How I Got My First CFO Role
By Andy Burrows
This is the story of how I got my first CFO role (actually, my title was Finance Director, but in those days in the UK, CFO was a rare job title).
My hope is that my story may inspire you as a Finance professional and would give you some pointers for your own development.
How did it come about?
To sum it up, first of all, I was working as Head of Finance in a small division of Barclays. And half of the business unit was being sold to Travelex. It was essentially the bit that serviced the travel money for the retail branch network. So, Travelex were buying the operation and then there was an outsourced service agreement for Travelex to supply the Barclays branches after the transfer.
Most of the staff were transferring to the new Travelex division – Travelex Currency Services – including me and my Finance team. Travelex were bringing in a new Managing Director. But my boss, the Finance Director, had got another job somewhere else, so he wasn’t moving over.
So, the question...
9 simple things you can start doing TODAY to accelerate your CFO-readiness
By Andy Burrows
In this article I want to show that getting yourself ready to be a business-leading CFO one day is something that should start much much earlier than you think.
When people talk about leadership and business acumen in the context of what you need to be a CFO, you may think that implies you need almost grey hairs.
We picture leaders being the old, wise and mature people. It must have taken them years to learn to be leaders.
Business acumen, too, sounds like something you get from years of experience.
And my worry is that those misconceptions put off young Finance professionals from working intentionally on things that will help them to be CFO-ready.
Two of my own experiences should show that you don’t have to wait to start learning CFO skills.
First, I was appointed as a Finance Director at the age of 29. I’ve written about that elsewhere. So, you don’t need to be older to learn CFO skills and behaviours.
Second, one of the most memorable courses I...
The biggest failure of my Finance career – and 4 lessons you can learn from it
By Andy Burrows
I had one of those lightbulb moments a few months ago. The sort that kind of catches your breath. Because in the space of a few seconds, something really helpful becomes clear to you that you never even considered before. And yet it was hiding there in plain sight. I could have seen it at any stage if I’d simply chosen a different perspective.
I’ll obviously come on to what that was in a minute. But first, I need to tell you a story.
It’s the story of my early Finance career.
I promise I’ll be brief. And it does have a point that will be relevant to you, especially if you have ambitions to progress into senior roles in Finance. I don’t (often) talk about myself just for the sake of it! So, please bear with me.
My success
You see, when I was 29 years and 5 months old, I got my first Finance Director job.
That’s a mere four years after I qualified as a chartered accountant and started putting the letters ACA after my name. And it was...
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