Expert Urges Finance Professionals to Adopt Strategic Mindset amidst Uncertainty

Sunday Ehigiator

Finance expert and author, Ayobami Ishola, has emphasised the need for finance professionals to shift their mindset from traditional number-crunching to strategic advisory roles, as a crucial necessity for companies to thrive in today’s complex and data-driven business environment.

Ishola made this assertion during the recent launch of her debut book, “The Strategic Finance Business Partner,” which explores ways finance professionals can stay ahead of the curve by adopting data, storytelling, and business acumen to influence decisions.

According to Ishola, finance professionals must move away from traditional finance roles and become strategic advisors, providing insights that create long-term value for their organisations.

This shift, she noted, “is a business imperative for companies aiming to thrive in an increasingly complex and data-driven world.”

The book, which contains 100 pages and 11 chapters, provides practical examples and real-life scenarios that business professionals can implement to improve their skills. It also highlights the importance of emerging technologies like Power BI, SAP, and advanced Excel in financial analysis.

“It’s a book that could be read by CEOs, CFOs, finance professionals, even business professionals, commercial leaders. It has a lot of strategies in it that can help organisations grow, basically.

“It would help finance professionals grow in their careers and secure a seat at the table because you’re going to be strategic. You won’t just be talking about numbers, but you’ll be talking about how you can support the business,” Ishola told journalists.

In his address, the chairman of the launch, and Chief Financial Officer of Bell Oil and Gas Limited, Onyia Azuka, revealed that the book is “very practical”, stressing that it teaches how to understand strategic financial management, grasping how financial decisions can align with broader business goals.

Azuka, citing some of the practical nuggets in the book, stated that using dashboards is not only essential for executive decision-making, they also show what operation is doing.

“Each chapter in the book concludes with actionable steps that you can implement to create a more robust job flow as you apply your work. And, of course, you cannot be a strategic business model without communication, relationship building and a lot of emotional intelligence. These softer skills are very key for finance,” Azuka said.

In his review, a Finance Expert based in the United States, Adedotun Adesile, referred to the book as “a valuable resource that distils the experiences of industry leaders into actionable insights.”

Adesile stressed that the book’s approachable writing style, clear structure, and use of relatable examples are what set it apart from a regular finance text.

He added, “It is a hands-on guide that offers practical advice, rather than just theoretical concepts, making it easy to apply the lessons learned.”