Episodes

Episode 104: Our professional credentials show our commitment level in becoming an expert in the finance and accounting fields. These are badges of knowledge and expertise that show our level of technical knowledge, strategy, and in leadership. Earning professional credentials demonstrates our dedication to learning and growing so that we can provide the best level of service and advice in often tough situations. The Finance and accounting fields are constantly evolving as business and the econo...

Episode #103: I am sharing what it means to set a plan and then to stay organized and focused so you can go achieve it. You must be persistent, and never quit. You can assess and reorganize, but never quit. What will you do when an obstacle gets in your way? What will you do when you have distractions? How will you ensure you have the right people around you so they support you? There are so many considerations after put your goals on the page. Episode outline: Achievement begins with our minds...

Episode #102: When we set our goals, let’s use the SMART goal setting methodology so we set realistic goals that we can achieve because we have properly thought through the best way to plan them and achieve them. You know I how I feel about New Years’ resolutions, because at this point, most people have given up on them since they had no solid foundation in being achieved. Let’s plan out goals that make sense for us. Episode outline: Be focused, The SMART Goal Setting technique, and Ensure yo...

Episode #101: This is 2023 and I believe this is the year we become bold in our career execution, our skills development, and our leadership growth. The last few years people have become hesitant due to the challenges we were facing so they did not take risk in their advancement or even in their own lives. We don’t know what will happen this year, but there is great opportunity out there to those willing to develop a plan and mindset to go get it. Be BOLD: Believe, Overcome, Leadership, and Deci...

We will be using the acronym BOLD to shape our plans for 2023. BOLD: Believe, Overcome, Leadership, and Decisive. Believe in yourself, Overcome obstacles, Grow your Leadership and Be decisive in your plans and opportunities. BOLD: Believe, Overcome, Leadership, and Decisive. Please connect with me on: 1. Instagram: stephen.mclain 2. Twitter: smclainiii 3. Facebook: stephenmclainconsultant 4. LinkedIn: stephenjmclainiii For more resources, please visit stephenmclain.com. On the website, you c...

As a Finance or Accounting professional have you ever been assigned to a project team or worked on a business case? Have you provided financial analysis or accounting advice regarding a high visibility project? These are great opportunities to develop and show off your skills. Additionally, you may get visibility with the executive team and other senior leaders. This week, I am encouraging you to seek out high visibility projects to showcase your skills and abilities, which will also help you gr...

Do you know how to enjoy your time off when you do take your vacation time? This is important so you can get mentally refreshed. You need a break – you need to clear your mind and ready yourself so you that you can tackle next year. Enjoy your time off: Set boundaries, Be guilt free for taking time off, Do not think about what waits for you, Enjoy the moment, and Set yourself free. Please connect with me on: 1. Instagram: stephen.mclain 2. Twitter: smclainiii 3. Facebook: stephenmclainco...

Let’s wrap up 2022, but put off new ideas until next year. Enjoy your accomplishments, get some rest, enjoy your family, friends and colleagues, and put things in perspective. Season 13 will debut on January 10th. We will be talking about our focus, priorities, and goals for 2023. We are a primary source of inspiration and motivation for our team members. How we act and speak and make decisions serves to encourage, or even discourage, our team members as they tackle tough assignments and tasks...

To prepare for 2023, I want you to work on your confidence, to take more risk, and to understand your self-worth even more. What do you bring to the table? What makes you unique in our profession? What value do you bring to the organization? Believe that you are important to your team and to your organization. Believe that you can make a difference. Believe that you can be a leader. Please connect with me on: 1. Instagram: stephen.mclain 2. Twitter: smclainiii 3. Facebook: stephenmclainconsul...

Episode #100: Did you know that as a finance and accounting leader you can have a great, positive impact across your organization? Finance and Accounting professionals do more than just analysis and record financial transactions. We help lead change. We bring reality with the numbers. We advise with critical insights and help to shape and execute strategy. Leadership is the ability to communicate a vision that is easily understood by everyone and then…creating a pathway for your team and others ...

Episode # 99: Are you willing to take more risk to ensure you achieve what you want in your career? Or…are you playing it too safe? Taking risk is often a mindset issue where you can limit yourself and fear stepping out from your comfort zone. Get vulnerable, develop a plan and find the courage to go after what you want to move toward your long-term goal. No one is going to hand it to you so you have to decide to take action to develop your career with the skills and experience you need to move ...

Episode #98: Why did you choose to work in Finance and Accounting? Did you want to work with numbers? Did you think you would work mostly alone? Were you attracted to the leadership opportunities available? Was it something else or a combination of these? Whatever got you interested, I am urging you to ask yourself if you still maintain that passion you once had? Do you embrace and look forward to leading with the numbers every day? The Finance and accounting fields offer a great opportunity to ...

Episode # 97: How productive are you during the day? Is your day filled with distractions? Do you have set templates and use your available tools to make your workday easier especially for routine tasks? Having a productive day begins with our mindset. Use the tools you have available to make your work day more productive. Develop systems for routine work. Protect your time and your team and focus on adding value where you can to make a positive impact across the organization. Let’s all have mor...

Episode #96: Are you facing a leadership challenge right now, or soon? Do you even know? Have you been complacent, or are you watching for the signs that change or a business challenge is imminent? When things are going well, it’s easier to lead, but when the business environment changes, it requires a more leadership emphasis from you. Be watchful for business and senior leadership changes and be ready to adapt and lead your team through the challenge, whatever it is. Episode outline: Acknowled...

We all need a reminder to believe in ourselves especially when it gets tough, that is, when you face a challenge and then doubt tries to settle in. We are all in a battle to overcome beliefs about our abilities in our mind. Limiting beliefs can take over our mind AND our spirit at any time, which then affects our ability to take risk and seize opportunities. Please connect with me: 1. Instagram: stephen.mclain 2. Twitter: smclainiii 3. Facebook: stephenmclainconsultant 4. LinkedIn: stephenjmcl...

Bonus episode # 47: Who you have in your inner circle matters. Who you have around you, and who you associate with regularly affects your mindset, how you approach life, your happiness, and the overall level of your mental, spiritual, and physical fitness. Who you let in your life matters, and it affects everything in your life. Please connect with me on: 1. Instagram: stephen.mclain 2. Twitter: smclainiii 3. Facebook: stephenmclainconsultant 4. LinkedIn: stephenjmclainiii For more resources, ...

If a crisis happened to you today, do you have a support system in place to help you through it? Who would you call? Who would help you? Having a support system in place is critical for surviving and overcoming an emergency. Please connect with me: 1. Instagram: stephen.mclain 2. Twitter: smclainiii 3. Facebook: stephenmclainconsultant 4. LinkedIn: stephenjmclainiii Consider joining The Finance Leader Podcast Community Facebook Group, where we can talk leadership and the other topics I presen...

Are you facing a challenge? If so, what are you doing to overcome that challenge? Does it require working with someone on a solution, or is it a challenge that you personally have to solve? Is it a mindset issue? Are you having trouble with a goal? Please connect with me: 1. Instagram: stephen.mclain 2. Twitter: smclainiii 3. Facebook: stephenmclainconsultant 4. LinkedIn: stephenjmclainiii Consider joining The Finance Leader Podcast Community Facebook Group, where we can talk leadership and t...

This week, I am sharing an encore replay from Season 9 - Episode 77: Five Pillars of Career Advancement for Finance and Accounting Professionals What does it take to advance your career? There are many decisions and pathways you can take. There are lots of choices, but how do you prepare yourself for the best chance of advancing to senior leader roles? In this episode, I will highlight the five pillars of career advancement which can help you move in the right direction, so you have the best ch...

Bonus episode # 43: I wanted to briefly talk about a trending topic that I have been seeing all over Twitter. You probably heard about it: Quiet Quitting. What does that mean? Well, it’s something that has been happening for a very long time, which is doing your job without probably doing any of the extras. Not going above and beyond. Just ensuring you are doing enough to keep your job. Please connect with me on: 1. Instagram: stephen.mclain 2. Twitter: smclainiii 3. Facebook: stephenmclaincon...

Episode # 95: A successful budget development cycle begins with clearly communicated expectations and coherently executed leadership. You must partner with other leaders to minimize conflict, meet senior leader guidance, and deliver a budget plan that is on target and makes sense. Ensure you apply the strategy to the budget development process to prioritize and maximize the committed resources. Episode outline: Link the budget requirements to the strategy, Communicate expectations early, clear...

Episode #94: As leaders in Finance and Accounting, we are asked to analyze problems constantly. Leaders solve the critical problems of the organization. We don’t let issues grow into bigger problems. The most difficult part of problem solving is to identify what the real problem is, followed by performing the analysis to develop viable options, and then deciding the solution which is best for the organization moving forward. It sounds easy, but it takes leadership to accept that a problem exists...

Episode # 93: This week it’s all about embracing, adopting and using artificial intelligence in our finance and accounting processes. I expect the early adopters to gain a significant competitive advantage as they shift from waiting on data to guiding a system with real time data that solves problems and affects decisions earlier in the process. Earlier than we ever thought we could. It’s time to commit funds in our budgets for systems, hardware, training and even the right people on our teams a...

Episode # 92: We work with data every day in finance and accounting. The data leads us to insights and relevant information. This is why it’s important that our data is clean AND validated. The way to useable information is to ensure we have good data, but do you know what that means, and can you spot bad data when it shows up in your analysis? Know the data you are working with to ensure it leads you to the correct conclusions in your financial analysis or accounting work. Also, if possible, al...