Most ERP implementations do not fail because of the technology. They fail because of what happens before the system is even turned on.
In this episode, I sit down with Sharon Barboza, Manager of Digital Services at Citrin Cooperman Advisors. Sharon is a licensed CPA who has worked on every side of finance, from public accounting to controller to senior NetSuite consultant. She has seen hundreds of growing businesses go through system implementations and knows exactly where they break.
We break down the five most common reasons ERP implementations fail. Why accounting is always the last department brought into the conversation and what that costs in redesign and delays. The client who mentioned a Bulgarian subsidiary one week before go-live that nobody knew about. Why accountants resist leaving Excel and how to show them the value without making them feel replaceable.
The 78-tab forecasting spreadsheet that took days to update and why that was the wake-up call. How to build a roadmap that plans for where the business is going, not just where it is now.
What to look for in your chart of accounts before you realize you needed it. How one client went from a failed implementation with another partner to a successful launch by rebuilding trust from scratch. And how embedded banking tools like Fispan eliminated the constant cycle of broken bank feeds and manual file transfers.
Whether you are a finance leader about to start an ERP implementation, in the middle of one that feels like it is going sideways, or still trying to decide if it is time to leave Excel, this episode covers the full picture.
This episode is brought to you by FISPAN. Learn more at fispan.com.
00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 You see a lot of finance function. You've seen
00:00:02 --> 00:00:05 it now on both sides. I'm curious to see. What
00:00:05 --> 00:00:08 pattern do you see most often in the finance
00:00:08 --> 00:00:11 function? Like what typically goes wrong? Sharon
00:00:11 --> 00:00:13 Barboza is a manager in digital services at Citroen
00:00:13 --> 00:00:16 -Couperman Advisors LLC, where she serves as
00:00:16 --> 00:00:18 a senior resource for their enterprise application
00:00:18 --> 00:00:21 delivery practice. Before this, she spent decades
00:00:21 --> 00:00:25 on every side of finance as a licensed CPA running
00:00:25 --> 00:00:27 her own small business practice, as a controller
00:00:27 --> 00:00:29 inside technology, healthcare, and real estate
00:00:29 --> 00:00:31 companies, and as a senior NetSuite consultant,
00:00:31 --> 00:00:34 redesigning how finance operations actually work.
00:00:34 --> 00:00:40 at growing businesses. Sales or the processing
00:00:40 --> 00:00:42 department, they will come up with different
00:00:42 --> 00:00:45 new SKUs for products and they don't bring counting
00:00:45 --> 00:00:48 in to the last minute. And accounting's like,
00:00:48 --> 00:00:50 well, wait a minute, we've got this particular
00:00:50 --> 00:00:52 thing we've got to do. And so now we have to
00:00:52 --> 00:00:55 go back and redo everything. And I had one project
00:00:55 --> 00:00:58 that it caused the project to delay a year. We
00:00:58 --> 00:01:00 had to go back and redesign everything. The other
00:01:00 --> 00:01:09 thing that us accountants do suffer from is Today's
00:01:09 --> 00:01:11 episode is brought to you by FISPAN. By embedding
00:01:11 --> 00:01:14 banking services directly into ERP and accounting
00:01:14 --> 00:01:17 software, FISPAN streamlines financial workflows,
00:01:18 --> 00:01:21 reduces costs, minimizes manual errors, and enhances
00:01:21 --> 00:01:24 efficiency for businesses of all sizes. So make
00:01:24 --> 00:01:28 sure to visit FISPAN .com to learn more. That's
00:01:28 --> 00:01:31 F -I -S -P -A -N .com. Welcome back to the Diary
00:01:31 --> 00:01:33 of a CFO podcast. I'm your host, Wassia Kamon,
00:01:34 --> 00:01:35 a sitting CFO with a background in accounting
00:01:35 --> 00:01:38 and FP &A. And I started this show because believe
00:01:38 --> 00:01:41 the way companies build and lead their finance
00:01:41 --> 00:01:43 function determines whether they scale or fall
00:01:43 --> 00:01:46 apart. Each week, I sit down with CFOs, CEOs,
00:01:46 --> 00:01:48 and strategic business partners to talk about
00:01:48 --> 00:01:51 what that actually looks like in the inside.
00:01:51 --> 00:01:53 Building the right teams, getting systems and
00:01:53 --> 00:01:55 controls in place, partnering with the business,
00:01:55 --> 00:01:58 and doing it all hopefully without burning out.
00:01:58 --> 00:02:00 I'm super excited for my guest today, Sharon
00:02:00 --> 00:02:03 Barbosa. She is a manager in digital services
00:02:03 --> 00:02:06 at Citroen Cooperman Advisor LLC, where she is
00:02:06 --> 00:02:09 a senior resource for their enterprise applications
00:02:09 --> 00:02:12 delivery practice. Before this seat, she spent
00:02:12 --> 00:02:15 decades on every side of finance, as a licensed
00:02:15 --> 00:02:18 CPA running her own small business practice,
00:02:18 --> 00:02:21 as a controller inside technology, healthcare,
00:02:21 --> 00:02:24 and real estate companies, and as a senior next
00:02:24 --> 00:02:27 week consultant, redesigning how finance operations
00:02:27 --> 00:02:30 actually work at growing businesses. If there
00:02:30 --> 00:02:33 is one person who has seen more small and mid
00:02:33 --> 00:02:36 -sized businesses trip over their accounts payable,
00:02:36 --> 00:02:40 banking, and payments than almost anyone, it
00:02:40 --> 00:02:42 is Sharon. I'm so glad to have her on the show.
00:02:42 --> 00:02:44 Thank you so much, Sharon. It's so great to be
00:02:44 --> 00:02:47 here, Wessia. Thank you so much. Of course, always
00:02:47 --> 00:02:50 like to start with understanding what drew you
00:02:50 --> 00:02:52 in the first place to the world of finance and
00:02:52 --> 00:02:56 accounting. So that is... A long story, I'll
00:02:56 --> 00:02:59 try to keep it brief. So my mother was an accountant.
00:02:59 --> 00:03:01 So I always swore I would never do accounting
00:03:01 --> 00:03:03 because to me it seemed like it was the most
00:03:03 --> 00:03:06 boring job in the whole world. But when I was
00:03:06 --> 00:03:09 in college, I was a marketing major and took
00:03:09 --> 00:03:12 my first marketing class and my first accounting
00:03:12 --> 00:03:16 class at the same time. Um, I loved my accounting
00:03:16 --> 00:03:19 class, hated my marketing class. And so I decided
00:03:19 --> 00:03:20 that, you know, marketing definitely was not
00:03:20 --> 00:03:23 for me. Um, I had a professor that drew me aside
00:03:23 --> 00:03:26 and said, Hey, you understand this accounting
00:03:26 --> 00:03:28 is like a special language. And if you get it,
00:03:28 --> 00:03:31 you understand it. Like it's, it's a great industry
00:03:31 --> 00:03:34 to be in. Um, it's, uh, it's got a lot of growth
00:03:34 --> 00:03:38 potential. Um, and you seem to like it. So I
00:03:38 --> 00:03:40 told them, okay, well, I'll take another class.
00:03:40 --> 00:03:42 So I did. And then I was hooked. So I switched
00:03:42 --> 00:03:45 my major. to accounting. It took me a while to
00:03:45 --> 00:03:48 get my degree. I got married right out of high
00:03:48 --> 00:03:52 school and so I had my son my first year of college
00:03:52 --> 00:03:56 and so I had to take a break to do motherhood
00:03:56 --> 00:04:00 for a while. I was working as a operations manager
00:04:00 --> 00:04:03 for a real estate company so I was doing kind
00:04:03 --> 00:04:06 of the finance stuff, but I was also doing operations
00:04:06 --> 00:04:11 and really, really wanted to move to a pure accounting
00:04:11 --> 00:04:16 role. So I had a great mentor who was actually
00:04:16 --> 00:04:19 our CPA for the firm who offered to let me come
00:04:19 --> 00:04:22 work with her. I could bring my daughter to work
00:04:22 --> 00:04:24 because I was pregnant at the time for my first
00:04:24 --> 00:04:28 year. And she said she would sponsor me and allow
00:04:28 --> 00:04:32 me to finish my degree and get my CPA license.
00:04:33 --> 00:04:37 So that's how I got into accounting, how I got
00:04:37 --> 00:04:43 my CPA license and kind of spent 10 years in
00:04:43 --> 00:04:45 public accounting and then decided that part
00:04:45 --> 00:04:48 wasn't for me. I loved accounting, but not necessarily
00:04:48 --> 00:04:51 tax and audits. So moved into industry after
00:04:51 --> 00:04:54 that. Oh, wow. It really, really resonate with
00:04:54 --> 00:04:57 me because I also didn't know I'll do accounting,
00:04:57 --> 00:05:01 but then I was hooked at college. That's how
00:05:01 --> 00:05:05 I ended up doing it. And that's super nice that
00:05:05 --> 00:05:07 you also had a mentor who took you under your
00:05:07 --> 00:05:10 wing and work with you. It makes such a difference.
00:05:10 --> 00:05:14 It does. It's everything to have a strong mentor,
00:05:14 --> 00:05:17 someone who believes in you. I've had that throughout
00:05:17 --> 00:05:20 my career in a few different places and it really
00:05:20 --> 00:05:23 helps you to grow and it helps you to reach your
00:05:23 --> 00:05:26 potential and achieve things that you didn't
00:05:26 --> 00:05:29 think you'd ever able to achieve. So I'm forever
00:05:29 --> 00:05:32 grateful. grateful to her and to all the other
00:05:32 --> 00:05:35 mentors that are on my way. And I strive to do
00:05:35 --> 00:05:39 that for other people in my industry. Yeah. And
00:05:39 --> 00:05:41 so what would you say would be the most surprising
00:05:41 --> 00:05:45 turn that your career has taken? Actually ending
00:05:45 --> 00:05:49 up in consulting, doing the Nutsweet Consulting.
00:05:49 --> 00:05:52 I never saw that for myself. Originally when
00:05:52 --> 00:05:55 I was starting out in my accounting career, I
00:05:55 --> 00:05:57 did envision that I was going to stay in public
00:05:57 --> 00:06:00 accounting. Um, and you know, when that didn't
00:06:00 --> 00:06:03 work and I decided to go in a different direction,
00:06:03 --> 00:06:06 I figured I would end up like as a CFO or something
00:06:06 --> 00:06:09 one day. Um, the, the highest level that I got
00:06:09 --> 00:06:12 to was controller level, but I had this opportunity
00:06:12 --> 00:06:15 to go ahead and work on the consulting side and
00:06:15 --> 00:06:18 I thought I would give it a try because it sounded
00:06:18 --> 00:06:21 fun. I was scared about it because I thought
00:06:21 --> 00:06:24 it sounded really technical and I'm not a big
00:06:24 --> 00:06:27 technical person. Um, but, uh, I've loved it.
00:06:27 --> 00:06:31 it. I absolutely enjoy it. It's been great because
00:06:31 --> 00:06:33 I get to work with so many different clients
00:06:33 --> 00:06:38 over so many different industries. Part of my
00:06:38 --> 00:06:40 creative side comes out because I feel like I
00:06:40 --> 00:06:42 come up with creative solutions and I get to
00:06:42 --> 00:06:45 help them build their business up to a better
00:06:45 --> 00:06:49 level, help them to get there. their processes
00:06:49 --> 00:06:52 streamlined to make them more efficient and provide
00:06:52 --> 00:06:56 a path forward for them to be successful. And
00:06:56 --> 00:06:58 it gives me a lot of joy to see that, like to
00:06:58 --> 00:07:01 see them, you know, I follow former clients,
00:07:01 --> 00:07:04 you know, online and like to see, oh, they acquired
00:07:04 --> 00:07:07 a new company or they did this or that. And I
00:07:07 --> 00:07:09 feel like, well, maybe I had a little bit of
00:07:09 --> 00:07:11 part of that making their processes a little
00:07:11 --> 00:07:15 bit easier. I love working with my clients. I
00:07:15 --> 00:07:17 love. working and coming up with the solutions
00:07:17 --> 00:07:21 for them. And so it's surprising to me because
00:07:21 --> 00:07:23 I never saw myself as a consultant. I always
00:07:23 --> 00:07:26 thought I would always be just an accounting
00:07:26 --> 00:07:28 person and just move up through those ranks.
00:07:29 --> 00:07:31 So curious to hear all those transition though,
00:07:31 --> 00:07:36 like your first transition into public accounting
00:07:36 --> 00:07:39 and then you transition into industry and then
00:07:39 --> 00:07:42 you transition into consulting. Curious to hear
00:07:42 --> 00:07:45 when you look back, like what are those top things
00:07:45 --> 00:07:48 that really help you through those transitions.
00:07:48 --> 00:07:51 Cause sometimes I feel like we, we think that
00:07:51 --> 00:07:53 life will be a straight line. Yes. And it is
00:07:53 --> 00:07:56 not, it's usually full of transitions. So what
00:07:56 --> 00:07:59 would you say really helped you in those moments?
00:07:59 --> 00:08:02 So like I said before, mentorship definitely
00:08:02 --> 00:08:06 helped, um, staying on top of different changes
00:08:06 --> 00:08:08 in the industry and you know, research, I'm a
00:08:08 --> 00:08:11 learner by nature. So learning all about other
00:08:11 --> 00:08:14 things. So that really helped reach. out and
00:08:14 --> 00:08:17 networking with other people to find out what
00:08:17 --> 00:08:21 they're working on and what their thoughts are
00:08:21 --> 00:08:25 for the future or getting a little bit of a feel
00:08:25 --> 00:08:27 of what their world is like. The other thing,
00:08:27 --> 00:08:30 believe it or not, that's helped me is some failures.
00:08:31 --> 00:08:34 Some of the things, some of my stumbles and falls
00:08:34 --> 00:08:37 and some of the things that seemed so bad at
00:08:37 --> 00:08:39 the time, like getting laid off from a position
00:08:39 --> 00:08:43 or not being able to get a position that I wanted
00:08:43 --> 00:08:46 ended up being like some of the greatest things.
00:08:46 --> 00:08:49 When I look back, I'm like, this thing led specifically
00:08:49 --> 00:08:52 to this opportunity, which led to this. Ironically,
00:08:52 --> 00:08:55 I have a, you know, a situation where I got laid
00:08:55 --> 00:08:57 off from a job that I was really excited about.
00:08:57 --> 00:09:00 And then I got picked up very quickly by another
00:09:00 --> 00:09:03 company. And the reason that they hired me was
00:09:03 --> 00:09:05 because I had worked with a specific software
00:09:05 --> 00:09:08 intact with that company. And so I went to work
00:09:08 --> 00:09:11 for that company and it ended up being probably
00:09:11 --> 00:09:14 the biggest learning and growth journey of my
00:09:14 --> 00:09:17 career, which allowed me my first time working
00:09:17 --> 00:09:20 with NetSuite, which I do NetSuite implementations
00:09:20 --> 00:09:23 a lot now. So that's actually led to where I
00:09:23 --> 00:09:29 am now. It gave me that background, that... knowledge
00:09:29 --> 00:09:31 to be able to be where I am now in my career.
00:09:32 --> 00:09:34 So it's funny, like you said, it's not a straight
00:09:34 --> 00:09:36 path, but if you look back, you can see these
00:09:36 --> 00:09:39 little points where this point led to this point
00:09:39 --> 00:09:42 led to this point. But if I hadn't been laid
00:09:42 --> 00:09:44 off from that job, I never would have had the
00:09:44 --> 00:09:47 opportunity with the other company, which was
00:09:47 --> 00:09:51 such a great. growth path for me. Really, that
00:09:51 --> 00:09:53 gave me a lot of experience in different parts
00:09:53 --> 00:09:56 of accounting that I had not been exposed to
00:09:56 --> 00:09:59 before because we were such a small team supporting
00:09:59 --> 00:10:02 such a large company. So I got to work in treasury.
00:10:02 --> 00:10:05 I got to work in international payroll. I got
00:10:05 --> 00:10:09 to work in setting up supply chain, really understanding
00:10:09 --> 00:10:12 international accounting and consolidations and
00:10:12 --> 00:10:16 multi -currency. and also helping to build that
00:10:16 --> 00:10:19 accounting department and structure because we
00:10:19 --> 00:10:22 were, again, kind of growing through that transition.
00:10:23 --> 00:10:26 So that was just an amazing opportunity for me.
00:10:26 --> 00:10:29 And I would have had that had I not been laid
00:10:29 --> 00:10:31 off from that other position. So I always try
00:10:31 --> 00:10:34 to see when something happens. I try to say,
00:10:34 --> 00:10:36 well, you know what, maybe this is a good thing.
00:10:36 --> 00:10:39 It seems like a bad thing right now, but maybe
00:10:39 --> 00:10:41 it's going to lead to something better in the
00:10:41 --> 00:10:44 future. So I try to keep that positive attitude
00:10:44 --> 00:10:47 with that. And it pays off, obviously. But I
00:10:47 --> 00:10:50 know that in those moments, it's so hard to.
00:10:51 --> 00:10:54 keep that perspective in sight, right? So what
00:10:54 --> 00:10:57 would you say specifically, you know, in those
00:10:57 --> 00:10:59 moments, like when you're going through a layoff
00:10:59 --> 00:11:02 and you have to quickly bounce back, like what
00:11:02 --> 00:11:04 are some of the things that helped you in those
00:11:04 --> 00:11:07 moments? I think having, you know, having a strong
00:11:07 --> 00:11:11 network, having family, having, I have, you know,
00:11:11 --> 00:11:15 a strong family network as well. So that was
00:11:15 --> 00:11:18 helpful. I think, you know, having a positive
00:11:18 --> 00:11:20 attitude and know that that's not always It's
00:11:20 --> 00:11:24 always easy to have when something happens. But
00:11:24 --> 00:11:28 I felt having that positive attitude and just,
00:11:28 --> 00:11:31 okay, so this is an opportunity now. What do
00:11:31 --> 00:11:34 I do? Maybe I need to learn something else. Maybe
00:11:34 --> 00:11:37 I take this time to refocus on something. And
00:11:37 --> 00:11:41 I always try to kind of look back at myself.
00:11:41 --> 00:11:44 I take that time to reflect on myself. What kinds
00:11:44 --> 00:11:47 of things could I have done differently? How
00:11:47 --> 00:11:51 can I use this as a way to improve? And so I
00:11:51 --> 00:11:53 think that that is one of the things that have
00:11:53 --> 00:11:56 helped me to kind of bounce back, you know, trying
00:11:56 --> 00:12:00 to stay relevant and in constantly learning.
00:12:00 --> 00:12:02 I mean, that's another thing too. Industry changes
00:12:02 --> 00:12:05 so quickly. Accounting changes so quickly. I
00:12:05 --> 00:12:08 mean, when I first started, when I was in accounting
00:12:08 --> 00:12:11 in college, I mean, we were, they were just starting
00:12:11 --> 00:12:14 to talk about doing like computer programs for
00:12:14 --> 00:12:19 like IRS, you know. sending out IRS returns and
00:12:19 --> 00:12:21 such. And we would still do printout returns
00:12:21 --> 00:12:24 and clients would sign them and we'd mail them
00:12:24 --> 00:12:30 in. And the green slips and the certified mail.
00:12:31 --> 00:12:35 Yes. Before, I mean, I did use Excel, but we
00:12:35 --> 00:12:41 did have the columnar. I had this huge columnar
00:12:41 --> 00:12:46 book that I used to do some stuff in. you know,
00:12:46 --> 00:12:48 there's been a lot of change. I remember I had
00:12:48 --> 00:12:51 a professor in college that said that the future
00:12:51 --> 00:12:56 of accounting is computers. And so if you do
00:12:56 --> 00:12:58 anything in accounting, take any extra classes
00:12:58 --> 00:13:01 to go get your MBA, anything like that, like
00:13:01 --> 00:13:03 always concentrate on accounting, accounting
00:13:03 --> 00:13:07 systems, like computers, because that is the
00:13:07 --> 00:13:10 future of accounting. And he's right. You know,
00:13:10 --> 00:13:14 that's where the future has gone. Absolutely.
00:13:14 --> 00:13:17 And also when you were mentioning those transition
00:13:17 --> 00:13:19 your careers, you mentioned a lot of systems
00:13:19 --> 00:13:25 like Sage Intact, your NetSuite. And now that
00:13:25 --> 00:13:28 you are at Citroen Copperman, you see a lot of
00:13:28 --> 00:13:32 finance function from the outside. You've seen
00:13:32 --> 00:13:35 it now on both sides. I'm curious to see, since
00:13:35 --> 00:13:37 now you've seen like hundreds, probably thousands
00:13:37 --> 00:13:40 of them. What are the pattern do you see most
00:13:40 --> 00:13:44 often in the finance function? goes wrong or
00:13:44 --> 00:13:46 what are we doing the wrong way? Because you
00:13:46 --> 00:13:48 know on the other side we're suffering because
00:13:48 --> 00:13:52 you've been there. You know it's interesting
00:13:52 --> 00:13:54 because I can relate because I dealt with these
00:13:54 --> 00:13:58 same issues. One of the things is a big issue
00:13:58 --> 00:14:02 I think is you don't have consistency across
00:14:02 --> 00:14:04 systems or you don't have collaboration across
00:14:04 --> 00:14:09 departments. So accounting is downstream. of
00:14:09 --> 00:14:13 what upstream does. So what sales is doing, what
00:14:13 --> 00:14:15 legal is doing, what, you know, the things that
00:14:15 --> 00:14:18 they're working on affect accounting downstream.
00:14:18 --> 00:14:21 And sometimes I think accounting, the accounting
00:14:21 --> 00:14:24 function isn't considered in that until later.
00:14:25 --> 00:14:27 And the accounting function, like they have to
00:14:27 --> 00:14:31 deal with the downstream. And so I think it's
00:14:31 --> 00:14:35 important to collaborate across companies. Things
00:14:35 --> 00:14:39 that I've seen throughout my career, especially
00:14:39 --> 00:14:44 in consulting, is that you've got sales. in the
00:14:44 --> 00:14:48 order department, order processing department,
00:14:49 --> 00:14:53 they will come up with different new SKUs for
00:14:53 --> 00:14:55 products. And they don't bring counting in until
00:14:55 --> 00:14:58 the last minute. And accounting's like, well,
00:14:58 --> 00:15:00 wait a minute, we've got this particular thing
00:15:00 --> 00:15:02 we've got to do. And so now we have to go back
00:15:02 --> 00:15:05 and redo everything. And I had one project that
00:15:05 --> 00:15:08 literally, like it caused the project to delay
00:15:08 --> 00:15:12 a year because when we got to the point where
00:15:12 --> 00:15:14 we were going into the, you know, we were getting
00:15:14 --> 00:15:17 the information from the sales team that had
00:15:17 --> 00:15:19 redone all of their SKUs. It wasn't working for
00:15:19 --> 00:15:21 accounting. It wasn't working for their revenue
00:15:21 --> 00:15:23 recognition requirements. They weren't able to
00:15:23 --> 00:15:26 do the billing the way it was set up. And so
00:15:26 --> 00:15:29 we had to go back and redesign everything. And
00:15:29 --> 00:15:32 so making sure that the stakeholders from all
00:15:32 --> 00:15:36 the major departments are in that conversation.
00:15:36 --> 00:15:38 you know, if something you're doing is affecting
00:15:38 --> 00:15:41 a department downstream, then you need to be
00:15:41 --> 00:15:43 able to, they all need to be involved in the
00:15:43 --> 00:15:46 conversation. So collaboration, you know, not
00:15:46 --> 00:15:49 having siloed conversations, not having siloed
00:15:49 --> 00:15:51 departments, having collaboration. So that's
00:15:51 --> 00:15:54 one of the big things. The other thing that us
00:15:54 --> 00:15:58 accountants do suffer from is we love our Excel.
00:15:59 --> 00:16:04 And so trying to get out of our Excel and get
00:16:04 --> 00:16:06 it and trusting another system. to be able to
00:16:06 --> 00:16:10 do the things that Excel, using Excel as a validation
00:16:10 --> 00:16:14 tool or a tool for us to use, but not doing all
00:16:14 --> 00:16:16 of our work in Excel. And I know that's really
00:16:16 --> 00:16:18 hard. We trust our Excel spreadsheets. We're
00:16:18 --> 00:16:21 used to them. You can trace formulas. Yes, exactly.
00:16:21 --> 00:16:24 And I have clients that don't, they've worked
00:16:24 --> 00:16:26 there for so long, they use the same spreadsheet
00:16:26 --> 00:16:29 for so long, and they don't want to get off of
00:16:29 --> 00:16:34 it. They're very resistant to that change. So
00:16:34 --> 00:16:37 change me. is another large thing to help your
00:16:37 --> 00:16:41 team see this as a good thing. I think two, people
00:16:41 --> 00:16:43 get scared. Well, I'm the only one that can manage
00:16:43 --> 00:16:45 the spreadsheet. Now it's gonna be done by a
00:16:45 --> 00:16:48 computer system and I'm not gonna be as involved,
00:16:48 --> 00:16:51 so am I gonna still be useful? So helping to
00:16:51 --> 00:16:53 show them how this is going to be an efficiency
00:16:53 --> 00:16:55 for them where they can now concentrate on other
00:16:55 --> 00:17:00 things. I mean, I've had clients that spent...
00:17:00 --> 00:17:03 all of their time in these manual spreadsheets
00:17:03 --> 00:17:05 to be able just to get through a month and close.
00:17:05 --> 00:17:07 It was just, it was just a never ending cycle
00:17:07 --> 00:17:09 for them, but you know, they were supposed to
00:17:09 --> 00:17:12 be helping on more strategic initiatives. They
00:17:12 --> 00:17:14 were supposed to be helping with new processes
00:17:14 --> 00:17:16 and they couldn't do that because they were stuck
00:17:16 --> 00:17:20 in this rut. So I think that's another big thing
00:17:20 --> 00:17:23 that I see trying to, you know, show people.
00:17:23 --> 00:17:25 I mean, you know, a lot of times I'll get like,
00:17:26 --> 00:17:28 well, I could just do that in Excel. Yes, you
00:17:28 --> 00:17:30 could. But do you want efficiency in your day?
00:17:31 --> 00:17:34 Do you want to be able to spend your time doing
00:17:34 --> 00:17:36 other things? Do you want to be able to have
00:17:36 --> 00:17:39 not less stress in your life? For example, I
00:17:39 --> 00:17:42 had a forecasting spreadsheet that I used to
00:17:42 --> 00:17:46 update. That was 78 tabs. And it was touched
00:17:46 --> 00:17:49 by so many different people in the company. And
00:17:49 --> 00:17:53 it had all of these different formulas in it.
00:17:53 --> 00:17:55 Sometimes someone would go in and hard code something.
00:17:56 --> 00:17:59 And I needed it for our board packet. And so
00:17:59 --> 00:18:02 they would give me different scenarios to plug
00:18:02 --> 00:18:07 in and I managed through. And it took me literally
00:18:07 --> 00:18:11 days to do it. And inevitably, it'd be five o
00:18:11 --> 00:18:14 'clock on a Friday. Board meeting's Monday. Can
00:18:14 --> 00:18:16 you make this change? It's one change. And I
00:18:16 --> 00:18:19 end up working the weekend. And so it's like
00:18:19 --> 00:18:22 that kind of. efficiency now, like some of the
00:18:22 --> 00:18:25 products we work with. Like now, like I can plug
00:18:25 --> 00:18:27 that in into a computer. A computer does all
00:18:27 --> 00:18:29 the analysis, brings it all downstream. I don't
00:18:29 --> 00:18:32 have to worry about did someone hard code a formula?
00:18:32 --> 00:18:35 Is my input on this particular sheet not correct?
00:18:36 --> 00:18:38 I don't have to go in. I can still have to validate,
00:18:38 --> 00:18:40 but I don't have to go in and, you know, I can
00:18:40 --> 00:18:43 trust the process more. So I think that that's
00:18:43 --> 00:18:45 another thing is like trying to build efficiencies
00:18:45 --> 00:18:48 in accounting. You know, accounting is a cost
00:18:48 --> 00:18:50 center. And so a lot of times they just don't
00:18:50 --> 00:18:53 give, I like to say they don't get the love that
00:18:53 --> 00:18:55 some of the other departments get. Yeah, the
00:18:55 --> 00:18:58 love. Yeah, they don't get the love, you know.
00:18:58 --> 00:19:02 So I try to make sure that they are getting the
00:19:02 --> 00:19:05 love. I try to advocate for the accounting. functions
00:19:05 --> 00:19:08 when I'm involved in projects, being like, hey,
00:19:08 --> 00:19:10 I've lived it. You know, if I'm on the call with
00:19:10 --> 00:19:13 like the CFO, the CEO, the CTO, the head of sales,
00:19:13 --> 00:19:16 I'm like, hey, yeah, this minor change on your
00:19:16 --> 00:19:18 side is going to have a huge impact on the accounting
00:19:18 --> 00:19:20 side, which is going to be good for everybody.
00:19:20 --> 00:19:23 And so I, you know, I do try to do that because
00:19:23 --> 00:19:26 I that is has been something that I have seen
00:19:26 --> 00:19:28 a lot throughout my career. Thank you so much
00:19:28 --> 00:19:31 for sharing because you shared two main points,
00:19:31 --> 00:19:34 pain points. I will say that I have struggled
00:19:34 --> 00:19:37 also at different companies at different time
00:19:37 --> 00:19:40 in my life. The first part is accounting being
00:19:40 --> 00:19:43 brought too late. And the other part you said
00:19:43 --> 00:19:47 was how do you switch to a better system and
00:19:47 --> 00:19:49 you have that resistance to change because Am
00:19:49 --> 00:19:51 I going to be useful? Because we're having the
00:19:51 --> 00:19:55 same conversation now, even with AI. So curious
00:19:55 --> 00:19:58 for you, if you can dive a little deeper, what's
00:19:58 --> 00:20:01 your number one tip? One, to help accounting
00:20:01 --> 00:20:05 being involved earlier in those conversations.
00:20:05 --> 00:20:08 And the other one, how can, within the accounting
00:20:08 --> 00:20:12 department, can we also encourage people to change
00:20:12 --> 00:20:15 or migrate to better solutions? You know, I do
00:20:15 --> 00:20:18 think that leadership, you know, it flows downstream.
00:20:18 --> 00:20:20 So I think that, you know, leadership comes from
00:20:20 --> 00:20:23 the top. So I think, you know, definitely having
00:20:23 --> 00:20:27 the right leaders in place to recognize those
00:20:27 --> 00:20:31 types of things. I think advocating for yourself,
00:20:31 --> 00:20:33 if you're in an accounting department, I think
00:20:33 --> 00:20:36 going to your leadership and explaining, hey,
00:20:36 --> 00:20:39 guys, you may not understand what I'm spending
00:20:39 --> 00:20:41 time on. I mean, I remember even our CFO who
00:20:41 --> 00:20:44 was a great CFO, but he would say, well, can
00:20:44 --> 00:20:46 you just make this one change? And I'm like,
00:20:46 --> 00:20:48 you don't understand what your one change impacts.
00:20:49 --> 00:20:51 And explaining it to him, and he'd be like, oh,
00:20:51 --> 00:20:54 yeah, I had no idea it did that. Because to him,
00:20:54 --> 00:20:57 it's just some one number. But when I explained
00:20:57 --> 00:20:59 how the system has to process it, now what I
00:20:59 --> 00:21:02 have to do with it, then it would resonate. And
00:21:02 --> 00:21:06 so I think advocating for yourself, making sure
00:21:06 --> 00:21:10 that you are advocating to be in those conversations
00:21:10 --> 00:21:14 and going to leadership and explaining like how
00:21:14 --> 00:21:17 this is important for a downstream impact is
00:21:17 --> 00:21:22 very important. And then in change, I think as
00:21:22 --> 00:21:25 accountants, I think we need to be open to change.
00:21:25 --> 00:21:28 And I think we need to advocate. for our departments
00:21:28 --> 00:21:30 and within our departments for that. So when
00:21:30 --> 00:21:32 we have people that are resistant to things,
00:21:33 --> 00:21:35 I think we need to show them the value. I think
00:21:35 --> 00:21:37 we need to be patient because that's another
00:21:37 --> 00:21:39 thing. I think, you know, we've got different
00:21:39 --> 00:21:42 people in different parts of their career. You
00:21:42 --> 00:21:44 know, we've got different generations working
00:21:44 --> 00:21:47 together. You've got some generations that just
00:21:47 --> 00:21:49 grew up with everything at their fingertips.
00:21:49 --> 00:21:52 They get frustrated if they have to take more
00:21:52 --> 00:21:54 time to analyze something. They're used to a
00:21:54 --> 00:21:56 computer just spitting it out. And then you've
00:21:56 --> 00:21:59 got the other side of the equation where you've
00:21:59 --> 00:22:01 got people that, yeah, they've used computers,
00:22:01 --> 00:22:05 but going with new systems and processes is scary
00:22:05 --> 00:22:07 to them and uncomfortable for them. So I think
00:22:07 --> 00:22:11 making sure that you within your department are
00:22:11 --> 00:22:14 having those discussions internally and that
00:22:14 --> 00:22:19 you are helping bridge the gap with those people,
00:22:19 --> 00:22:21 knowing the people in your department and what
00:22:21 --> 00:22:26 maybe their quirks are, what their issues are,
00:22:26 --> 00:22:28 where they might struggle, and then trying to
00:22:28 --> 00:22:32 help for that. Because I think that my goal is
00:22:32 --> 00:22:34 to try to make my clients better, to make my
00:22:34 --> 00:22:37 company better. And I feel like if I'm helping
00:22:37 --> 00:22:40 my company grow, if I'm helping become more efficient,
00:22:40 --> 00:22:44 I'm also helping myself. It is something that
00:22:44 --> 00:22:48 resonates across everyone. And I think that being
00:22:48 --> 00:22:52 able to do that and being flexible. It is hard,
00:22:52 --> 00:22:57 I know, but just being flexible, trying to find
00:22:57 --> 00:23:01 how you can adapt your current processes into
00:23:01 --> 00:23:04 the new process. Yeah, I like how you mentioned
00:23:04 --> 00:23:07 basically meeting people where they are. Yes.
00:23:07 --> 00:23:09 Especially when you think about the different
00:23:09 --> 00:23:13 generations. I have two young kids at a time
00:23:13 --> 00:23:16 and they're both below the age of 15 and I'm
00:23:16 --> 00:23:18 like... I don't know how people will work with
00:23:18 --> 00:23:21 them when they hit the workforce. And now I started
00:23:21 --> 00:23:23 to feel like, oh, now I know why millennials
00:23:23 --> 00:23:26 and boomers are having all those things because
00:23:26 --> 00:23:30 we raised them. Oops. But I can totally see what
00:23:30 --> 00:23:33 you said in terms of patience and meeting people
00:23:33 --> 00:23:35 where they are and making sure that your overall
00:23:35 --> 00:23:38 project, like you said, is successful. Because
00:23:38 --> 00:23:40 that's the goal at the end of the day. Yes. Yeah,
00:23:40 --> 00:23:44 exactly. And I want them to be successful. I
00:23:44 --> 00:23:46 feel like every one of my projects is like...
00:23:46 --> 00:23:49 my kids, you know, I mean, I built it, I want
00:23:49 --> 00:23:52 it to be perfect. I want it to work for my clients.
00:23:52 --> 00:23:55 I want them to be successful with it. So, you
00:23:55 --> 00:23:57 know, when I build it and put it out there in
00:23:57 --> 00:23:59 the world, you know, I want it to do what it
00:23:59 --> 00:24:02 was designed to do. So I do have an attachment
00:24:02 --> 00:24:07 to that. So what's the recent project that you're
00:24:07 --> 00:24:11 really proud of? Oh, wow. Let's see. Actually,
00:24:11 --> 00:24:15 we had a project where we had a lot of different.
00:24:15 --> 00:24:19 systems and departments coming together. Very
00:24:19 --> 00:24:23 complicated processes and everything was manual.
00:24:25 --> 00:24:31 And we were able to work within their constraints.
00:24:31 --> 00:24:34 We were able to communicate well. We were able
00:24:34 --> 00:24:36 to design a system that helped them and give
00:24:36 --> 00:24:40 them confidence. They had come off of a bad attempted
00:24:40 --> 00:24:42 implementation. I can't call it an implementation
00:24:42 --> 00:24:45 because it was never completed. But they had
00:24:45 --> 00:24:47 a bad experience. So I think the first part was
00:24:47 --> 00:24:50 they were they were just not trusting anything.
00:24:50 --> 00:24:54 We had to build that trust with them. And I think,
00:24:54 --> 00:24:57 you know, seeing where they are now back to where
00:24:57 --> 00:25:00 when we started is just a great accomplishment
00:25:00 --> 00:25:03 to see what we were able to achieve. And, you
00:25:03 --> 00:25:06 know, I was only one piece of that project. There
00:25:06 --> 00:25:09 were a lot of great people on that project. And
00:25:09 --> 00:25:11 but I was just so proud of our team, the way
00:25:11 --> 00:25:14 we executed, the way we were able to come together.
00:25:14 --> 00:25:16 to solve the problems for the client the way
00:25:16 --> 00:25:19 that we were able to deal with a lot of different
00:25:19 --> 00:25:22 personalities, a lot of different struggles the
00:25:22 --> 00:25:24 client was going through. They were, they all
00:25:24 --> 00:25:28 of a sudden like... increased in volume like
00:25:28 --> 00:25:31 just like almost overnight. And so they're in
00:25:31 --> 00:25:35 growing as we're doing this. And so and then,
00:25:35 --> 00:25:37 you know, being able to bring the different pieces
00:25:37 --> 00:25:40 together when they were somewhat siloed before.
00:25:40 --> 00:25:43 So I think doing that was great. I think having,
00:25:43 --> 00:25:47 you know, seeing now, you know, the end product
00:25:47 --> 00:25:50 of that and seeing that they're happy and that
00:25:50 --> 00:25:53 they're successful. I think that to me is just
00:25:53 --> 00:25:55 great. I think that was probably the most recent
00:25:55 --> 00:25:58 one where I felt like we just, you know, kind
00:25:58 --> 00:26:01 of hit it out of the park. Oh, good. Yeah. Yeah.
00:26:01 --> 00:26:03 Cause I like how you said they were growing while
00:26:03 --> 00:26:07 we were doing it. And that's often the part of
00:26:07 --> 00:26:10 change that we, that is hard in finance accounting
00:26:10 --> 00:26:14 because But like the world just pause and everything
00:26:14 --> 00:26:18 is static. Yes. Your thing like you literally
00:26:18 --> 00:26:21 running like you operating on the engine as the
00:26:21 --> 00:26:24 car is driving. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. I mean,
00:26:24 --> 00:26:26 it's like we're iterating while like this is
00:26:26 --> 00:26:28 like, OK, well, this is process not going to
00:26:28 --> 00:26:30 work anymore. Now we're going to do this. Oh,
00:26:30 --> 00:26:32 we're going to start using this now. OK. with
00:26:32 --> 00:26:34 this wasn't a scope. Oh, now it is. You know,
00:26:34 --> 00:26:37 I mean, these are just things that, but, you
00:26:37 --> 00:26:39 know, being able to be flexible and roll with
00:26:39 --> 00:26:41 that, like, I think our team just really excelled
00:26:41 --> 00:26:44 at that. I just can't say enough about how great
00:26:44 --> 00:26:47 our team was. Like I said, I can't take credit.
00:26:47 --> 00:26:51 I was a small part of that project, but I think
00:26:51 --> 00:26:53 our team was just like amazing. And I'm very
00:26:53 --> 00:26:56 proud of that. Good for you, because when I think
00:26:56 --> 00:27:00 about growing businesses, I think about treasury,
00:27:00 --> 00:27:03 finance and banking. I'm curious to hear any
00:27:03 --> 00:27:06 project you also had there, because again, you
00:27:06 --> 00:27:11 may have one bank account or you may be the only
00:27:11 --> 00:27:14 person dealing with X, and then all of the sudden
00:27:14 --> 00:27:16 the company grows and now you have accounts in
00:27:16 --> 00:27:19 other countries and then you have all these things
00:27:19 --> 00:27:22 that... You didn't even see coming. You know,
00:27:22 --> 00:27:27 that's very true. I did have a client that had,
00:27:27 --> 00:27:29 oh gosh, I'm trying to remember how many accounts
00:27:29 --> 00:27:31 they had. They must have had like 10 big accounts.
00:27:32 --> 00:27:34 And they were international, some of them were
00:27:34 --> 00:27:37 international accounts as well. And they did
00:27:37 --> 00:27:39 everything, like they did wires, they did bank
00:27:39 --> 00:27:42 transfers, they did, you know, check payments,
00:27:42 --> 00:27:45 everything. Oh, checks, oops. Yes, yes. So yes,
00:27:45 --> 00:27:47 they did check payments as well. M -A -C -H,
00:27:47 --> 00:27:50 like everything. And originally we had put them
00:27:50 --> 00:27:54 on the electronic bank payments system in Nutsuite.
00:27:55 --> 00:27:57 And we were, you know, creating files, working
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 with the banks. There were lots of different
00:27:58 --> 00:28:02 banks included in this project. And we were just
00:28:02 --> 00:28:04 running into issues. Like some banks were great.
00:28:04 --> 00:28:06 They'd get us the technical specs we needed.
00:28:06 --> 00:28:08 They would work with us well to get tested. Other
00:28:08 --> 00:28:11 ones was like just finding the right person was
00:28:11 --> 00:28:16 like very hard to do. And it was just it was
00:28:16 --> 00:28:18 it was a nightmare because this was a big deal.
00:28:22 --> 00:28:25 Let's take a quick break so I can tell you about
00:28:25 --> 00:28:28 Fispen. Fispen brings your business banking and
00:28:28 --> 00:28:31 treasury management directly into your existing
00:28:31 --> 00:28:34 ERP or accounting software. It's like having
00:28:34 --> 00:28:37 your bank inside your ERP. So you don't need
00:28:37 --> 00:28:39 to switch and you can manage payables, receivables,
00:28:39 --> 00:28:42 cash and reconciliations all from one place.
00:28:42 --> 00:28:44 Which means you can pay invoices, you can view
00:28:44 --> 00:28:47 balances, you can automate accounts receivable
00:28:47 --> 00:28:49 from the cause it all the way to reconciliation
00:28:49 --> 00:28:52 with just a few clicks, all from the comfort
00:28:52 --> 00:28:54 of your ERP. So if you're looking to streamline
00:28:54 --> 00:28:58 your financial operations and gain complete visibility
00:28:58 --> 00:29:00 and clarity, I do encourage you to visit Fispen
00:29:00 --> 00:29:04 .com so you can spend less time on manual repetitive
00:29:04 --> 00:29:07 tasks and more time on growth. Now let's get
00:29:07 --> 00:29:10 back to our interview. And during that time,
00:29:10 --> 00:29:13 I found out about Fispen. I'm trying to remember
00:29:13 --> 00:29:16 exactly how I found out about it. I don't think
00:29:16 --> 00:29:18 I even realized It was a separate group. I think
00:29:18 --> 00:29:22 I read about it online with JP Morgan. And so
00:29:22 --> 00:29:26 I, one of the accounts was JP Morgan that this
00:29:26 --> 00:29:29 client had. And so we started talking to them
00:29:29 --> 00:29:32 and we worked with the Viseband team to bring
00:29:32 --> 00:29:36 in the plugin for JP Morgan. And it was like
00:29:36 --> 00:29:39 so seamless. Like they, they went through, we
00:29:39 --> 00:29:41 didn't have to do anything except help the client
00:29:41 --> 00:29:45 test, which testing was very minimal. And they,
00:29:46 --> 00:29:49 They were able to bring in the functionality
00:29:49 --> 00:29:52 seamlessly into Nutsuite, and they were able
00:29:52 --> 00:29:55 to do ACHs right through the portal. They were
00:29:55 --> 00:29:58 able to do bank transfers. They were able to
00:29:58 --> 00:30:01 record things more seamlessly through one portal.
00:30:01 --> 00:30:03 And they were able to do it within the system,
00:30:03 --> 00:30:06 which was really nice because clients don't love
00:30:06 --> 00:30:09 going to outside systems to do things. And so
00:30:09 --> 00:30:11 when the client saw how well it worked, he actually
00:30:11 --> 00:30:14 ended up... changing all of his bank accounts
00:30:14 --> 00:30:17 over to JP Morgan so he could use that. I think
00:30:17 --> 00:30:20 in the beginning there we did have some international
00:30:20 --> 00:30:22 accounts where there were certain things we couldn't
00:30:22 --> 00:30:24 do but we could still get the bank feeds in.
00:30:25 --> 00:30:29 I think with banking, especially, banks are constantly
00:30:29 --> 00:30:33 changing. They're constantly changing their security.
00:30:33 --> 00:30:36 NetSuite is also updating a lot. And so to be
00:30:36 --> 00:30:39 able to marry those things together, it was really
00:30:39 --> 00:30:42 nice to have an app that was being kept updated.
00:30:42 --> 00:30:44 It's whitelisted with the banks and things like
00:30:44 --> 00:30:47 that. So that was very helpful. So I think that
00:30:47 --> 00:30:52 was probably my easiest transformation with banks.
00:30:53 --> 00:30:57 Yeah, working with banks is a kind of a mixed
00:30:57 --> 00:31:01 bag. It was nice to have that. Yeah, because
00:31:01 --> 00:31:03 we have so many bank accounts because ACE is
00:31:03 --> 00:31:07 a small business lender. So we have like 20 plus
00:31:07 --> 00:31:10 accounts and it's a lot. So when you say just
00:31:10 --> 00:31:14 getting the bank feed in, is it like? That alone
00:31:14 --> 00:31:17 is like, thank you, Lord. It is, because it's
00:31:17 --> 00:31:19 a steady feed. I mean, that's the one thing that
00:31:19 --> 00:31:22 we struggle with is, you know, every time the
00:31:22 --> 00:31:25 bank redos their security, you have to go through
00:31:25 --> 00:31:29 and, you know, reconfigure it or reauthorize
00:31:29 --> 00:31:32 it. I know I use Quicken for my personal stuff.
00:31:32 --> 00:31:35 And every time there's a security update, I have
00:31:35 --> 00:31:37 to go in and I have to go and I have to reconnect
00:31:37 --> 00:31:41 to my things and I have to re -authorize everything.
00:31:41 --> 00:31:43 And sometimes I don't realize it's not working
00:31:43 --> 00:31:45 until I notice that there's nothing in my account
00:31:45 --> 00:31:49 coming through. And so, you know, this is great
00:31:49 --> 00:31:54 because, you know, the system is, you know, as
00:31:54 --> 00:31:56 NetSuite, it's also updated. You know, sometimes
00:31:56 --> 00:31:58 that breaks connections as well. And then the
00:31:58 --> 00:32:01 software is, you know, updated with NetSuite.
00:32:01 --> 00:32:04 So it's a nice and it's a steady connection.
00:32:04 --> 00:32:08 So I think that that's a benefit because it even
00:32:08 --> 00:32:10 though bank fees is such a small piece, it is
00:32:10 --> 00:32:13 frustrating when you're trying to do, you know,
00:32:13 --> 00:32:15 and saying, where's my information? Now I have
00:32:15 --> 00:32:17 to go out and get a CSV file and I have to put
00:32:17 --> 00:32:21 it back in, you know. And so it's nice just to
00:32:21 --> 00:32:23 have that piece of it and not have to worry about
00:32:23 --> 00:32:26 it. And it's nice to be able to have the portal
00:32:26 --> 00:32:29 to do like the ECHs and that type of thing, because
00:32:29 --> 00:32:31 then you don't have to, you know, have not your
00:32:31 --> 00:32:33 files and, you know, find a secure way to send
00:32:33 --> 00:32:36 those to the bank and stuff like that. So it's
00:32:36 --> 00:32:38 just nice. to be able to have that in one system,
00:32:38 --> 00:32:41 one platform. That's great. That's great to hear
00:32:41 --> 00:32:45 because I feel like all growing companies and
00:32:45 --> 00:32:49 growing finance teams are going through those
00:32:49 --> 00:32:51 pains because I feel like the business usually
00:32:51 --> 00:32:55 grows faster than the finance accounting function
00:32:55 --> 00:32:58 does. I feel like there is always a lag between
00:32:58 --> 00:33:02 where the business is going and where accounting
00:33:02 --> 00:33:04 and finance systems and processes or workflows
00:33:04 --> 00:33:07 are. I always feel like We are playing catch
00:33:07 --> 00:33:12 -up. So it's time to do those system implementation.
00:33:12 --> 00:33:16 It is just so hard. So curious to hear if you
00:33:16 --> 00:33:20 could give one piece of advice to someone about
00:33:20 --> 00:33:22 starting that kind of system implementation in
00:33:22 --> 00:33:25 a growing company. What would it be? I think
00:33:25 --> 00:33:30 one of the good things to do is, first of all,
00:33:30 --> 00:33:31 look at where your business is now and look at
00:33:31 --> 00:33:35 where you want your business to be. where do
00:33:35 --> 00:33:38 you want to grow to? Because I think one of the
00:33:38 --> 00:33:40 pitfalls we run into is we're trying to solve
00:33:40 --> 00:33:42 for the current business. We're not looking at
00:33:42 --> 00:33:46 the future. And so we need to have a roadmap.
00:33:47 --> 00:33:50 Where do you want to be? Maybe this particular
00:33:50 --> 00:33:53 solution or this particular functionality isn't
00:33:53 --> 00:33:55 needed now, but will it be needed in the future?
00:33:56 --> 00:33:59 And let's make sure our design plans for that.
00:33:59 --> 00:34:02 Let's make sure that we have that now so we're
00:34:02 --> 00:34:05 not doing redesign down the The line. you know,
00:34:05 --> 00:34:08 for example, if you're a hardware company and
00:34:08 --> 00:34:10 you're like, well, we don't have to worry about
00:34:10 --> 00:34:12 like Revrec or anything like that, but we're
00:34:12 --> 00:34:14 going to start adding software and doing software
00:34:14 --> 00:34:17 bundling. Well, maybe we need to start, you know,
00:34:17 --> 00:34:20 doing things in what we're building, even though
00:34:20 --> 00:34:22 we're not maybe adding revenue yet, but that
00:34:22 --> 00:34:24 revenue can be able to handle. We want to make
00:34:24 --> 00:34:27 sure we get that information and the system so
00:34:27 --> 00:34:30 we don't have to do redesign. So I think that
00:34:30 --> 00:34:32 that's super important. I think having that roadmap
00:34:32 --> 00:34:38 set out and you know. to be able to be followed.
00:34:38 --> 00:34:40 And, you know, you can be flexible. You can change
00:34:40 --> 00:34:43 things as business changes and as, you know,
00:34:43 --> 00:34:45 circumstances or technology changes. But I think
00:34:45 --> 00:34:49 that's one thing that is probably really good.
00:34:49 --> 00:34:51 You know, making sure that you have your requirements
00:34:51 --> 00:34:53 nailed down really well, making sure that all
00:34:53 --> 00:34:57 the stakeholders are involved. I had one client
00:34:57 --> 00:35:00 we were doing an implementation and we were literally
00:35:00 --> 00:35:04 like a week before go live and someone mentioned
00:35:04 --> 00:35:05 because we were in testing and they said, Oh,
00:35:05 --> 00:35:09 well, what about the and I'm like, what Bulgarian
00:35:09 --> 00:35:13 subsidiary? You know, and so we started talking
00:35:13 --> 00:35:15 and I found out, oh my gosh, like we have to
00:35:15 --> 00:35:18 bring in another partner to like do a localization.
00:35:18 --> 00:35:21 It's not like an easy lift. They can't even use
00:35:21 --> 00:35:23 the system the way it is right now. Well, we
00:35:23 --> 00:35:25 didn't even know about it. We'd asked them several
00:35:25 --> 00:35:27 times, you know, no, no, everybody needs to be
00:35:27 --> 00:35:29 here, but like they didn't think about it until,
00:35:29 --> 00:35:31 you know. And a lot of times that happens too
00:35:31 --> 00:35:34 when you're talking to, not talking to the people,
00:35:34 --> 00:35:36 the frontline workers. when you're talking to
00:35:36 --> 00:35:39 other people because they don't know what the
00:35:39 --> 00:35:42 frontline deals with sometimes. So making sure
00:35:42 --> 00:35:45 those frontline workers are part of the conversation
00:35:45 --> 00:35:48 because there's been countless, countless times
00:35:48 --> 00:35:50 where we get into testing and they're like, yeah,
00:35:50 --> 00:35:53 we don't do it like that. Or yeah, that's not
00:35:53 --> 00:35:56 going to work for us. And that doesn't help our
00:35:56 --> 00:35:59 process flow. And so that's always things that
00:35:59 --> 00:36:02 can introduce risk into a project and cause delays
00:36:02 --> 00:36:06 into a project. cause unhappiness in a project
00:36:06 --> 00:36:09 and we don't want that. So I think making sure
00:36:09 --> 00:36:12 upfront, taking that time, I think that's where
00:36:12 --> 00:36:15 we struggle because everyone's in a hurry. Everybody
00:36:15 --> 00:36:17 wants to just get this done. We want this done
00:36:17 --> 00:36:20 by this time. We want this. And I think making
00:36:20 --> 00:36:22 sure that you have a good solid foundation, it's
00:36:22 --> 00:36:25 like a building, right? If your foundation's
00:36:25 --> 00:36:26 weak, your building's gonna eventually crumble.
00:36:27 --> 00:36:30 And I do feel like your accounting system, your
00:36:30 --> 00:36:34 ERP system is part of that foundation. And that
00:36:34 --> 00:36:37 foundation will crumble. If you have bad accounting
00:36:37 --> 00:36:40 processes, that can, what happened to Enron?
00:36:41 --> 00:36:46 That can bring companies down. And so you need
00:36:46 --> 00:36:50 to make sure that you are... taking everything
00:36:50 --> 00:36:53 into account that you're having a good foundation
00:36:53 --> 00:36:56 to build that system. And I think that makes
00:36:56 --> 00:36:59 it better for everybody. I agree. I especially
00:36:59 --> 00:37:01 like what you first said about take a step back
00:37:01 --> 00:37:04 and look at where you want the company to be.
00:37:04 --> 00:37:08 Yes. Because I've realized oftentimes we turn
00:37:08 --> 00:37:10 on the system and there are certain features
00:37:10 --> 00:37:14 we don't turn on because we are so focused on
00:37:14 --> 00:37:16 how the business operates now versus where it
00:37:16 --> 00:37:18 will be or even the chart of accounts, something
00:37:18 --> 00:37:21 as simple. as a child of account, because we're
00:37:21 --> 00:37:23 in one location, we don't think about putting
00:37:23 --> 00:37:26 a dash zero zero just in case we have another
00:37:26 --> 00:37:30 location. And in retrospective, it creates so
00:37:30 --> 00:37:35 much trouble. But yeah, I love that advice because
00:37:35 --> 00:37:38 like I wish I had that too. So thank you so much
00:37:38 --> 00:37:41 for sharing. Definitely taking a step back and
00:37:41 --> 00:37:44 thinking about where the company is going. Definitely
00:37:44 --> 00:37:46 have the right thinking partner like yourself,
00:37:47 --> 00:37:50 who have done it so many times, but also making
00:37:50 --> 00:37:53 sure people all subsidiary, like everyone is
00:37:53 --> 00:37:57 involved is definitely great advice. So thank
00:37:57 --> 00:38:00 you so much for sharing that. Oh, yes, you're
00:38:00 --> 00:38:03 welcome. I have one last question for you here.
00:38:03 --> 00:38:05 What is your favorite thing to do outside of
00:38:05 --> 00:38:10 work? I love, well, there's several things I
00:38:10 --> 00:38:12 like to do. I love to read, so I do a lot of
00:38:12 --> 00:38:16 reading. One of the things I like to do outside
00:38:16 --> 00:38:19 of work, besides spending time with my family
00:38:19 --> 00:38:22 and traveling, I like to volunteer in my community.
00:38:23 --> 00:38:26 I do a lot of volunteering in my community. I
00:38:26 --> 00:38:30 volunteer with animal rescues. I volunteer with
00:38:30 --> 00:38:33 city events. We just had the World Cup here in
00:38:33 --> 00:38:38 Houston and I was able to help the city. of Sugarland.
00:38:38 --> 00:38:40 They were supporting Houston with some of the
00:38:40 --> 00:38:44 events. It was just an amazing experience. You
00:38:44 --> 00:38:46 meet so many amazing people in your community.
00:38:46 --> 00:38:49 And I just love to do that. Like I volunteer
00:38:49 --> 00:38:52 with a lot of different groups. And I just, to
00:38:52 --> 00:38:55 me, that's just kind of my passion. And if I
00:38:55 --> 00:38:58 didn't work full time, I'd probably be volunteering
00:38:58 --> 00:39:02 full time. Um, that's definitely, that's probably
00:39:02 --> 00:39:05 like, that's, that's the thing I like to do the
00:39:05 --> 00:39:08 best. That is awesome because thinking like the,
00:39:08 --> 00:39:11 the past few, few minutes that we talked, um,
00:39:11 --> 00:39:14 you're consulting, helping, and your favorite
00:39:14 --> 00:39:16 thing to do outside of work is also helping people.
00:39:17 --> 00:39:20 That is amazing. That is amazing. I love it.
00:39:20 --> 00:39:22 I love doing that. I love helping other people.
00:39:23 --> 00:39:27 I mean, I just do. I think it's just a wonderful
00:39:27 --> 00:39:29 experience. I think it gives me a lot of personal
00:39:29 --> 00:39:32 joy and personal growth. I learn so much from
00:39:32 --> 00:39:36 other people. I love being a part of that. Good
00:39:36 --> 00:39:40 for you. Well, thank you so, so much for being
00:39:40 --> 00:39:42 on the show. I really appreciate your time, your
00:39:42 --> 00:39:45 great advice. And where can we find your work
00:39:45 --> 00:39:50 with you? So I'm at Citroen Cooperman Advisors,
00:39:50 --> 00:39:54 LLC, where we have our main offices in New York.
00:39:54 --> 00:39:58 but you can find us online. We have offices all
00:39:58 --> 00:40:02 over the country. Lots of deep experience, both
00:40:02 --> 00:40:06 on the accounting side and on the advisory side.
00:40:06 --> 00:40:10 We can pretty much do it all. So, you know, if
00:40:10 --> 00:40:12 you need help with anything in your business,
00:40:12 --> 00:40:15 I mean, we would be. Really great to be very
00:40:15 --> 00:40:18 grateful to have you and you can just find us
00:40:18 --> 00:40:21 online such as jrcoopermen .com. Awesome. Thank
00:40:21 --> 00:40:24 you so much. Thank you. That's it for today's
00:40:24 --> 00:40:26 episode. If you got something from this conversation,
00:40:26 --> 00:40:28 share with someone in your world who will benefit
00:40:28 --> 00:40:31 from it. Don't forget to rate the show wherever
00:40:31 --> 00:40:33 you listen and subscribe so you don't miss out
00:40:33 --> 00:40:36 on the next episode of the Diary of a CFO podcast.
00:40:36 --> 00:40:38 This is Wassia Kamon and I'll see you in the
00:40:38 --> 00:40:39 next one.