⏳This is a 6 minute read📚
Hey FP&A Fast Trackers!
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In this edition…
1️⃣ Expert Insights: 💡 Ever wonder how finance can open doors beyond what you've imagined? Terrell Turner shares how learning basic finance concepts changed his path and led to a thriving career. Discover how his unique strategies and creative approach to presenting complex topics can help you engage and communicate more effectively in your FP&A role.
2️⃣ Brain Snacks Book Bites:🧠 Far too often in business and life things are left unsaid. We tell ourselves that we do it to preserve the peace in our relationships. But in reality, we are afraid of what might happen when we have those fierce conversations. The predictable end result of those "undiscussibles" is the deterioration of many relationships in our lives. In "Fierce Conversations", Susan Scott gives us 7 principles and 3 tools that we can use to get back into action, and finally have some real talk in the most important areas of our lives.
3️⃣ How to Use AI to Create SOPs: In my conversation with Terrell Turner, we delved into the prudent use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in creating and refining Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for businesses, a practice that is becoming increasingly integral in FP&A.
💡 Expert Insights from the FP&A Fast Track podcast with New York Times featured CFO Terrell Turner.
Read below for key takeways, or watch the full episode here.
5 Key Takeaways
1. Impact of Early Exposure to Finance and Accounting: Terrell highlighted the transformative role of learning basic finance and accounting concepts in his youth, which ultimately guided him toward a lucrative career path outside of the more traditional options he saw around him such as the military or immediate employment after high school. This underlines the importance of early financial education in opening diverse career opportunities.
2. Influence of Military Background on Personality Traits: Both Terrell and John discussed how their upbringing as children of military dad's gave them adaptability and strong communication skills, which have proven beneficial in their professional lives. This emphasizes that personal background and childhood experiences can significantly shape key soft skills essential in business environments.
3. Technological Evolution and Its Business Implications: Terrell expressed concerns about the overreliance on emerging technologies like AI, stressing the importance of human oversight in integrating AI tools within business operations. He emphasized that while technology aids efficiency, critical human input is essential to ensure relevance and accuracy, especially in fields like accounting and finance.
4. Effective Communication in Professional Settings: The discussion covered the necessity of thinking outside the box and understanding your audience to tailor messages effectively. It highlights that successful communication in business not only involves conveying information but also engaging the audience meaningfully, which requires knowledge of their background and expectations.
5. Role of Strategic Content Creation in Professional Growth: Terrrell’s approach to growing his professional network through strategic, intentional content creation on platforms like LinkedIn demonstrates the value of focused and consistent messaging in building influence and authority in one’s field. This approach is especially useful in niche markets, as exemplified by Terrell’s focused work with law firms.
Each of these themes and takeaways presents valuable lessons for FP&A professionals seeking to advance their careers through a deeper understanding of industry dynamics, strategic personal branding, and effective communication.
Episode Selected Chapter Index
12:40 AI's potential, understanding its limitations, and usage.
13:46 Technology is in its early stage.
18:56 Understand audience for effective communication and connection.
22:58 Connect with audience, use relatable stories, engage.
26:56 Friend's video challenge led to Super Mario success.
29:39 Improving communication of accounting and finance content.
36:07 Discovering your niche through experimentation and persistence.
46:58 Understanding empathy reduced stress and increased respect. 49:50 Effective communication: think outside the box, know audience.
A more complete index is available in the full episode.
📚 Leveraged Learning: Learn in minutes, Use for a Lifetime.
This week’s book bite is "Fierce Conversatoins" by Susan Scott.
Far too often in business and life things are left unsaid. We tell ourselves that we do it to preserve the peace in our relationships. But in reality, we are afraid of what might happen when we have those fierce conversations. The predictable end result of those "undiscussibles" is the deterioration of the most relationships in our lives.
Here’s the lowdown on “Fierce Conversations” by Susan Scott:
Main Idea:
In “Fierce Conversations,” Susan Scott shows how important it is to speak up about the tough stuff in our relationships and work. She gives seven principles and three tools to help us have these crucial talks.
Key Takeaways:
- Have Courage: Be brave and speak the truth. People generally want to hear it.
- Be Real: Be honest and show your true self in conversations.
- Be Present: Focus entirely on the person you’re talking to.
- Face Challenges Now: Don’t delay dealing with problems.
- Trust Your Gut: Pay attention to your feelings and share them.
- Mind Your Words: Be aware of how your words affect others.
- Use Silence: Give space for others to speak and think.
Tools You Can Use:
- Mineral Rights: Give full attention to the important people in your life. Ask deep questions to understand their true concerns.
- Prepare for Discussions: Clearly outline issues when discussing them with a group. State the problem, its significance, and your desired outcome.
- Confrontation Model: Use a structured approach when addressing issues. Be clear, share your feelings, and invite the other person to share their views.
Action Steps:
- Daily Practice: Integrate these principles into your daily conversations.
- Deep Conversations: Use the Mineral Rights method regularly to strengthen relationships.
- Address Issues: Don’t dodge tough conversations; handle them as they arise.
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This book teaches that having real, honest conversations can improve your relationships and solve problems effectively.
For the complete summary of this book, in less than 15 minutes, go listen to, or read, it here.
💡 Using AI for SOP Creation in FP&A
In my conversation with Terrell Turner, we delved into the prudent use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in creating and refining Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for businesses, a practice that is becoming increasingly integral in FP&A.
How AI Helps Make SOPs
AI is good at making first drafts of SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) by pulling information from lots of places. It gives us a strong start, which we can make better with our human touch.
AI can quickly find and study huge sets of data to make SOPs that cover common steps in finance work. This makes the process faster and makes sure all parts of our work are up-to-date and complete.
From First Draft to Finished SOP
AI gives us a good base, but we need to make it better. Adding human knowledge and experience helps tailor these steps to fit what your company needs. This human touch makes sure the SOPs are useful, relevant, and doable.
Benefits of Using AI in SOPs
- Fast: Speeds up making the first draft so teams can focus on improving it.
- Consistent: Makes sure all steps have the same format and look, which is important for rules and training.
- Flexible: AI tools can be updated to keep SOPs current with new rules or business changes.
Example of FP&A SOP Development
Situation
Our FP&A team needed to standardize financial reporting across different regions.
Complication
Each region had its own way of reporting, causing differences in data and analysis.
Question
How can we standardize our processes to ensure consistent, accurate financial reporting?
Answer
We used AI to make an initial SOP based on common practices. Then, regional finance leads helped refine it to meet local and global rules.
Using AI to draft SOPs can greatly improve the efficiency and reliability of financial operations. By mixing AI-produced drafts with expert human tweaks, companies can create standards that are both efficient and ready for future changes.
Have you used AI to create SOPs in your organization?
What are some of the benefits you saw?
What are some of the challenges you ran into?
Share your thoughts with me and we will share what we learn from the community in a future newsletter.
Here’s to driving your FP&A career forward, together.
See you in the next edition.
John Sanchez
Managing Director of FPA Group
FP&A Fast Track Podcast Host
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