From Submariner to CFO: A Journey of Leadership and Operational Excellence

"Understanding the problem puts you 50% of the way to addressing it."

In this episode of Books of the Boardroom, Season Three of the CFO Catalyst Podcast, host Sumith welcomes Simon Turner, CFO and ELT member with nearly three decades of experience in finance. Simon shares insights from his unique career path, from serving on nuclear missile submarines in the Royal Navy to becoming a CFO. They discuss leadership, the importance of addressing problems head-on, the evolution of data analytics, the role of ESG in modern business, and the potential impact of AI on SMEs. Simon also offers practical advice for upcoming finance professionals and underscores the significance of integrating operational focus within the CFO role.

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Transcript

Simon Turner - CFO Podcast

Simon Turner: [00:00:00] I, I read something recently saying that actually addressing the problem is, puts you 50% of the way to addressing it, and that, that really stuck with me. 'cause understanding the problem has gotta be the first issue, but also making the team understand that if they've made a mistake, I'm not gonna jump all over them.

Simon Turner: We'll find a way to, we'll find a way to resolve it then we'll. Find a process to put in place to, to try and make sure it doesn't happen again. 

Sumith: Welcome back to Books to the Boardroom, season three CFO Catalyst Podcast. Today my guest is Simon Turner is the CFO and ELT member with almost 30 years experience in finance.

Sumith: Thanks for joining me today. 

Simon Turner: Good morning from Thanks for inviting me on. 

Sumith: Uh, tell me your story from Royal Navy to being a CFO, as I'm sure it should be a really exciting, uh, and journey that usually not, not a lot of people do. Yeah, 

Simon Turner: it is a little bit different, I guess when I was 16 and leaving school back in the mid to late eighties, the UK was in a bit of a, an economic Dunkin, so I didn't really, I didn't [00:01:00] really know what I wanted to do for the future night.

Simon Turner: My mother had suggested the military a couple of times in the previous 12 months. She wasn't a fan of the youth training scheme. That was a for apprenticeships at the time in the uk Uhhuh. I walked in the recruitment office one day intending to join the RIF and instead turned right and ended up joining the Royal Navy and spent six years in the Royal Navy serving on nuclear Miss all submarines.

Simon Turner: So he was, yeah, it was quite an interesting time for a 16-year-old until I was 22. 

Sumith: Well, it is the first time that I'm getting someone who was in that kind of role and now. Is in the CFO's role, which is totally different. Skillset 

Simon Turner: is, but I think it also give me a lot to do in terms of leadership.

Simon Turner: Studying both good and bad leaders in the military gives you a real good basis foundation for leading people. When you're in leadership roles 

Sumith: now, if you sort of look back, so what's the main difference that you see? You know, if you are, if you were to continue in military, go through the ranks, and now you become CFO, going through the ranks in the finance.

Sumith: So would you [00:02:00] think that you would be there if, if you were in the 

Simon Turner: military? Uh, yeah, I think so. No, I'm not sure. I'm not so sure about the base personality, but I think the experiences you'd have and that kind of thing would make you a different leader because there's a lot email submarine services quite a little bit more relaxed in terms of the formal discipline.

Simon Turner: It tends to be quite a lot of self-discipline, right? And the ability to work closely with other people. Even though that exists, there's still, you have to follow orders, you have to get on with doing what you've been told to do without as much opportunity to question. Whereas I think once you get into the civilian life, the ability to question, the ability to give your point of view is, is all stronger.

Simon Turner: So I think finding that balance of getting the job done, but understanding that people need to understand the why is really important. Yeah, I think I'd be, I'd be maybe fundamentally the same type of leader. 'cause I think leadership comes from your personality first and foremost. Sure. Then your lived experience then guide you in that, that other 30% maybe of how you then actually lead teams.

Sumith: Yeah, I couldn't agree more. Your foundation would be the same, but your experience shape [00:03:00] you differently to suit the environment that you're operating in. 

Simon Turner: Exactly. I spent a year of my life underwater by the time I was 21, I'd stayed in the military. I stayed on nuclear miss or submarines for the next 16 years.

Simon Turner: So having spent those kinds of experiences and having our done. 15 or 20 patrols as opposed to the four or five that I did all that, all those experiences would've shaped me differently, I think. 

Sumith: And also you have, you know, humbled, beginning in the finances also. You were doing more of the groundwork, uh, and then you sort of put your, for your way up to the CF course portion.

Sumith: So how was your experience in the transactional finance roles, um, influence you in your leadership style as a CFO? 

Simon Turner: I think it's been absolutely vital into how I view the team because I've actually been there and done it, as you've alluded to, I started my first role, I left the role Navy at 22, did a couple of years in a, what was a higher national diploma in the uk.

Simon Turner: Couldn't really, wasn't in a position to put myself through the final two or three years for the degree. So I went and found a job and [00:04:00] I started as an account payable clock back in 97. And then did, basically did every job in finance. I've done accounts payable, I've done accounts receiv, well back then it was purchase legend and sales legend.

Simon Turner: It wasn't even accounts receivable and payable, credit control payroll. So I pretty much did all of the transactional finance roles over a number of years. And then after about 12 years, I started getting into head of finance positions. But I think the ability to, if one of my team has an issue and have that conversation with 'em, I've, there's a possibility of a high likelihood I've either had the same issue or something similar, then I can.

Simon Turner: Really practically help find a better way of doing things, especially since the way that technology is developed, so that automation and AI and all that kinda stuff is really coming to the fore. The ability to understand the problem from actually having done the transactional finance to then come help come up with a solution, I prefer to help come up with a dictator solution because it feels part of the process.

Simon Turner: They're more likely to understand just understanding that transactional piece. Maybe [00:05:00] more at the FC GM level, but also at the CFO level if I need to have those conversations. 

Sumith: Also, you have learned a lot of lessons from your seniors in the past and from observing like how different senior leaders were performing their, their responsibilities or how they interact with the team.

Sumith: Yes. So what were the main key takeaway from like, you know, what to do and what not to do in, in, when you become one of those ones? 

Simon Turner: Yeah. I think the big thing for me is staying calm under pressure. Right. If we are running around the senior leaders, if we're running around looking stressed, looking frazzled, loud voices, read voices, aggressive tone, it just flows some through the team in nanoseconds.

Simon Turner: It's staying calm under pressure. Ian looking at the problems. Dispassionately and trying to find, 'cause I, I read something recently saying that actually addressing the problem is, puts you 50% of the way to addressing it. And that, that really stuck with me. 'cause understanding the problem has gotta be the first issue.

Simon Turner: But also making the team understand that if they've made a mistake, I'm not gonna jump all over them. [00:06:00] We'll find a way to, we'll find a way to resolve it, then we'll find a process to put in place to, to try and make sure it doesn't happen again. But then when it comes to the responsibility, if I have to have a conversation with my line manager, who's generally the CEO or the board, then I wear responsibility for that because it's my department and my process.

Simon Turner: They never have a fear that they're gonna get hold over the calls for a simple mistake. My sort of rule with the guise is that if you make a mistake, please be the one to tell me. Don't let me find out from my line manager, because it's a lot easier for me to resolve it if you've told me than. If it's come from above.

Sumith: Yeah, that's a great advice. Yeah. We always say to our team as well, like, because we work with clients and you know, we know better before the be, they know we can easily sort that out. 

Simon Turner: And it's very rare that we have a, we can't resolve, we're not brain surgeons, we're not heart surgeons, we're not, we don't have people's lives on the table in front of us that we have to really act quickly and decisively, but we can, so we can take the time to resolve a problem.

Simon Turner: Yeah. But I think the important thing is if something's happened, is how do we put something in place to at [00:07:00] least mitigate the risk for the future. 

Sumith: True. True, true. And, and Simon, you were born and grew up in the UK and then you sort of now call Australia the home. How did that happen and uh, what was the motivation behind coming to Australia?

Simon Turner: Just fancy the change. It was my daughter originally who put the idea in her heads about living somewhere else when she was about 14 or 15. She was fascinated by the USA and I loved the us. I played football in the US for the Royal Navy when I was a, when I was a young man. So I've got some good friends over there.

Simon Turner: My son ended up studying there for the last 18 months on a football scholarship at a college there. So I, I love the us Yeah. But something McDonald know, just Australia came to mind. So applied to a program called One Day Down Under back in the UK back in 2011 and ended up coming to film an episode in Perth and ended up on a, like every now and again I get a text message from a friend at home saying, oh, you're on TV again.

Simon Turner: And then six months after we, we filmed the program, we bought our one-way flights. By this time Kirsty was in university, so she wasn't sure she wanted to come. She joined us 18 months later and we've never [00:08:00] looked back. Really. I think it's just been a really good opportunity to give As, and I still love the uk.

Simon Turner: I'm not somebody who has left the UK and bags it, and I love the uk. It's my home. It'll always be where I came from. Yeah. But I just think maybe the kids have just had a great opportunity to grow up in Perth with the weather, the, just the way that the place is, it's a lot more laid back. Even though it's a state capital, it still seems a bit more chill and a bit more laid back than we would expect.

Simon Turner: Just the opportunity to be able to get out and about in the sunshine. And even when it's cold and wet, you forget the opportunity to get out. Yeah, just that opportunity to have give the kids a better upbringing or a better lifestyle is, was our main facting after we made that visit. 

Sumith: Perfect. And Simon, you've mentioned that you are very operationally focused, the four.

Sumith: So explain to our audience that. So what is operationally focused first's role? 

Simon Turner: Yeah, I think it is because I'd like getting into the nuts and bolts of operations. So as a, I'm a fellow with the Charter Institute of Management Accountant, so as a management accountant, which ended with cost accounting. And so I've spent time in previous roles where I've had to spend a lot of time on the shop floor [00:09:00] trying to understand why our material variance variances are blown out, or I'm trying to understand when we're, when we're setting the budget.

Simon Turner: Trying to build it up from the bottom. So how the products work and how the building and materials pulled together, and how I can allocate all the heads to the build, against the building materials, et cetera. So I think that was just a natural progression for me. So I, I view finance and IT, and all those support functions as with head fried, the best opportunity for operations to be as efficient, effective as possible.

Simon Turner: Make the business as profitable that as we can. That way if we can eliminate as much waste out of our process as possible, then grit, the provision of information from us into operational areas allows them to make better decisions. And I think that's just really fits with my whole background around having spent time as an engineer in submarines, all my family of tradies.

Simon Turner: So I grew up on building sites most of my teenage years until I went to the Navy, um, laboring for my father and my stepfather. So that's my background is probably what I'm best suited to. I'm probably a little bit more comfortable having conversations with people who get their hands dirty than [00:10:00] people who don't.

Simon Turner: So it's just my, it's just what I'm more comfortable I think. 

Sumith: Yeah. Well it's a great combination. Uh, and I mean, I did the same thing when I was in the C also as well. It gives you that ground understanding of things work and how, how you can connect the dots and the story to the whole stakeholder, not only for the finance people, but also for the non-finance cohorting the business.

Sumith: I think even today's, uh, CFO's role have changed from, you know, from the reporting or the financial data become the, like icy to the C-I-C-E-O. So you feel that that's probably the best way for the CFOs to go about, especially the younging. Upcoming? Upcoming? 

Simon Turner: Well, look, I think it depends on what you want or your career.

Simon Turner: I think there's so many different facets to being head, head of finance, whether it's CFO, finance director, GM Finance, whatever. I think it, it comes down to what you're most interested in. So some people have a bigger interest in working in a corporate where it's about m and a and high level corporate government.

Simon Turner: And if that's what you prefer, then go and do that. [00:11:00] I think it's more, I prefer to do this, just be, I prefer working in smaller businesses. I like how more personal they are, and I think that's just suits my personality a bit better. I'm not a, but other people will be more suited to working in. Larger corporate organizations and that's just as good.

Simon Turner: It just comes down to what you prefer. Right. But I think if you're gonna get into smaller businesses where you prefer getting your hands dirty a little and getting out on the shop floor and having a conversation with people, I think it's, I think it's a good way to go. The money probably isn't quite the same as it is in larger corporate.

Simon Turner: Yeah. But it's, money's never been my, my driving factor. So, yeah. I mean, alright. Yeah, the CFOs were well paid, but it's never been, my ultimate goal is the financial side of it. I both said it's um, as long as you've got enough to be comfortable and you don't have to use a calculator in the supermarket, then you've got it good.

Simon Turner: So it's, it's about, and I want to enjoy my job, just being able to come in and have a conversation with a guy who's got a pair of duty overalls on and we speak speaking on the same level and we're having a good conversation about how things work and that I enjoy that as much as [00:12:00] reconciling the balance sheet.

Sumith: And isn't that why you at some point started your own consultancy business to help? 

Simon Turner: Yeah. More It was because, um, you look at how many. Small business owners, I, I think they're just desperate for some strong senior finance support that they can't afford a full-time CFO or Senior FC or GM Finance, whatever it is.

Simon Turner: But if they can pick somebody up and pick their brains for four hours a week as a high level advisor who's actually been there and done it in a business, then I think that's absolutely invaluable. And that's not to take away from their accountants. 'cause their accountants have a really valuable service to provide.

Simon Turner: Don't ask me about tax. I'm not interested. I'd much rather speak to, I'd rather have a conversation with my tax accountant, who that's their expertise. And that expertise is, is absolutely worth its weight goal. But I think if it comes to the day-to-day running of the business, somebody who's worked in a medical research company or somebody who's worked in a mining company or somebody's worked in a manufacturing company and they've been out on the shop floor and they've seen some of the issues that, that, that happen, can then have a conversation with a somebody who owns a [00:13:00] smaller one of those types of businesses.

Simon Turner: And I think that's absolutely invaluable as a, as a lived experience. 

Sumith: And, and, um, you know, as CFO, so the C Finance, you know, one of the things that we do better is like. Go deeper into the numbers and understand how we can communicate that to the rest of the stakeholder. 

Simon Turner: Well, KPIs, uh, they just indicate that's their name.

Simon Turner: They don't actually tell you. They just tell you what. They don't tell you the so what. So all they are is an indication for you to go and find what the problem is. And where we sometimes go wrong, as business leaders will say, the KPI says this, or Stop. If it's saying that, then why is it saying that? And that's just as important for.

Simon Turner: A KPI is above trend or above budget. What are we doing right that we can build on? Not just what are we doing wrong that we need to resolve, but I think yeah, we get lost. We get lost sometimes too much in the core reason why the KPI says that, 

Sumith: that's, that's, that's so, so true because end of the day, you know the layman, people who don't understand the finance, they might look at, okay, so you're just responsibility just to monitor the numbers, but it's not so to go eon and find real reasons, like why the numbers are [00:14:00] behaving this way to go eon and find, then find the solutions together.

Simon Turner: And it goes back to, I've made a profit, was my cash. 

Sumith: Yeah, I see. That's it. And, and Simon, I'm not, I'm, you know, from my own experience, it's a tough job, job, you know, at CA four role because you have to, at driving your finance study at the same time getting support from the other, the cross functional focus, functional people who are sort of managing those ones.

Sumith: How do you keep the balance and how do you make sure that, so you work together as a team to achieve the business objectives. 

Simon Turner: Yeah, please, and thank you is the first point. It's, it's just building relationships. And for me the two most important words in leadership are please and thank you. So if you, if you have a request, and I'm also a big fan of not doing things by email.

Simon Turner: If I've got something I want, especially when I'm new to an organization, if there's something I, I'll go and have a conversation with a person in assuming that they're in the same building as me or the same state, especially in Australia where it's quite geographically different. But just go and have a conversation and about what I want.

Simon Turner: And I'm not a big believer of sending an [00:15:00] email just so your back is covered. 'cause you got it in right. Didn't there? If you, if you've gotta be an apposition, you've already lost, we've already lost the relationship. If you've gotta, if you don't trust the person to repeat a conversation accurately. So I think it's just about going, building relationships by speaking with people, helping them understand that you're there to help, whether it's all possible.

Simon Turner: So if they ask for help, give it, but you can, if you can't explain why you can't do it just then, but you get as soon as you can and, and there's all other relation, and then you'll find that when people realize you're there and you are genuine. Then the relationships naturally mean that they wanna work with, you know, look, every organization or lots of organizations have those people that are always out to get something that they can, but I don't find that's the majority of people, or not even a large minority.

Simon Turner: Most people are there to do a good job and they're more than happy to work with you as long as you treat 'em with the respect they deserve. 

Sumith: Yeah, they allow what you said. But, uh, end of the day. As a C four head of finance, you had a lot of authority, but instead of you Yeah. Exercising the authority. 

Simon Turner: So I'm a believer in leading by responsibility, not authority.

Simon Turner: If people understand that, [00:16:00] you feel responsible for ensuring that they, they're there to, they then need to enjoy, not as much enjoy their role, but give them the best opportunity to do their role. But you're a safety net. If they need it, we'll respond to that. If you're trying to, I don't, I'm not a fan of just leading from authority.

Simon Turner: You've got authority, usually the authority. But if people understand that you've got that interest at hop, then. I think that combination will really stand you in good stead, 

Sumith: good CFOs. You know, one of the major responsibility these days is to get business insights. And how has the evolution of data analytics changed your ability to deliver better business insights?

Simon Turner: I started off with Lotus 1, 2, 3 on dos, so we didn't have Windows, we didn't have Excel. So it's, the change in 28 years has been absolutely unbelievable. Even going from. Pivot tables and what if functions. And so now we've got things like Power BI and all those, and then we're going into the AI field. So I think it's just being able, again, going back to supporting [00:17:00] operations, being able to provide information in, in good time that make, that means that we can make decisions quickly.

Simon Turner: And that's all the information is for, is that we're able to make decisions correctly, that we can either support the good or resolve the bad. But if you're gonna, if you're gonna provide that information. Again, it's another reason I think that the consultanting, the CFO Consultanting, the people are doing it, is important because small business owners will only see how well they've done every 12 months, and then that's normally nine months after the tax year has ended when, when the taxis going in.

Simon Turner: So how do they know what they've done right and wrong through the course of a 12 month period? Yeah. So I think if they can be provided with good information, it doesn't have to be really in depth, but even a fact, I think the term of in favor at the moment is fractional CFO. Whereas he was virtual CFOA few years ago, if they can provide that information where they go, just go and take a look at that and see what, oh, that looks a bit weird.

Simon Turner: Go and have a look at that. Go and see what you've done there. That's different to other times, that's made it make really weak, just helps small business owners manage their businesses better and small businesses, the lifeblood of our indus of our economy. [00:18:00] Yeah. So just if we can make sure as possible And it, 

Sumith: I, uh, mentioned about that Simon.

Sumith: SME, especially they do accounting for the compliance purposes, not for the big management decision making purposes, CF four or some senior commercially driven CCF fours. Yeah, helping your business beyond the compliance so you can easily achieve your, you know, the other, other goals other than tax reduction or tax mitigation card.

Simon Turner: Look, like I said, ta, the tax guys are absolutely vital and they're worth the waiting goals, but if a business owner can get onto the tax guys early and say, this is what's happening this year. Can you help me? Can you help me to manage my tax affairs better so that I can deal with it before the end of the financial year?

Simon Turner: And I just think so, I think the cost of it can be offset by giving your tax more to work with in know, in terms of benefiting you as a business owner. 

Sumith: I'm going to take a ship towards the ai. I know you have said something very clearly about ai, like AI is a good thing, but you've, that the semi sector [00:19:00] is going to be behind.

Simon Turner: I think so. 

Sumith: So 

Simon Turner: explain to me 

Sumith: more like, you know, how the SME is going to be behind in adopting. 

Simon Turner: Yeah. I just think for me at the moment, it's about being able to fold the implementation, and I'm not talking about the SME sector of businesses in the 30 to 50 million, 30 to a hundred million dollars. I'm talking about those in the, the 10 to 30 maybe, where resources are tight, especially cash.

Simon Turner: Cash is always tight at that level. Yes. There aren't vet, there aren't many businesses where cash is in abundance. So whether it's get, you can get it, you can get. Going on a project to, to implement an AI solution, but you've gotta pay for it. And whether you write it off over a period of time or what, that's not the part that matters.

Simon Turner: It's the actual cash outlay is what matters. I also don't think that a lot of small businesses data is in the right place for AI to be affected at this moment in time. So I think it's a big, it's quite a big project for small business owners to be able to get to a point where, uh, it is gonna be effective.

Simon Turner: And AI is great, and I think it's a really strong tool for the future. As you know, if the [00:20:00] data isn't effective and the data isn't in the right manner, then small businesses are gonna struggle to get a return on the investment. So I think for me it's more about, in the first instance, get your data right.

Simon Turner: And I think a lot of investors are gonna take a bit of time to get mission, what better it needs to be. Then worry about what benefit AI can provide. I think in the larger organizations where you have larger finance teams and you have maybe internal audit and you have more structure to the business, it's a different, it's a different conversation.

Simon Turner: But I think in the SME set, it's just the cost. Of implementation and ensuring that the data is right in the first place to make sure the results you want or what you get. 

Sumith: Yeah, I completely agree. Um, instead of rushing here to get you for it and then just ready to go on that journey and have a plan to see what you want to achieve at the end.

Simon Turner: But on, I mean, on the flip side, it's not, it's maybe not a bad process to start because organizations when they wanna get ISL 9,001. They end up getting all this, getting everything in place to achieve that goal if they see an AI implementation in the same way. So it allows them, it forces them [00:21:00] as a business to ensure that they've got everything set up so that when the AI implementation takes place, then that, that gives them a target and it gives them a goal to, to address things or in order to get their information and the data Right.

Sumith: And how do you 

Simon Turner: use 

Sumith: AI 

Simon Turner: in your business? It's not a great deal at the moment. We're more focused on power AI at the moment. I also think AI is something that. It's new enough that that Augusts need to be a little bit cautious in how they address, because we don't know the following impact of it yet. And I'm not talking about the whole doomsday scenario from Terminator.

Simon Turner: I'm just talking about making sure that we're not too dependent on something that is still developing and still still moving forward. So I think there's still a lot. I think it was 10 years ago I was told that accountants were gonna be obsolete by now. I'm still here. Yeah. So I think it's something that organizations need to seriously consider.

Simon Turner: I think it's gonna be a huge tool going forward for companies to benefit from, but I think it's just taking it at the right pace and don't rush into something that you're not sure you're quite ready for yet as a business. So I think it's the important thing is it's one for the [00:22:00] future, but it's making sure that you're ready now to step into that future.

Sumith: That's a great advice because end of the day you need to start the journey, but you should not rush because there's a noise in the map. 

Simon Turner: No, that's why I'm spending a bit of time looking at. Looking at AI at the moment and time is I've, I've spoken to one of the colleges here about doing the PhD around AI implementation and SMEs.

Simon Turner: But that, yeah, we'll see, we'll see where that goes. It's, it's something I'm keen in on looking at and how we can look to implement it in, in all life, but I, I'm also keen on understanding it fully before I put a proposal together about how we're gonna move forward with it. I don't wanna go into it halfhearted.

Simon Turner: That's perfect. 

Sumith: And I think there's another big topic in, in the finance world is the SG. Mandatory for the larger organizations from January this year. See, so you know, small to medium businesses that you are operating in. So how it's going to affect the businesses. So what's the benefit that we or the business are going to get?

Sumith: Bonfire adopting this ESG? 

Simon Turner: Yeah, so, oh look, it's a move on from corporate social responsibility, which was the phrase from a [00:23:00] few years ago. Yeah, I'm, I class myself as a bit of a capitalist socialist, so I'm really keen on ensuring that all organizations I work with are profitable, that we do the right thing.

Simon Turner: That's always been my thing. And I also think that when we talk about maximizing shareholder wealth, I think if we get, everybody talks about maximizing shareholder wealth, do they think about the short term? They think about that three to five years period where they're in the seat. Whereas I think even more as if, if you get the balance of looking after all the stakeholders, right, shareholder wealth will follow in the longer term, shareholder wealth will follow naturally because we're doing things properly, but you've only got one earth and.

Simon Turner: Climate change is a thing. To what extent we are having an impact compared to other factors. I'm, I don't understand the science well enough, but we do have an impact. We've got an, we've got a responsibility to deal with it. But yeah, but it's also making sure that we balance that off with looking after the organization, making sure that the shareholder wealth is generated on the social side, our people are our biggest asset, so we've gotta, we've gotta look after them and look after their lives and.

Simon Turner: Put, and the biggest thing for me is their safety. They've gotta be coming into work knowing [00:24:00] that they're gonna go home in the same state that they came to work, and that we're not putting 'em on risk, at risk unnecessarily. There are jobs out there where risk is part of the role that I know about myself as a sub.

Simon Turner: It was only a few years ago that an Argentine submarine went down. So there's always risk in certain roles, but as an organization have to us to mitigate that risk and try and post much in place. So there's ESG reporting is important. In a smaller organization, it's a bit more difficult because again, we don't have the resources.

Simon Turner: Financially, all of people to be able to maybe generate the data as easily, but we having that knowledge that we're able to generate the information that's needed for reporting purposes, but more important, not do it just for reporting, do it because it's the right thing to do. The reporting part is a side issue for me.

Simon Turner: It's understanding that it's vitally important for your wider community. 

Sumith: Uh, I couldn't agree more. I was gonna read the same thing. Simon, you, you articulated the message very clearly. It's not for reporting. That's, you know, don't do it just for the compliance purposes. 

Simon Turner: It's like speed. It's like speeding through a school zone.

Simon Turner: You're not staying under 40 k clock in the morning going through a [00:25:00] school zone so that you don't get called speed and you're doing it. You don't run a child over. That's the importance. It's that kind of thing. Why is the fundamental reason you're doing it? It's not for reporting, it's for doing the right thing as a business.

Sumith: Yeah, I love that. Simon, you've been in the industry for long time and you know, you've got experience, international experience as well. Plus we had, we ran your own, uh, consultancy business for a while too. So what's your best advice for the young and upcoming finance professionals for We got an uncertain future.

Sumith: So, yeah, the thing that they can do at this point to get ready for the, you know, these, to navigate through these challenges in the future, 

Simon Turner: I think the big thing for me is understanding that leadership is a different skillset. That's one thing. In third world economies, we've got a, an absolute nightmare of a situation where we take people who are good at something and we turn them into the team lead.

Simon Turner: If that's something, and we don't give them the leadership skills, we just assume that because they're good at doing the thing. They're gonna be good at leading the team that does the thing. And the amount of pressure and stress they get under is just ridiculous. I think from terms of leadership thing as well as try and lead with [00:26:00] it with who you are.

Simon Turner: So if you're not the most outgoing, extroverted person, don't try to be as a leader, just lead with your personality. 'cause then it's less stressful. And I think from the more technical side, understand the nuts and bolts. You don't have to be. Expert on particular accounting standards, but you have to be able to ask the right questions.

Simon Turner: So then that, but also understand, try if you want to be in an operational role, don't be afraid to get out under the shop floor. Be willing to get out and talk to the engineers, or talk to the manufacturing team, or just be willing to have those conversations and you'll find out you learn a lot more just from day-to-day conversations.

Simon Turner: And when you walk in the building, say hello to everybody. Say good morning to everybody when you walk through the building. You'll find that people are a lot more under talking to you when you need it. So I think, yeah, it is, A lot of it's around the leadership understanding how to lead. 'cause it's a different skill set of actually doing the balance sheet res or doing the bank res or whatever.

Simon Turner: Just understanding the nuts and bolts. Well 

Sumith: perfect. So LA those advices Simon. And thank you very much for being on the CFO Catalyst podcast. [00:27:00] 

Simon Turner: Thank you. Thanks 

Thanks for joining us on this episode of the CFO Catalyst Podcast season three. If you enjoyed our discussion on CFO leadership, please subscribe on your preferred platform.

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