourg avait fait le pari de recruter malgré la crise. Les entretiens se sont très bien passés et j’ai eu très rapidement une offre. Cela m’a convaincu de les rejoindre!

Votre expérience à Singapour m’intrigue également : Est-ce une possibilité pour chaque auditeur de partir travailler à l’étranger ?

En théorie il est possible pour chaque auditeur de partir à l’étranger. En pratique, seulement une partie des auditeurs le font (environ 10-20%) car ce n’est pas obligatoire et certaines personnes ne sont pas attirées par ce type de challenge.

Avoir de bonnes performances, établir un plan de carrière clair et se focaliser sur une ou deux destinations sont les premiers éléments qui facilitent à partir à l’étranger. Ensuite, il faut trouver des soutiens dans le bureau d’origine et le bureau étranger qui vous accueillera pour concrétiser l’échange.

Quelles destinations sont possibles ?

Il n’y a pas de destinations précises. Il y a des relations historiques et préférentielles qui se créent avec certains bureaux du fait d’un rapprochement des industries et des langues.

Mais en fonction des souhaits des auditeurs et des besoins des bureaux, les destinations peuvent varier.

Cette expérience n’a pas été trop complexe compte tenu des différences comptables et financières entre Singapour et la France ?

Non car Singapour se base sur les IFRS. De plus les règles fiscales et réglementaires auxquelles j’ai eu à faire se basent sur les mêmes principes et mouvements d’idées du commerce international.

Concernant la profession

Un métier qui évolue ? En quoi ? Quelles compétences peuvent aujourd’hui faire la différence et se révéler être un plus ?

Cela fait 4 ans que je ne fais plus d’audit. Mais à l’époque le métier changeait déjà. Comme tous les métiers, tout ce qui est automatisable est ou sera traité par des robots reproduisant tâches manuelles ou des algorithmes analysant des données plus rapidement et avec plus de volumes que ce qu’un humain ne pourrait le faire.

Les compétences à développer selon moi se portent sur 2 axes

Axe humain: compréhension du business, capacité d’adaptation, relation équipe, goût du service au client, appétit pour l’apprentissage, coaching
Axe automatisation/technique: capacité analytique, compréhension de la complexité, gestion de plusieurs langages (humain, business, code), vulgarisation, conceptualisation, modélisation

Quelles sont les perspectives d’évolution (ou de changement) après 5, 10 ans en cabinet d’audit ?

Si je prends mon exemple, il existe des passerelles pour intégrer une fonction finance d’une entreprise (Controlling, comptabilité, reporting, audit interne…).

Les méthodes de travail, les connaissances comptables, les bonnes pratiques et la gestion d’équipes remplissants la malette à outil de l’auditeur sont très appréciées par les entreprises.

L’autre choix est de continuer sa carrière en audit en tant que manager (a partir de 5 ans d’expérience) en continuant jusqu’à directeur et puis partner après 10/15 ans de carrière.

J’ai également répondu à un journaliste de L’Etudiant en 2013 sur mon expérience d’auditeur à l’étranger. Article ici: https://etudiant.lefigaro.fr/orientation/actus-et-conseils/detail/article/audit-conseil-des-evolutions-de-carrieres-express-1680/

Career, Leadership

How Can You Build A Sustainable Workforce in Your Company?

The global business community is changing along with the rest of the planet. Although there isn’t a single recipe for a sustainable workforce, several tried-and-true techniques significantly aid in creating and sustaining this culture inside an organization.

As a result, companies must embrace entering new technology eras, gradually create, adapt, and expand – and most importantly, take their staff with them on that trip – in order to not just go forward in this new environment but keep up with their competition.

What Is A Sustainable Workforce?

A workplace that cares about its employees’ health and well-being has a sustainable workforce. It encourages flexibility and provides its workers with an excellent work/life balance. If this method is properly put into practice, it will raise productivity, promote staff retention, and ensure reliable attendance. A sustainable workforce supports a more circular paradigm and looks beyond the one-way talent lifecycle.

How Can You Build A Sustainable Workforce in Your Organization?

Here are four things business leaders can do to build a sustainable workforce.

Become advocates for a modernized education system
Implement fluid and seamless learning opportunities
Instill a top-down approach to learning
Take advantage of AI and machine learning to optimize reskilling

Here is an illustration of the four things you need to build a sustainable workforce.

Become Advocates for A Modernized Education System

We can create flexible education systems as an inherent part of the cultural norm. And also equip workers with the diverse skill sets they’ll unavoidably need for sustainable careers by wisely investing in educational frameworks that enable fresh learning paths and skill-gathering.

Moreover, hard tech skills are a top priority in many institutions today, but in this digitally native culture, success depends on various abilities.

Implement Fluid and Seamless Learning Opportunities

We will constantly need to learn new ways to solve problems in the workplace today, and companies that understand and satisfy their employees’ thirst for lifelong learning will succeed. But providing access to education and training is not enough.

Furthermore, we must discover methods to seamlessly incorporate spontaneous reskilling moments at work. This way, through webinars, video games, or in-person mentor programs, you can build a sustainable workforce.

Instill A Top-Down Approach to Learning

To establish a culture of inquiry and constant learning, executives must “walk the walk” when it comes to reskilling workers. Therefore, change from the top down is the most effective approach to do this and to help build a sustainable workforce.

Take Advantage of AI and Machine Learning to Optimize Reskilling

Employee reskilling is no different in the age of AI when company performance will be more closely correlated with the interaction between humans and robots. Therefore, the training methods and tools that can effectively reskill people can be driven by AI and machine learning technologies which are changing the types of employment that workers will have and building a sustainable workforce.

The Bottom Line – Building A Sustainable Workforce Is A Top Priority

In short, we have learned through the pandemic that employees may complete their tasks without a presence of a manager. The pandemic has also increased workers’ need for adaptability, freedom, and self-direction. Currently, there is a chance to rebuild the world of labor and build a sustainable workforce.

This article is based on the World Economic Forum article.

Career, Skills

How AI Is Changing Our Jobs as a Finance Professionals?

AI will have an influence on every employee, in every sector of the economy, and in every nation. There are serious worries that AI may completely eliminate jobs.

The unpleasant realities of workforce automation have been widely reported on, especially as it relates to particular job categories and populations. For instance, the Brookings Institution concluded that 25% of all US employment is at risk from automation, with a focus on low-wage workers in roles where duties are routine in character.

According to a different survey, 58% of the positions with the highest risk of automation are held by women.

What Changes Will AI Cause in The Future?

However, here are the coin’s two sides. Humans will lose some professions to robots and AI, but they will also gain new ones as a result. Since 2000, 1.7 million manufacturing jobs have been gradually eliminated thanks to robots and automation technologies.

On the other hand, it is anticipated that by 2025, AI will generate 97 million new employment.

Two-thirds of workers say they trust orders from a robot more than ones from their manager, and half have previously asked counsel from a robot rather than their manager.

At American Express, AI now handles judgments such as determining which product offer is most pertinent to various consumer categories, obviating the need for management and staff to debate these responsibilities.

The role of a manager won’t be replaced by AI; rather, it will be supplemented. In the future workplace, people and robots will collaborate to do tasks more quickly and effectively than ever before.

Artificial intelligence is changing our jobs, and either you adapt, or you get lost!

Here is a table extracted from an article by the World Economic Forum.

The Bottom Line – Artificial Intelligence Will Bring Opportunities

Success in the future of AI will depend on a systematic approach to workflow automation, process optimization, and personnel reskilling. Also, companies will be in a strong position to expand, advance, scale, and flourish as a consequence. It’s a good idea to get in and learn everything you can about using AI if you’re tech-savvy.

If your expertise is in a different sector, it’s crucial to recognize that AI will have a significant influence on your career and that you should strive to master the foundations of how it operates in many industries.

If you want to learn more about finance and the skills you need, you can take my course.

You can read the full article on this topic here.

Career, Skills

What Does A Professional in Finance Require?

Working in finance requires a unique set of skills and qualities. These include strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, the ability to think strategically and make sound business decisions, and excellent communication and interpersonal skills. Additionally, a professional in finance need to be detail-oriented and highly organized.

Furthermore, they need to have the ability to work well under pressure and handle complex information. In order to succeed in this field, individuals must also be self-motivated and willing to continuously learn and adapt to new technologies and industry trends.

A few weeks ago, I participated in a Q&A session with students from my business school about jobs in Finance. One of the most asked questions was about the qualities you need to have to be a good finance professional. In this article, I will share my view on the crucial qualities you need to have as a finance professional.

Skills and Qualities of A Professional in Finance

Here are the skills and qualities you require to become a top-notch Finance professional.

Accounting Knowledge

You need to know how to read financial statements and how to translate the business activity into the general ledger of a company. In addition, it should be mandatory for every individual wanting to have a career in finance. Furthermore, this is even true for people that want to go in the direction of financial planning and controlling. For example, one needs to understand how the capitalization of assets like WIP or a change in a provision can have a direct impact on the P&L.

Business Acumen

Finance is present in many different departments and through different types of operations. Therefore, being able to understand these transactions and their financial treatment is what your business partners expect from you. For example, you need to be able to evaluate how delays in deliveries to a client can affect your revenues.

Analytical Skills for A Professional in Finance

The amount of data and information is constantly increasing. As a finance professional, this means that you need a better understanding of the bigger picture and identify what this information means for your organization. In other words, the better you can digest it and the faster you can communicate actionable knowledge to your peers and partners, the more valuable you are to your company.

Business Partnering

Finance has a support function in a company. What does it mean for you? You should see yourself as a service provider and your business partners from other departments as your (internal) clients. Therefore, ask for feedback and put yourself in your business partner’s shoes to optimize how you provide the best service you can.

IT and Data Literacy

Transformation is everywhere, and digitalization plays a significant role. Nowadays, mastering Excel and knowing how to use an ERP is the bare minimum. However, being able to program RPA (robotic process automation) software or create an automated report from a BI tool will give you much more opportunities and will help you to secure a position in innovative finance teams.

Conclusion – Build Your Knowledge to Become A Professional in Finance

In conclusion, finance professionals need to possess a combination of hard and soft skills. This is the key to success in this dynamic and ever-changing field.

Additionally, finance professionals must be detail-oriented, organized, and willing to continuously learn and adapt to new technologies and industry trends in order to stay ahead of the competition and drive business success.

If you want to learn more skills and finance insights, you can take my course.

Career

How to Create Your LinkedIn Profile Summary Professionally?

Nowadays, everybody has a LinkedIn profile that accurately replicates their resume. But how can you differentiate yourself from others?

Also, you will notice that few people have a summary on their page. Therefore, one of the best ways to stand out from the crowd is to write and customize your summary.

Here are five tips to guide you in optimizing and improving your LinkedIn profile summary.

#1: What Should You Write in Your LinkedIn Profile Summary?

There are many ways to get the best out of your LinkedIn profile summary. You could do so by doing the following:

List keywords about your expertise, experience, skills, and education to maximize your LinkedIn ranking for search by recruiters
Write about yourself, explain your journey in the professional world and what makes you a valuable asset
Show your creativity! Attach a creative presentation of yourself and tell a story. In other words, show yourself from a different angle and leave a special impression

#2: How to Stand Out?

You already made the first step by deciding to write your summary! After that, What should you write to make your LinkedIn profile summary special?
I recommend you to explain here what drives you, what you stand for, what your mindset is, and your objectives but most of all, be genuine.

Furthermore, you can inspire yourself from the great examples that I have listed below, but also from your LinkedIn network. There are great LinkedIn profile summaries out there! Finally, you can stand out by a call to action at the end of your summary.

This call to action can be an invitation to connect, to help, or to share a story.

#3: Describe Your Mindset and Main Skills

The summary is an opportunity to use the keywords which will help you to improve your LinkedIn profile ranking. Also, you can list special skills and knowledge that are not traditional in your industry and demonstrate why this is an asset to you. Being able to show your mindset is one of the great advantages of the LinkedIn profile summary, and that could make a difference in the eyes of a potential recruiter!

#4: Attach A Photo, Presentation, or A Video

Did you know that you could attach documents to your summary? That’s maybe the best tip to stand out make your profile come alive with some examples of your work or maybe a presentation of you! You can attach many different types of documents:

Video
Images
Audio
Presentations
Slide Shows
And More!

#5: Talk About Your Personality and Personal Interests

One of the best ways to connect with a potential recruiter can be through personal interests. Actually, doing so will increase your likeability factor. Therefore, the summary is an excellent opportunity to let you share what you love doing, what you are doing outside of work, what you are currently reading, and maybe explain what is special about you and what your friend and family love in you.

Final Words – Importance of LinkedIn Summary

Your professional goals, such as landing a new job or advancing in your career, can be greatly aided by a strong LinkedIn profile summary. As a result, this little narrative may be used to draw in prospective employers, make connections with people in your business, contact recruiters, or even win over potential customers.

If you want to read more about the topic, I recommend you the post “7 LinkedIn Profile Summaries That We Love (And How to Boost Your Own)” from the official LinkedIn blog. Also, add a banner with a call to action or a description of your profile. You can check mine here.