AICPA & CIMA chair: ‘Every change comes with opportunity’
Financial Management (FM) magazine
Release Date: 09/11/2024
Balancing projects and daily work: 3 time-saving strategies
Financial Management (FM) magazine
Change consultant and executive coach Nicola Hopes shares several tips and tricks for crafting intentional business projects that can facilitate meaningful changes for organisations. Hopes explains the fundamental questions that help ensure projects achieve intended outcomes, the importance of knowing what good looks like throughout the process, and how leaders can better balance project demands alongside their day-to-day responsibilities. “I've seen lots of organisations passionate about doing a great project,” Hopes said. “And, at the end of it, what's delivered doesn't...
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Learn fast, learn often: Lessons from two finance leaders
Financial Management (FM) magazine
In celebration of CGMA Week, the FM podcast welcomed two CGMA designation holders who recently spoke at UK & Ireland ENGAGE to discuss the lessons they’ve learned throughout their careers, how their mindset has shifted over the years, and the advice they would give to finance professionals navigating opportunities in a challenging era defined by potential and uncertainty. Simon Ritchie, ACMA, CGMA, founder and CEO of Blox Software, and Olcay Yilmaz, FCMA, CGMA, finance director–Rail Infrastructure at Siemens, explain the importance of continuous learning in a time when knowledge...
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3 common types of difficult people — and how to work better with them
Financial Management (FM) magazine
Executive coach and author Nick Robinson illuminates the challenging traits of work colleagues and shares strategies from his book — The 9 Types of Difficult People: How to Spot Them and Quickly Improve Working Relationships — that professionals can employ to improve relationships on the job. Robinson, a speaker at UK & Ireland ENGAGE earlier this month, explores the interplay between organisational pressures, psychological stressors, power dynamics, and how those factors can influence the development of traits and behaviours that make people difficult to work with. He also...
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AI, tech, cybersecurity — October FM in summary
Financial Management (FM) magazine
The latest episode of the podcast provides an overview of content in the October digital edition of FM. Editor-in-chief Oliver Rowe summarises articles on topics that include AI and cybersecurity, including one with advice on writing AI prompts. The episode closes with an explanation of how members can access the as well as the . What you’ll learn from this episode: Focus areas of the October digital edition. The topic connection in the edition’s leadership columns. More about the advice to managers to “keep their antenna up”. The topic of the Excel article by Liam...
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Adaptability, curiosity, shaping the future — Q&A with CIMA’s president
Financial Management (FM) magazine
, FCMA, CGMA, CIMA president and Association of International Certified Professional Accountants co-chair, joined the FM podcast to discuss the pace of change and how finance professionals can lead their organisations through unpredictable conditions. Graham explains the skills needed to move into a finance business partner role, how to effectively challenge outdated practices, the role of critical thinking skills in gaining trust, and why curiosity is essential for continuous learning and skills development. What you’ll learn from this episode: One vital ability for finance...
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Looking inward: A mindful approach to regulating stress, uncertainty
Financial Management (FM) magazine
Swaran Singh, Ph.D., professor of social and community psychiatry at the University of Warwick, explores the reasons we feel disconnected from our mental process and responses to stressful events, along with ways we can exert more control over those processes to rationalise and minimise uncertainty. Singh also illustrates the connection between mental and physical health and the role of a growth mindset in limiting stress and promoting positivity in the face of adversity. He will speak on the topic of mastering your mindset at in October in London and online. What you’ll...
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Mark Koziel Q&A: Talent, sense of community, profession opportunities
Financial Management (FM) magazine
Mark Koziel, CPA, CGMA, is CEO of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants and president and CEO of the AICPA. He’s been in that role since the start of the year and travelled all over the world hearing from members. Summer’s end seemed like a good time for a progress report on a variety of fronts from Koziel, who at the time of publication was visiting Asia. This is a special edition of the podcast, published jointly on the Journal of Accountancy and FM channels. What you’ll learn from this episode: The skills gap affecting businesses around...
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Do you ever feel like an imposter? You’re not alone
Financial Management (FM) magazine
Leadership coach and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) professional Sophie Turner explains how CIMA helped her navigate the learning and development path in her career, the psychology of imposter syndrome, and considerations for organisations looking to create a more diverse and inclusive culture. Turner explains the importance of objectivity as a remedy for persistent self-doubt and why it’s hard for people suffering from imposter syndrome to tap into the objective side of their brain. She also illustrates ways that organisations can think differently about creating a...
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FM August: IFRS S1 and IFRS S2, circular business models
Financial Management (FM) magazine
The latest podcast episode provides a preview of content in the August digital edition of FM. To focus on the edition’s overall theme of sustainability, FM editor-in-chief Oliver Rowe and podcast host Neil Amato are joined for the episode by Jeremy Osborn, FCMA, CGMA, FCPA (Australia), global head of sustainability at the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. Rowe summarises articles on topics such as change fatigue, circular business models, Excel Compatibility Versions, and landing a finance job in the era of AI-enabled hiring. Osborn focuses on the state of...
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In our quest for efficiency, are we losing compassion?
Financial Management (FM) magazine
Jamie Gruman, Ph.D., professor of organisational behaviour at the University of Guelph in Canada, discusses some of the ways technology is distancing us from other people and how this can harm employees. Gruman explains why this era of urgency and efficiency, aided by technological advancements, threatens to further dehumanise and objectify workforces and describes ways this is happening in businesses. He talks about the research he and Alan Saks, Ph.D., professor of organisational behaviour and human resources management at the University of Toronto Scarborough), have done. That...
info_outlineSimon Bittlestone, FCMA, CGMA, began his one-year term as CIMA president and AICPA & CIMA chair in June, and he joined the FM podcast for an interview in late July, discussing what he sees as three key opportunities for the accounting and finance profession.
In the episode, Bittlestone reviews his focus areas, explains the value of a technology background when leading technology initiatives, and details how seizing opportunity as it relates to today’s workforce can help to future-proof the profession.
What you’ll learn from this episode:
· Why he agrees that the profession faces challenges, which he views as opportunities.
· The area of accountants’ work that, according to Bittlestone, has understandable “pushback”.
· Three takeaways from Bittlestone on the ESG course offered in partnership with Oxford University.
· Why Bittlestone considers it important to focus on the profession’s future generations and accountants already in the profession.
· His thoughts on the retirement of AICPA & CIMA CEO Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA.