Episodes

Send us Fan Mail 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 ...

Send us Fan Mail 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 ta...

Send us Fan Mail Bonus episode # 44: 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 ...

Send us Fan Mail 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. ...

Send us Fan Mail 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 expecta...

Send us Fan Mail 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 t...

Send us Fan Mail 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 p...

Send us Fan Mail 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. A...

Send us Fan Mail Episode # 91: Financial Planning and Analysis provides one of the most critical and powerful functions in the business. Are you resourcing and employing your FP&A Team properly? You need to be continually planning the team’s functions and capabilities as technology changes and the business grows. The FP&A function cannot remain static. It must be growing and changing as conditions change. Your pathway to understanding the key metrics of the business AND if you are ach...

Send us Fan Mail How do you want your team to interact with each other? Do you want to be all business all the time, more relaxed, or something else? As the leader, you set the tone for the team’s culture. The team’s culture determines how well everyone respects each other and works together. Don’t overlook the relationship of team culture and its overall performance. Episode outline: What is Team culture?How team culture shapes output and productivity,Your role as leader when it comes...

Send us Fan Mail Financial Analysts help grow the business by digging in to the how and the why to financial transactions to find patterns and insights. These patterns can help find a way to leverage your offers to increase sales. Additionally, costs can be saved by finding efficiencies within the expenses. Episode outline: Figure out the why and how regarding data around financial transactions,Help to validate the strategy through the analysis of key metrics, andPartner with senior le...

Send us Fan Mail Bonus episode # 40: Leaders must be self-aware of their thoughts, actions, words and behaviors so they are constantly working to build trust and develop their teams. Self-aware leaders know what is appropriate and what isn’t appropriate. Emotionally intelligent leaders can read the room properly that leads to a positive outcome. Episode outline: 1) The great leaders are emotionally intelligent, 2) Think before speaking or taking action, and 3) Read the room so you understan...

Send us Fan Mail A habit is a routine behavior that determines our productivity level and our work ethic. Our habits are closely aligned with our mindset and how we approach challenges. Do we embrace wanting to achieve excellence or do you become complacent? Our success is a combination of mindset and habits, plus leadership. I hope that you practice great leadership as the most important habit of all. Episode outline: Your habits determine your daily success,What successful people do to bu...

Send us Fan Mail Bonus episode # 38: Please enjoy this encore episode....You have assumed a new role at a new company. What are your first steps? What do you do first so you set yourself up for success? Those first few weeks can determine how well you know your role, and more importantly, who do you need to meet, what systems do you need to learn, and what are the details about the company’s culture. Your first actions in a new role will be critical to your success, so plan carefully and embr...

Send us Fan Mail Episode # 90: If you own a start-up or will be founding one soon, consider adding a finance leader to your team as soon as possible. You will have a teammate who can help you understand cash-flow and profitability from Day 1. They can help you instill financial discipline immediately and provide legitimacy for potential investors. A finance or accounting professional gives your team someone who can provide key advice on tax implications, cash burn rates, corporate structure, ...

Send us Fan Mail Episode # 89: As a leader, you will make many decisions. You will have choices to make. But how do you guard yourself against bias? How do you ensure fairness in opportunity and in how your team is treated? We must be aware of any bias we have both, conscious and subconscious, to ensure all have the opportunity if they do the hard work to improve themselves and to be ready for the next level. Further, we need to check our bias in all problem-solving activities and projects. ...

Send us Fan Mail Episode # 88: Are you on track for a promotion? What does it take to be promoted from individual contributor to manager? You must show potential for greater responsibility. You need a combination of mature soft skills, good character and high emotional intelligence, deliver results every time, and be able to treat people fairly without bias. If you can prioritize your actions correctly, clearly communicate a vision, and follow through with incredible results, you will be in l...

Send us Fan Mail Episode # 87: Your long-term success and how you feel about yourself are directly affected by your self-worth and your confidence level. What you believe in yourself affects your ability to take risk and feel confident about what roles and challenges may be next for you. Your mindset is powerful, and this requires a daily exercise of self-care to strengthen yourself against the adversity you will face and to give you confidence to go after your long-term goal. Ep...

Send us Fan Mail Episode # 86: 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 an...

Send us Fan Mail Episode # 85: 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. How we approach the work and adversity does have ripple effects on team productivity and morale. How can we do better, as leaders, to encourage our team members to be inspired, which then can translate into higher productivity, without being abusiv...

Send us Fan Mail Episode # 84: Should you earn a graduate degree? As a Finance and Accounting professional, a graduate degree will strengthen and round out your professional foundation and help to give you credibility as an expert in the field, which will serve to gain you respect. Further, earning a graduate degree can open additional opportunities for you to advance your career and could increase your earnings potential. Let’s address if a graduate degree is the right career move for you. ...

Send us Fan Mail Episode # 83: Did you know that business social skills are equally important as your technical and other soft skills? How you act socially can determine your next opportunity. How you conduct yourself in a public situation such as a meeting or at an after-work event or even on a project team can bring you closer or take you away from advancing in your career. How do you navigate these often-complicated situations? Be aware that your actions, facial expressions and even the ve...

Send us Fan Mail Episode # 82: Learning to be an effective leader will set you apart positively in the eyes of the senior leaders and executives you work with and will help you advance in your career. We are already expected to be technical experts in our field, so learn leadership to give you the edge you need to advance. Episode outline: Leadership starts with our mindset,Our personal character is key,We must lead and influence necessary change, and A few areas we can positively chan...

Send us Fan Mail Episode # 81: When Finance and Accounting professionals combine their technical knowledge and skills with leadership, we will see an amazing transformation in every organization. Successful Finance and Accounting Leaders skew to the strategic and learn how to positively influence and advise senior leaders, so they help deliver the strategy. An effective leader works to empower their team, to develop influence to bring positive change, and will work to find a solution when fin...