Tactical 90-Day Guide for Emerging Finance Leaders
November 15, 2024
By Andrea Beth Levy, CPA, CFE, CGMA, MBA
Congratulations! You made it to the final interviewing round and negotiated a favorable offer. What a whirlwind! Now it’s your first day as a finance leader with a new agency. Enclosed is a solid methodology for leaving an independent contributor role and successfully moving you forward into a financial management role.
Many CPAs have heard the storyline of driving our way to success, with one goal in mind, climbing the ladder. In some ways, we have access to all aspects of the business. Yet rarely do we talk about the transition that happens when we leave closer-knit teams and move into our solo financial management space or leading a department. This shift creates an adjustment period.
In the book “Transitions,” William Bridges explores the “process people go through to come to terms with the new situation. Change is external, transition is internal.” There are endings of the prior job, the neutral zone, then the beginnings. The experience of a senior accountant or senior auditor with an entire team and resources is different than serving as a manager, finance director, or CFO of a small company. It can be exciting, challenging and invigorating. In some ways, your schedule will be determined by the financial priorities of the agency. Being prepared for those changes can be the most helpful solution.
As a CPA, we’re also held to adhere to exemplary ethical compliance with relevant standards of our business. Ensuring we can meet the needs of the business while adhering to our required standards is key.
10 days before the first day – Know your values and your contributions
Before you start your first day, spend time reflecting on your values and what you’ll bring to your new role. It’s likely fresh in your mind from your most recent interview. As a new manager, what are you giving back to the company? Can you contribute to a specialized experience or education that could be especially useful to this new role?
Next, write a few notes about what inspires you most about this role, beyond compensation. What makes you most excited to join the new role? The company and work culture? The opportunities to learn and grow? Are you learning new software, automating processes, implementing Traditional AI or Generative AI? Are you able to achieve a greater work-life balance with experienced team members? Keep this list available on the more difficult days, to remind yourself of your purpose.
First month – Research like an auditor
As CPAs, we’re familiar with the concept of “professional skepticism,” and we’re required to pass an ethics examination, along with continuing ethics training requirements. We are tested to ensure that if needed, we can deploy our knowledge and continue to act as fiscal stewards for our agency and our community. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Occupational Fraud 2024: A Report to the Nations, “More than half of occupational frauds occur due to the lack of internal controls or an override of existing controls.” Our goal is to learn our new role while maintaining the agency’s financial integrity and control environment. As fiscal stewards of the agency, internal controls are our top priority every day.
In your first month, gather and review data to develop a preliminary risk assessment. Review the latest Internal Control Audit Memo, the most recent set of deliverables and final reports with external auditors, internal auditors and/or compliance auditors. Review the last three-five years of financial reports, last three-five years of tax returns, strategic plans, financial policies, treasury documents, loan records and more. Consider expanding this list to include industry specific compliance, data privacy and legal requirements.
Pore over the data and notice trends. Are there recent mergers and acquisitions? Or significant product line or program phase-out? Take note of which revenue trends appear interesting and stay curious. Are there items in the notes to the financial statements that bring you pause? Are there current debt covenants to be aware of? During the interview process, did management disclose challenges they would like for you to solve? How are those challenges impacting the financial statements?
During this process of financial review, act like an auditor. Flag potential discrepancies against control standards or compliance requirements for further review with management. According to a recent EY article about third-party risk management, “With the injection of technology-enabled capabilities and GenAI, and the usage of all available data, comes the need for robust and scalable operations that keep up with higher expectations in ongoing monitoring …”
First two months – Plan business partnership meetings
Plan to listen. Serve as an ambassador for the department. Meet with key stakeholders and lend a listening ear. Learn how your department interacts with their department and if there are key deliverables from either side. Determine structured timelines to ensure the needs of the business are being served. Are there current pain points or bottlenecks? Ask managers about their biggest concerns and whether there are areas of improvement on your team that could benefit the agency. Consider if there are areas where automation could be helpful. Retain great notes and add those to your preliminary risk assessment.
In addition, continue to create a list of key internal and external contacts. Lists may include auditors, bankers, insurance companies, legal counsel and other professional services. Inquire as to whether an executive assistant can assist with compiling key contact information.
Team development is a process to develop unity. Per Abby Wambach’s book “Wolfpack,” team culture is more than excellence, it’s about unifying a team structure and creating an effective collaborative heartbeat. Set aside time to learn about the existing structure. Ask your team about the current performance management system. How are performance goals determined and at which cadence? How do team members receive feedback? How often are check-in meetings and what format do they encompass? Create a team culture of success and resilience.
As CPAs, we are familiar with many aspects of business. We have a head start with our continuous learning and education requirements for our field. Our ability to analyze large data sets, financial trends and patterns provides a competitive advantage. It’s leveraging that knowledge which will move your team, your company and your community forward. Adventure awaits!