INTHEBLACK March 2025 - Magazine - Page 17
time for innovation. Having a strong team
in place is critical and I work closely with
our CEO and the leadership team to ensure
we create space for growth initiatives while
keeping an eye on our current performance.
As a publicly listed company, we also have
specific reporting obligations, both
half-yearly and annually, which adds another
layer of pressure. It’s essential to be organised
and strategic about our financial planning
to meet these requirements, while still
fostering an environment that encourages
innovation. ■
LESSONS LEARNED
1. Build trusted relationships:
It is hard to do your job
successfully if you don’t have
good relationships with the
people you are supporting.
2. Develop a breadth of
experience: Get as much
experience in different roles
as you can before taking on
a CFO role.
months when we suddenly had to pivot,
forecasting how long we could survive if
we had to shut down. But, during that time,
we saw record sales as people bought beauty
products online while at home.
It was a period of intense learning and
growth for me. Balancing the day-to-day
operations with long-term growth initiatives
remains one of the most demanding aspects
of the CFO role. Some days, I find myself
focusing more on immediate tasks rather
than the broader strategic initiatives,
and it can be challenging to carve out
3. Know your limits: You can’t
do everything, so know when
to bring in people who can
do the things you aren’t an
expert in. For me, that is the
more technical elements
of accounting!
4. Ask the right questions:
You can better help people
if you ask them why they need
a particular finance report,
because sometimes they
might benefit from something
completely different.
UPSKILL
with CPA Australia’s
Women in
Leadership
(Finance) virtual
classroom series
LISTEN
to a podcast on
what the best
finance teams do
UPSKILL
with a CPA Australia
and Harvard
Business School
Publishing course
on Decision-Making
intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au 17
