Finance professionals must have a mindset shift from mere number-crunching to acting as strategic advisors, providing firms with insights that create long-term value, according to Ayobami Ishola, an author and finance expert.
Ishola argued that moving away from the traditional finance to finance business partnering is “a business imperative for companies aiming to thrive in an increasingly complex and data-driven world.”
The book, ‘The Strategic Finance Business Partner’, launched recently in Lagos, examines ways finance professionals can stay ahead of the curve by adopting data, storytelling, and business acumen to influence decisions.
“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,” Ishola told journalists on the sideline of her debut book launch.
“It would help finance professionals grow in their career 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.”
Containing 100 pages and 11 chapters, the book provides a plethora of examples and practical real-life scenarios that business professionals could implement to get better at their art.
It also draws the attention of financial users as to how emerging technologies like Power BI, SAP, advanced excel and many others can be applied when analysing in order to arrive at a logical conclusion that will drive organisational growth.
The chairman of the launch, Onyia Azuka, chief financial officer of Bell oil and gas limited 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 are 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 who doubles as the CEO of Vennote Technologies Limited said.
Filled with practical tips, real-world examples, and proven frameworks, The Strategic Finance Business Partner seeks to empower readers to unlock their full potential and become the trusted advisor in their various organisations.
But the book is far from being solely meant for finance professionals, according to Ishola. “As long as you have some kind of business you’re doing, I recommend this book,” she said, adding that the 100-page long piece points to ways to get better at one’s business.
In his review, Adedotun Adesile, a finance expert based in the United States referred to the book as “a valuable resource that distills 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 sets it apart from a regular finance text.
“It is a hands-on guide that offers practical advice, rather than just theoretical concepts, making it easy to apply the lessons learned.”
