SouFBP

I can help Finance Teams on 2 ways
👊 I work as a FP&A Freelance on mid to long term assignments
👊 I help Finance Professionals train their storytelling and presentation skills

Thanks to a wisely crafted training program, your FP&A team can learn how to
- prepare their message: get the main insight from their analysis
- prepare the story: use a framework to deliver a clear and convincing story
- prepare their visuals: learn design techniques and tools to build clean slides and graphs
- prepare themselves: master the delivery of a presentation and switch to discussion facilitator when needed

Founder

Proximus

Responsible of Strategic Finance for the Consumer Business Unit, I helped
- building our 5 years strategic plan
- designing key objectives in our priorities: Fiber, 5G, market share
- working on innovative projects (eHealth, eEducation,...)

All that with transversal teams composed of Finance, Marketing, Sales and Strategic advisors

Finance Manager Strategic Projects CBU

	Budgeting and Forecasting (Short to Long Term): new modelization including business assumptions
	Monthly Reporting and Variance Analysis vs Budget/Forecast/Last Year
	Assistance and review of Business Cases (New product Launch, Investments,…)
	Business Strategic KPI’s Settings and Follow up 
	Development of Automatic and Comprehensive Reports (usable for all Stakeholders)

Finance Business Partner EBU Mobile at Proximus

Deloitte Belgium

Manager

Leisure and Travel Industry (Zwijnaarde): Business Controller
Plastics Manufacturing (Kontich): Cost Controller
Leisure and Hotels (Brussels): Financial Controller
Gas (Vilvoorde): Financial Professional
Manufacturing (Aalst): Treasury Officer
Consultancy (Diegem): Treasury Responsible

Experienced Senior

Groupe Vlan

•	Follow-up of general costs and production costs (printing, paper, set up and distribution)
•	Follow-up of commissions charged and turnover granted by national advertising distributor
•	Monthly analysis of reportings per product (titles)
•	Follow-up of legal updates (Accounting Law, Corporate Law, Taxes,…)
•	Participation to yearly budgets 
•	Setting up of Closing Procedures
•	One-off requests (Business Object queries, financial calculations,…)

Financial Controller

PricewaterhouseCoopers

•	Industry department: Main Clients: Sodexo Pass Belgium, Bosch, European Air Transport (DHL), Pharma Belgium,…
•	Organisation of audit engagements as in-charge and coach of junior members
•	Specialised in revenue recognition of services companies
•	Assignments both in French and in Dutch

Senior Auditor

I train Finance Teams at Soft Skills | Corporate Training Facilitator | Course Instructor | Keynote Speaker

𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗽 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀

As the leader of The Finance Circle, I am passionate about transforming the role of finance professionals into strategic business partners. 

With over a decade of experience in corporate finance, I specialize in bridging the gap between technical expertise and essential soft skills. 

My mission is to empower finance teams with advanced financial modeling, FP&A tools, and statistical forecasting techniques, while also emphasizing business acumen, communication, storytelling, and leadership.

At The Finance Circle, we offer tailored training programs that cater to both large teams and individuals. 

Our initiatives, including the Financial Storytelling Program, are designed to enhance your team's ability to influence and drive business success. 

Our approach has been trusted by leading organizations, and we continue to make a significant impact through workshops, speeches, and personalized coaching sessions.


Key Trainings:

- Financial Storytelling Program / The Finance Stage: Learn Storytelling for Finance
- The Finance Copilot: Make your Finance Team a real Business Partner
- The Finance Window: Finance for Non-Finance Teams
- Slides and Visuals Design: Learn how to use Excel and PowerPoint to build your slides

Storytelling for 100 Finance Professionals in 3 days

Puratos is now ready to have new presentations 🎤

I had an amazing time during the last 3 days as I had the privilege to facilitate 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽𝘀

Puratos, one of the biggest Belgian groups, organized their 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝘀 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿

All CFOs, FP&A Directors, and Finance Managers from the whole world were invited to Brussels to attend a 3-day seminar where they learned about
▶️ Strategy
▶️ Security
▶️ Taxes
▶️ ....

And 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴

In these workshops, we went through the 𝟱 𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀 in presentations from Finance detected by CFOs
1. There is no clear message
2. The presentation is not tailored to the audience
3. No narrative is used
4. Slides are too crowded
5. Presenters do not prepare the delivery

In small groups of 10-15 people and thanks to activities, practice and brainstorming sessions, Finance Professionals at Puratos are now ready to re-think the way their presentations are structured.

I'd like to thank Jean-Philippe Michaux, Frédéric Timmermans and Xavier Hinck for their trust and support in making this a reality.

⭐ If you're a CFO and want to organize sessions about financial storytelling for your next offsite, seminar or team event, don't hesitate to contact me or visit my website

Soufyan Hamid

Free Resources on Storytelling

On my mission to make storytelling accessible

I share free stuff
- Tips & Tricks
- Opinions
- Frameworks

And recently, I revamped my website

So I make all of these available to you on it

You'll find
- The Financial Storytelling Basics Free Course
- The Ultra Guide Storytelling and Presentations For Finance
- The S.T.O.R.Y. framework for Finance Presentations
- Everything you can do in PowerPoint
- Finance Charts Cheat Sheet
- Steps to creating the Perfect Finance Chart in Excel
- Handling Difficult Questions and People

....and many more

You want it? It's simple
- React to this post to make it visible
- Write a comment and tag a person in your network who would benefit from it
- Go to my https://lnkd.in/e5ADN6PH

Hope you enjoy it 😉

For a lot of Finance people, colours in charts is only aesthetic!

But there is a reason why colours are important 👇

And it's 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴

Colours are important because
- they convey the underlying 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆
- they set the tone and enforces a 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲
- they can turn a simple visualization into an 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲

But because the human eyes and brain are trained and make automatic links, you have to respect some ground rules when using colours

1️⃣ 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀: think about the association of the colour
2️⃣ 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆: must be easy to read
3️⃣ 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: less is more
4️⃣ 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: avoid gradient colours for categories
5️⃣ 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆: keep the same colour code for the same data
6️⃣ 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: use legends or labels to ease understanding

So next time you must build a chart, what will be your reflex when it comes to colours?

-------------------------
☕ I send a newsletter every week called FP&A Stories, for every finance professional who wants to go beyond the technical side of our job
Join at https://bit.ly/fpastories

Colors in visualizations

The S.T.O.R.Y. framework

The solution to the 5 problems of Finance Presentations

Do you remember the 5 reasons why finance presentations fail?

Here's a small reminder just in case

1️⃣ There is no clear message
2️⃣ The presentation is not tailored to the audience
3️⃣ No narrative is used
4️⃣ Slides are too crowded
5️⃣ Presenters do not prepare the delivery

If you need more details, check the post https://lnkd.in/e3UbZaPr

Knowing that, I came up with the idea of the S.T.O.R.Y. framework to fight against these symptoms

- S - Select your message
- T - Target your audience
- O - Organize your thoughts
- R - Review your visuals
- Y - Yield to questions

And everything is summarize in the one pager below ⤵️

This is the framework I've used since 3 years now and I delivered my best presentations thanks to it.

It's also validated by the 30+ senior finance leaders I've discussed with.

I would love to hear your thoughts about this framework

So don't hesitate to leave comments

PS: you want the downloadable high quality version it's in the comments ⤵️

Presentation skills pay you $9K more

Financial literacy only $5K 👇

And this was in 2016*! Imagine now?

But why is that?

Because of 2 things

1. People consider that your technical skills are a given. If you get the job, that means you can do it

2. Employers are willing to pay a premium for rare skills that will not only do the job but be the enabler for the company's value

Good business presentations, especially in Finance, are highly valued

They help leaders make informed financially-driven decisions

Not sure how you can develop them?

Start with my course "Financial Storytelling Program"

https://lnkd.in/dqNTTeBD

 * Australian Financial Review, Apr 20, 2016

It's impossible to implement 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 in your company today

Instead, here's what's achievable today

- you can add an 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 to have a strong message
- you can change the titles into 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀
- you can 𝗽𝘂𝘀𝗵 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘂𝗽 to test their need

It'll only take you 30 minutes

However, in your next presentation, you'll have

- a 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲 your audience will leave the meeting with
- a 𝘀𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗸 focused on the necessary
- an audience that's ready to use your knowledge 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

Don't say:

"I want to change the way presentations are done in my company today"

Instead, say: 

"I want to adapt my first slide so it includes the main message, today"

Pick small effective changes over a revolution

P.S.: One lesson per day and you'll implement new storytelling practices at the end of the summer.
Start today on https://lnkd.in/e8RwCU-4

I don't know who needs to hear about this but....

You can spend your whole life working in Finance...

Never become a CFO...

And be OK about that!

We all have different roles

Different preferences and skills

And all these are useful in an organisation

Aiming for the "top" is not always THE way to succeed

Think of your life in terms of
- self accomplishment
- fun at work
- time and work/life balance
- money (of course, no one wants to starve working)

If you're happy with these, then you can consider having a great career.

Data-driven decisions are a myth 🤥

People use their emotions in 99% of the cases

How many times have you heard?
- I don't feel this
- I'm not at ease with this conclusion
- This does not match with our understanding

It's simply because are convinced by their guts

So coming up with data and trying to prove something by pure logic will not do the trick

Because if your conclusion confronts your audience's beliefs, you will face a natural resistance

How can we make sure people actually use our analysis in their decisions?

By influencing them!

If you touch their emotions together with showing your analysis, you'll have more chances to direct them toward your understanding 

Influence is a matter of 
- developing your business acumen
- building relationships
- strategic thinking
- 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

A great way to develop your communication is through 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴

In a presentation, that's THE way to reach your audience's guts while providing a solid logical background for a decision

Not sure how you or your team can do that?

Have a look at my website or contact me in DM

PS: I still have some dates available in November-December. Don't wait until 2025 to book your training 😉

There are 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 ways and 𝗯𝗮𝗱 ways to start your Finance Presentations

And if you want to know the good ones

Try those in the document below

To help your friends
- like it for the strength
- comment for the wisdom
- share it for the generosity

-------------------------
I am Soufyan and I train your finance team at everything but finance

Curious? Have a look at www.thefinancecircle.com or contact me

 Good or Bad ways to start

If you're reading this, chances are you are not a CFO

And you will probably never be one

And you know what? That's one of the best opportunities of your life❗

When you work in Finance, the CFO job is always put as 𝗧𝗛𝗘 target to reach

The ultimate job with many candidates and few chosen

The top of Finance with decisional power on the company strategy

But that also means
- being far from the 𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀
- being far from the 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
- being far from the 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 

And from the interactions I have, the comments I read, and the reactions I see in my network, this is not what most people want

People love
- to work with Excel and go deep in analysis
- build models and reports
- have direct interactions with people working on the projects

And this is the 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 you have from not being a CFO

You have a direct access to this 𝗴𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲 🪙

But this gold has to be 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗱 to be usable as a resource for the company

And this is where you have to 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 right now

Go from this raw material that is data and make it an 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 and a 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

And the best way to make it actionable is 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘁

You'll get to have an 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 on your company

And correct me if I am wrong, but I think this is what most of you want, don't you?

PS: If you want to continue learning how Finance Professionals can enhance their presentation skills, 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗲 🔔

Nicolas Boucher comes from far when it comes to presentations and public speaking. Here's how he improved his storytelling skills:

1) He studied successful communicators 

"I was studying like what was their technique and the technique is that they could say things better than me in a shorter way and with more impact and that's storytelling"

2) He embraced healthy envy and learned

"When people, when you're jealous about somebody, try to turn that into learning. Like, why are you jealous? And then learn these skills"

3) He invested in professional training

"I took a one-day coaching with a public speaking coach... and she said actually I was already quite good compared to the average so it gave me confidence that I have really a good basic but there was a lot of things I didn't know about"

4) He practiced and asked for external feedback

"Find a way to get an external opinion on your public speaking skills and storytelling skills and then get an expert to tell you what is your plan to work on"

Here's the full interview: https://lnkd.in/ezYSfdK4

Netflix and Finance Professionals presenting

What do they have in common ❓

It's that all have to struggle against the 𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗻 of the human being

Netflix has built its whole business model by keeping the viewers as much as possible on their platform and yet has to invest efforts and money in finding ways to do so

When you know that the (allegedly) average attention span of a human in 2022 is lower than 8 seconds (lower than goldfish), the challenge is hard

Netflix research showed even that a typical member loses interest after 60 to 90 seconds when it comes to looking for content themselves

So how do these masters of taking your attention do to keep you using them up to the binge-using

1️⃣ Full storytelling in well-organized units
2️⃣ Engaging Content
3️⃣ Content easily accessible:

So, what do we, as Finance Professionals, have to learn from that when we make a presentation?
1️⃣ Prepare a full story with smaller parts
2️⃣ Foresee the steps in your presentation
3️⃣ Make the montage for the audience

Tudummmm (Netflix style)

What do you think about this analogy?
Do you have techniques to keep the audience awake when you present the results of the month?
Let me know in the comments ⤵️

PS: it's not like Netflix but my trainings are a real show for storytelling learners.
Prepare your season 2 (second semester) and contact me to train your teams

Present like Netflix

Reporting= grocery shopping
Financial storytelling = Restaurant

Reporting is an important function of Finance

But if you compare it to how we prepare food
- You get your ingredients (raw data)
- You cut in dices (structure and organised data)
- You put them in a pack and give the recipe (report)

I like to cook myself so, I guess I am OK with that

But would I pay as much for that as for a restaurant?

Certainly not, because I would add value to it

and that's why you have to become a Chef
- you deliver a finished product (story)
- you bring your vision and universe (personal touch)
- you take care of the service (presentation)

People value that much more and are willing to pay for that

So, who are you going to be?

PS: if you want to become a Finance Chef, 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝗳

PowerPoint: Experts tend to underestimate their level

and beginners tend to overestimate theirs

What's your level in PowerPoint?

Taplio

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