The CFO Leadership Council is a professional association established in 2006 to equip senior financial executives to succeed in their careers and lead their respective companies and teams. The association boasts a membership of over 1800 individuals and organizes various events and conferences. Andrew McDonnell and Erik Neilssen from DataBlend recently attended the annual Boston, MA conference. The conference featured notable keynote speakers like Andy Fastow (Enron), Aradhana Sarin, M.D. (AstraZeneca), Bill George (Medtronic), and Julie Swinehart (Fenway Sports Group).
The event had a great turnout and offered engaging sessions and networking opportunities. Here are some of the key points we learned.
Our first key takeaway is about growth. The conference emphasized the importance of adequate systems to accommodate projected growth. We are an integration company that connects finance and accounting applications used in daily operations. So, connecting adequate systems and ensuring they are connected seamlessly is familiar. In fact, even as far back as 2015, Forbes emphasized the importance of adequate systems. "Systems can grow your business. The overriding impact of a system is that it can cause a business to grow. Instead of reacting to crises, you can proactively address growth hurdles. When you implement the right systems, you create for yourself both more time and mental freedom. With this time and mental energy, you can work to grow your business instead of burying yourself in busy work." The importance of this point has been further highlighted in the post-COVID era, making it more crucial than ever before.
Michael Bayer's session on shifting talent strategy in a remote world resonated with Andrew because, to quote Michael, "You have to create the moments that matter." He implemented that by inviting his whole finance team to participate passively in investor / due diligence calls. Michael quickly learned that his team 1) knew the data better than him and 2) was good at investor relations. Doing this was a good idea because after he implemented this change, the investors continued to invite his whole team to future calls.
The last takeaway is the topic of automation. "Automation is not a goal, but rather a state of mind that can make your organization more agile." That is such a powerful statement. At DataBlend, we live and breathe automation and the powerful transformation it can have on you AND your organization. There is so much in the news about automation, generative AI, and ChatGPT that it can be overlooked individually how small automation changes can yield significant outcomes. Referring to that 2015 Forbes article, integrating systems and automation helps organizations save time, dodge problems, and improve productivity.
Improving your business is about saving time AND utilizing it to its fullest potential. Integrating and automating increases productivity, giving you the power to make the most of every moment.
Do you want to talk with Andrew or Erik about the conference or how you can automate your finance and accounting applications? Click here to set-up time to meet Andrew or book time with Erik here.