This episode features Oliver Rowe, the editor-in-chief of FM, detailing the contents of the December digital edition of the magazine.
The discussion summarises articles on topics that include skills development beyond core finance, using Excel modelling to avoid costly mistakes, and capital investment decision-making.
Rowe explains how members can access the most recent edition of the online magazine as well as the issue library.
Previous podcast episodes focusing on 2024 digital editions:
What you’ll learn from this episode:
- Coverage of the AICPA & CIMA leadership transition.
- Skills that CGMA designation holders have developed to advance their careers.
- A summary of an article on balancing in-office work and at-home work.
- Highlights of an article about Excel modelling and how it can minimise mistakes.
Play the episode below or read the edited transcript:
— To comment on this episode or to suggest an idea for another episode, contact Neil Amato at Neil.Amato@aicpa-cima.com.
Transcript
Neil Amato: Hello and welcome to the FM podcast. I’m your host, Neil Amato. We hope you’ve enjoyed some of Steph Brown’s interviews from UK & Ireland ENGAGE. We’ll have more of those conversations coming up. We encourage you to subscribe to the FM podcast on your favorite podcast app, so you’re aware each time we have a new episode. Today’s focus is the December digital edition of FM magazine, and FM editor-in-chief Oliver Rowe is back as our guest. Oliver, glad to have you on again. Welcome to the FM podcast.
Oliver Rowe: Thanks, Neil. Good to be here again.
Amato: We’re talking about the December digital edition, which is now available. One bit of news is AICPA & CIMA’s leadership transition. CEO Barry Melancon is retiring at the end of this year, and Mark Koziel has been named as his replacement, due to start in the new year. How is that news covered in the digital edition of the magazine?
Rowe: Neil, that’s right. We’re covering this news in the edition. In the column from CIMA President and Association Chair Simon Bittlestone, Simon pays tribute to Barry Melancon’s years of leadership at AICPA, and from 2017, AICPA & CIMA, together as the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants.
Amato: That’s great. Thanks for that. Tell me about what else is in the edition that you’d like to highlight.
Rowe: Well, Neil, a few articles. Firstly, starting off, “How to Build a Resilient Skillset Beyond Finance”. We interviewed four holders of the CGMA designation from around the world about the skills they’ve developed as their careers move beyond finance to pricing, HR, logistics, and tech. Each has developed a specialised niche, and the skills they’ve developed are around the core set of finance competencies, but with advanced tech skills and knowledge of other business areas. This article offers four ways to build a resilient skillset that allows people to move across sectors and roles in their career journey.
Also in the December edition, we’ve got an article, “Capital Investment Decisions: How to Evaluate Against the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals”. This is an article from four researchers in Italy working on the CIMA-sponsored research project. They put forward a four-step process, a sequence of activities to use the skills and information that companies already have in evaluating decisions against the UN SDGs. It provides a flexible approach that’s relevant to any capital investment or other expenditure, the authors say. It’s an article by academics, but it’s got a very practical application.
We’ve also got an article, “Work From Home v the Office: Finding the Balance”. This sheds light on a very current issue, and it’s got data from London, research from India, and the surveyed views of Gen Y and Gen Z.
Another article we’ve got in December, “Ways to Customise Supply Chains to Reduce Risk”. Again, this is research-based, and it’s based on interviews with industry experts from the manufacturing, the retail, fast-food, and service sectors. It covers four main areas, and these include data management and collaboration, just to name a couple, and then supply chain finance.
That’s an interesting part of the article because it touches on the move to use supply chain finance to motivate behavioural change. For example, to encourage suppliers to sign up for a company’s ESG commitments.
Amato: Thank you for that rundown on several topics. Some other topics that I noticed. One is career development, I guess. Author Rhymer Rigby has an article with practical advice related to developing skills. Can you tell me some more about that one?
Rowe: Yes, Neil, of course. This article by Rhymer Rigby, it offers steps to follow to ensure your career remains on track, even if your employer doesn’t provide learning or development opportunities for whatever reason. The advice is broad — from keeping up with your industry to taking on roles outside your company, such as on a charity or local organisation board.
Amato: There’s also this headline that caught my eye. I guess it was a topic that seems to blend Microsoft’s Power BI with artificial intelligence, or AI. What exactly is the focus of that article?
Rowe: Yes. We’ve got an article, as you say, Neil, “Using the AI in Power BI to Do Root Cause Analyses”. Using screenshots, this is a step-by-step guide to using the AI component in Power BI to solve an issue, which the article sets out as preparing financial statements for top management.
A significant drop in sales is noticed in a particular month that usually shows robust demand. So, how do we quickly determine the underlying cause of this problem in anticipation of management’s questions? The article explains how to do that, and AI working in Power BI quickly provides a summary and detailed analysis.
We’ve got a further technical article on “Excel Modelling: How to Implement 3 Types of Checks”. Again, a practical article with screenshots, so you can follow clearly. The point here is to build in checks to your Excel model early in its development to avoid later critical and costly mistakes.
Amato: That’s a great rundown of some of the content in this digital edition. Thank you. I guess now is the time where we remind the listeners how to access those digital editions — the December one and also the issue library.
Rowe: Absolutely, Neil. As you say, as mentioned before, there are three ways to access the FM digital edition. You can go via the AICPA & CIMA website at aicpa-cima.com. You’ll need to log in with your AICPA/CIMA login, and from the main menu, go to resources and then publications, and you’ll see Financial Management magazine. You can also go to the FM website at fm-magazine.com and in the menu, go to digital edition. Then thirdly, there’s the FM email to members alerting them to each new edition.
Finally, Neil, I just wanted to say, as mentioned before again, feedback on the December edition and other editions [is] most welcome, and it should be sent to fm-magazine@aicpa-cima.com.
Amato: That’s great. Oliver, thank you for being on. Coming in late December, the FM show will take a bit of a holiday break, and we look forward to talking again with you soon. Thanks for listening to the FM podcast.
