Cost saving opportunities for the new Finance Director

By Paul Giuffredi

Paul Giuffredi is a Finance Director of entrepreneurial companies. He has been Finance Director of PE backed, family owned and AIM listed companies in a variety of business sectors.

When you've just landed a new position there are a number of ways to make a good impression....

One that often gets overlooked is finding cost reductions in some of the less glamorous areas of company spend. This can be a good early win, especially if you're working for an owner managed or private equity backed business where cash flows are tight. 

Finding the right Finance Director and CEO relationship

By Paul Giuffredi

Paul Giuffredi is a Finance Director of entrepreneurial companies. He has been Finance Director of PE backed, family owned and AIM listed companies in a variety of business sectors. 

Many of you will be aspiring or even experienced Finance Directors. In order to reach this career goal there is a lot of focus on professional qualifications and long hours of hard work in the office but when the opportunity finally beckons, how much of your success in such a role is down to your skills and how much to the personal relationship with the CEO? 

Chances are that you wouldn’t have been shortlisted for a Finance Director position without ticking all the skill and experience boxes. The competition is too fierce for headhunters not to come up with a healthy list of candidates who can do the job. Given this,  what then is the major factor in you getting the job? 

In my experience it is whether the CEO likes you and feels that they “can do business with you”. In order to pass this test you should probably be yourself but there are some pointers you should consider in the process...