Welcome to FP&A Tomorrow, where we discuss financial planning and analysis, examining its current state and future prospects, with your host Paul Barnhurst.

In today’s episode, Paul Barnhurst is joined by Ken Lane, to discuss what makes great FP&A, the challenges and opportunities in mid-market companies, and the impact of technology and AI on finance.

Ken, a seasoned financial controller and FP&A professioal from Ontario, provides valuable guidance about the importance of collaboration, the role of AI and technology, and why he feels mid-market companies allow you to make a bigger difference in the work you are doing.

Here is a summary of the key points from the discussion:

• Great FP&A is about collaboration across all entities within a business. Understanding and addressing the bottlenecks in each area is crucial for driving meaningful business change.

• Discussion on the necessity for mid-market companies to upgrade their legacy systems to leverage the full value of future FP&A. He highlights the challenges and the importance of investing in technology to streamline data and improve decision-making.

• The episode delves into the ongoing supply chain issues post-COVID. Ken explains how these challenges necessitate holding more inventory, which impacts cash flow and requires careful management of cash conversion cycles.

• The discussion highlights how Gen Z's expectations for efficient and advanced systems are pushing companies to invest in better technology. This shift is essential for retaining top talent and staying competitive in the market.

• Ken stresses the importance of understanding the broader picture of the business and continuously learning. Whether it's through different industries or new technologies, staying adaptable and informed is key to succeeding in FP&A.

Quotes:

Here are a few relevant quotes from the episode 

• "A lot of mid-market companies still have a lot of legacy systems or multiple legacy systems within a business, and they're going to need to upgrade and change those to get the full value of the future of FP&A.”

• “When I'm in mid-market companies, I feel like that when you're helping out or you're driving decision-making, you see that impact on the bottom line. When I was with large companies I would see a strategy that would come down from the corporate office, but didn't understand how what I did fed into that strategy.”

Follow Ken:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennethlane/

Website - https://smoothaccounting.ca/

Follow Paul:

Website - https://www.thefpandaguy.com 

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/thefpandaguy

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In today's episode:

[00:00] - Introduction

[00:47] - Guest Introduction

[02:01] - Anticipating Changes in FP&A

[02:40] - The Challenge of Legacy Systems

[03:35] - Guest’s Career Journey

[06:51] - Impactful Mid-Market Examples

[08:52] - Attraction to Manufacturing

[09:57] - Key Metrics in Manufacturing

[12:12] - Transition to FP&A

[15:50] - Managing Technology on a Limited Budget

[17:47] - Choosing the Right ERP Partner

[20:19] - Real-Time Decision Making with AI

[23:02] - Investing in Tech to Retain Talent

[24:55] - Rapid Fire Session

[25:57] - Role-Level Headcount Planning

[27:10] - Importance of Clean Data

[29:20] - Get to Know the guest

[32:20] - Advice for Better Business Partnering

[32:55] - Conclusion and Contact Information

Full Show Transcript:  

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: Hello, everyone. Welcome to FP&A Tomorrow, where we delve into the world of financial planning and analysis, examining its current state and future prospects. I'm your host, Paul Barnhurst, guiding you through the evolving landscape of FP&A. Each week, we're joined by thought leaders, industry experts, and practitioners who share their insights and experiences helping us navigate today's complexities and tomorrow's uncertainties. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just starting your FP&A journey, this show has something for everyone. This week, I am thrilled to welcome to the show Ken Lane. Ken, welcome to the show.

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: Oh, thank you for having me, Paul.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: Yes, excited to have you. So just a little bit of background about Ken and I'll allow him to introduce himself further in a few minutes. But he comes to us from Ontario, Canada. He is a financial controller. He spent most of his career either working as a controller or manager, finance, or accounting, and he spent most of it in the mid-market, in several different industries. So, Ken, we like to start the show with this question for all our guests? From your viewpoint, what does grade FP&A look like?

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: For me, the great FP&A is a collaboration with all the entities within your business. Because the goal of FP&A is to drive business change. So you need to understand the bottlenecks in each area. If those people feel heard, they'll buy into what you're delivering.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: I would agree with that. So it's around collaboration and making sure the business feels heard.

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: Correct.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: What are your thoughts? What do you expect it to look like in the next 3 to 5 years? Do you think what grade FP&A is going to change with everything that's going on with technology and other things?

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: I do, I think it will. I think in large companies it's going to change faster than in smaller mid-market companies. The reason is I think a lot of mid-market companies still have a lot of legacy systems or multiple legacy systems within a business, and they're going to need to upgrade and change those to get the full value of the future of FP&A.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: We're not speaking from experience, having worked with a lot of mid-markets by chance, are we?

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: Not at all.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: I'm sure you could tell me some data horror stories. That's probably what I should start off with. Tell me your worst data horror story. I keep that in mind for future episodes. Tell me a little bit about yourself and your background.

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: Yes. So I'm here in southern Ontario. Been in accounting now for 20-plus years. To be honest, went through school, came out with a computer science degree, and then fell into accounting and then worked my way up, worked with some great mentors, then went back and took some university courses for management, accounting, financial accounting, all those key things. But it never worked my way through to get licensed as a CPA. Then I've transitioned from working across a whole variety of industries, some of those interesting enough to progress and take a step up. Then even in some of those took a step back because a job or role had skills that maybe I didn't have yet. So went back in pay, went back maybe in leadership to eventually elevate myself later.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: Got it. What led to accounting if you started with computer science? Maybe dig into that a little. I'm curious how the switch happened.

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: Sure. I got my first job with a finance organization, a financial banking organization, and they were looking for someone who both understood the business and understood IT. I fit that role. Growing up, my parents had multiple small businesses, and my mom always did the accounting, so I was always around it. So it wasn't brand new to me. I'd been around it. It comes naturally to me to a certain extent. So I'd seen it growing up using original ledger books writing it in pencil and putting everything in the ledger books and sawing all that, seeing all that. Then when I went to this finance institution, I did both for a while and then they opted, they felt that I gave them more value on the accounting side and then kept pushing me to progress and progress and progress. I just realized that I did enjoy it. Then started taking additional courses and doing everything to get certifications to move on.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: So you grew up around it. They want someone on the business side, found you, liked it, and figured you'd get some more education in the area.

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: Correct.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: Got it. So I know you spent pretty much your entire career working in the mid-market. Why? Why mid-market companies? What is it you like so much about them?

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: I like the fact that you get to. I feel like you make an impact. So when I'm in mid-market companies, I tend to find that most of those are still family-owned companies, maybe multi-generational companies as opposed to large ones. I did spend some time at some very large companies, but most of it was in the mid-market. I feel like that when you're helping out or you're driving decision-making, you see that impact on the bottom line. You see that impact on the family that helps them. When I was with large companies, sometimes I was I'd see a strategy that would come down from the corporate office, but didn't understand how what I did fed into that strategy.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: So you mentioned one can make a bigger difference. You feel more involved than sometimes the big, huge companies. If anyone's worked in one, sometimes you feel a little bit like a cog or can't see how everything relates. So I'm curious, can you share an example where you felt like your work made a big difference in the mid-market, where you've seen that direct impact of what you were doing?

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: Sure. One of the companies I've worked for, they've acquired other companies over time. They had this nice small portfolio of companies that were doing very well. Somebody in their field became available. So what I was able to do then was forecast out all their portfolio of companies, do the FP&A, and do the forecast for the next so many years. Then with that work, were able to get them preferential financing from the banks to acquire that company that they later acquired and has been growing since.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: Thanks. I appreciate you sharing that. It sounds like that's one opportunity that you're proud of and made a big difference. So that's always fun to have. Speaking of making a big difference, do you feel like it's hurt you in any way that you've worked for so many different industries, or do you think it helps you when you go to a different industry, having worked in several I think you've worked manufacturing, automotive, cannabis, commercial property, and I know different areas within manufacturing. So maybe talk a little bit about that.

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: It's a two-edged sword. It can help you. It can hurt you. For me, it helped me. One of the reasons is accounting is different based on what company or industry that you're in. So I've worked with people that is like, oh I spent four years getting an accounting degree. I got my CPA and I realized I hate accounting. you go, do you hate accounting or do you hate the field that you're in because you're not relating to what you're doing, what you're working on, the business that you're in, it doesn't speak to you. So I've tried a variety of different industries to see where I enjoy my fit. I always tend to come back to manufacturing, and that's where I am now. I enjoy it. I enjoy a company that manufactures something to go out. They tend to be complex. you have a lot of inventory, a lot of a lot of things to work on, a lot of different. You're working with sales across a variety of spectrum. Spectrums. So I ended up finding that manufacturing is the niche I like working in, but going across those industries allowed me to figure that out.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: And what is it about manufacturing that you enjoy? What is it that makes that fun compared to other industries?

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: For me, it's the complexity of it, especially since post-COVID, the complexity of the supply chain just in time, other than maybe the Ford, GM, and Chrysler's the world. It doesn't exist anymore. You still have supply chain problems. You're still having problems bringing stuff in from China. You have to look at the macro environment as well. There are a lot of things that come into China in all of North America. What happens with the relationships between the government and all these things? You have to take into your forecast and that and go, what if scenarios and things like that. So for me manufacturing, there's just so many moving parts versus let's say, a service business that I just enjoy seeing all those different things come together and able to deliver a product to the market that the market wants.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: Got it. That makes a lot of sense. What are the maybe the key metrics you like to look at in a manufacturing industry? What are those maybe those key operational metrics that you feel help you have a good understanding of is the business doing well or is it struggling or hey, there's a sign something may be going wrong?

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: Yes. The big thing for manufacturing is your cash conversion, making sure that you're turning that inventory over on a regular basis to bring the cash in for your operating cash flow. It's easy right now. I'm finding this with businesses right now, what they're doing is in order to make sure that they have a safety stock to get things out because the just-in-time isn't there anymore. They're holding more and more inventory, which is tying up dollars. But then you're watching that bank account drop, drop, drop because you got more going out than coming in. So it's watching that turnover ratio, as well as working closely with the supply chain to make sure that you have what you need, that you can get what you need, but you're not harming the business cash wise.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: So it sounds like you're still dealing with a lot of supply chain issues. So companies are holding on to longer supply and inventory. So you got to manage that because that's cash, which isn't surprising. I mean at the end of the day, doesn't matter how profitable you are, if you have no cash in the bank, you have a problem. Makes a lot of sense there. How did you transition from accounting to more of an FP&A role, and how did that come about?

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: So for me, right from the beginning of my career, I guess I have a different, slightly different, different definition of accounting. To me, FP&A is a subset of accounting. Accounting is the overarching umbrella all the way from the bookkeeping, which is all the recordings and now most certified bookkeepers will take you right to the financials and then your FP&A. So every corporation I've been part of, we've had to whether I've had the title of cost analyst, you have to understand your business. You have to understand the cost and the drivers. You have to understand your sales, and what the variances are. Is it a mix, a pricing, and what is going on? So it's always been part of my role from day one. It's never been just recording. It's always been part of it.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: And I think that makes a lot of sense being in smaller mid-market companies to have that because I've seen some of the bigger companies I work in where some people's roles are just recording and I've been in an FP&A role. I've done some accounting, not a lot, but I booked some journal entries here and there and helped with all those things. So I get it. There's some overlap between the two. Interesting perspective. I don't think I've ever thought of FP&A, including accounting. I've generally thought of them differently, so I appreciate you sharing a different perspective there. It's always good to see how people think about it. Any advice you'd offer for someone who they've been in just heavy accounting roles, and wants to make that change to FP&A. How do you think they go about that?

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: A couple of ways. The first way is understanding your business. So again, what are the drivers in your business to do FP&A? I think to do very well at FP&A, you have to understand everything on the accounting side, especially the cost drivers and things that are driving those bottom numbers. you have to understand your purchasing department, what is cost avoidance versus cost savings, and things like this. So get to know all the different individual areas of the company, and how they impact the company, so that you can start thinking, how does this work as a whole? And I think that's what you need to do because when you're in sometimes just in an accounting role, you're looking at one small section versus looking at the broader picture. So you need to understand that broader picture. I think when you're looking to move over when you get interviewed, you can start expressing, hey, this is how the broader picture is impacting you. I see that I can help you there.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: Got it. I would agree with that. Starting to understand the broader picture of the business is one of the most important things you have to do. I want to switch gears here a little bit. I know when you and I chatted,As we talked quite a bit about technology, and you mentioned how SMBs and mid-markets, from your perspective, will need to invest more in tech going forward. Why is that?

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: As I alluded to before, a lot of these companies have multiple legacy systems. A lot of SMBs will purchase other smaller companies to grow. They have their own legacy systems that they're using. So you need to invest in tech, A, to bring it all together, and B, to streamline your data. Because the issue is right now, even if you want to use AI, your dad is not scrubbed to do that because it's all been acquired in different ways and could be potentially slightly different data, even though it has the same name. So you don't know if your outcomes are going to be correct. So you need to make sure that you have the systems in place to be able to get the correct data, that your data is equal across all silos, and that you're getting out good information.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: Makes sense. So big companies tend to have deep pockets. multi-million dollar transformations are not uncommon. How do smaller companies manage to do that with a limited budget? How do you make sure you have the right tools? Any thoughts there?

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: Sure. I think you work here, you work closely with your IT department most, and the IT department may be a single person. It may be a couple of people, it may be an outsource. But you start looking at where are we going forward as a business again. What are our key drivers? What are we looking for? Where are we trying to get and what are we trying to do? Then go, okay, where is there a potential tech stack that can help us? Is that an all-in-one ERP system? Is that a few individual systems built on sage or a couple of other different things. So that's how you want to look at it is where are we going forward. Then what do we need to get there. Then what can we utilize to help get us there? It's a time consuming process, but it can be done.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: Yes, well, anytime you get into a lot of tech.

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: We have one right now. Honestly, we're going to a full ERP across all our different individual business units. It's like I said before, it's a company that grew and acquired other mom-and-pop shops. They've come back after a recommendation, and when I started with them, one of the things was we needed to streamline our tech. How do we do it? I came up with a recommendation. They came back and they're fully on board. It's great because it's a multigenerational family, but at the same time, they're fully supportive of passing it down to the next generation. So making the investment now for the future.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: Got it. So how how's the project going? Are you close to being done or just getting started?

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: We're just getting started. This is where we took a lot of time to pick the right ERP. Two stages, one, picking the right partner. Because regardless of what you pick, whether you pick, a NetSuite or a sage if you have the wrong partner and it's installed incorrectly, it doesn't matter what you do because you're going to have bad daddy and bad daddy out. The systems are a tool. So we spent a long time deciding on who the right partner was, working with some independent consultants, and then looking at also aligning with that, what is the correct software for the business that we're in? And then took us a long time, narrowed it down to about eight, then five, and then we went down to providing full flow charts to say this is how our business runs for the last two present to us, how your system does what we need.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: Yes, the more work you put up front, the higher the chance of success. I couldn't agree more with how important selecting the right partner is that you're comfortable. They can build what you need because as you said, a tool is just a tool. It's about the people. It's about the process. The tool serves as an enabler. If you have the right people and the right processes, you don't get those right tools ain't going to solve your problems.

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: Correct.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: I'm with you on that. So as we talk about tools, it seems like all anyone wants to talk about these days is AI, generative AI, all the different models that are out there and how cool they are, blah blah blah. On and on and on. You get the idea. How do you see AI and just this change in technology impacting finance?

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: I see it's just, again, a couple of things. One is being able to pull that data from multiple silos if the data is clean. That's the key part, is making sure it's clean and equal. But pulling that from multiple silos but speeding things up, what takes maybe quite a long time to pull data now, put it into Excel, generate whatever reports you're doing, that you can give the guidelines to the AI, and you're getting what you need instantaneously where you're getting to more real-time. So I think that you can make it. I'm hoping the goal is that we'll be able to make more real-time decisions in the business that impact directly now, so you start to be able to pull together almost leading indicators as opposed to trailing and say, hey, this is where something's going. This is where trends going. We need to get on this and make those decisions quicker.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: Yes. So you see it helping with the cleaning of the connecting data and allowing us to analyze and get quicker answers from the data.

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: Yes. Hopefully, identify trends that we may not even see. I'm hoping when it pulls it together it says, hey, this is what I'm seeing within your data. This is what the data is showing me. you go, well, I didn't even notice that.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: Yes, I was talking to somebody, in fact, today who talked about how you can use AI. A great way to use AI is to be a contrarian, to ask it to play a devil's advocate, almost. We'll give you some good answers. Another had said, don't be descriptive with it. If you give it some data, start small and ask it to find three patterns or three. Identify three things. Instead of saying, tell me about this, this, and this, let it decide what to tell you about because it's better at processing that data set and often coming up with things that we would never notice. We're not designed to look at millions of records. We can do it by summarizing and aggregating. But a computer can go through and look at every one of them and find those patterns.

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: Absolutely.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: It's amazing to think how quick they're getting. I had another conversation with someone about quantum computing. As we start to go down that route, what that will allow us to do because the quantum computer power just changes the game? That with AI and it's exciting and scary and all at one. But you talk about the data. But beyond analyzing the data in real-time, is there anything else that has you excited about AI and FP&A, like other use cases that you're like, I can't wait.

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: It's hard for me to say because I'm thinking about what we're talking about today or what we're seeing today, and I think what we're going to see 24 months from now is going to be drastically different. So I'm excited about where we're going. I just don't know where that is.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: Oh, come on, you can be a futurist.

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: One thing I might not be that great at.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: Come on. But you're FP&A. Aren't we always forecasting the future?

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: We are. We're forecasting the future. We're doing rolling. We're trying to take again that data and change it out. I'm finding it difficult because everything I look at, it seems like things are moving much faster than I would expect. I don't I don't know if that's even accurate. It's just moving. It blows my mind how fast things are moving and how every software now is integrating this. So I think that's part of it is two years from now, three years from now, even all the small companies that are just getting new small software packages will have this built into that package. How we utilize it, I think is just going to be exponentially different.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: I agree, we don't know all the use cases yet. We'll continue to develop them. I have some thoughts. I think everybody does. But it has moved quickly. I'm sure I think I've heard December is when ChatGPT five is supposed to come. I'm sure we'll be surprised with that again and whatever's next. So we're starting to get a handle on it and learning and growing, but there'll be more and more surprises as we go through this, I have no doubt. The question I want to ask you about companies retaining technology, something I've noticed, particularly with Gen Z, I've had some on shows and interviewed them, is they're not as willing to deal with bad systems, data, and processes, I think is a lot of workers who have been there a long time, right? They've grown up in a tech age where you just expect everything to work. It's quick. So how do you think that's going to impact smaller companies and their investing? How do they make sure they retain top talent and attract if they're struggling with their systems?

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: Yes, that that's a two-edged sword there. I think they're going to have to invest to retain the top talent because I think as a field, unfortunately, we're not getting as many accountants and FP&A people out to the marketplace as we'd like to see. I think there are way more roles than there are people. So then it's going to be they're going to be fighting for those smaller pools of people in environments that they come in and go, this doesn't work. Like I learned stuff in college that's way beyond this. and the stuff I expected to use in industry is beyond. So companies like that are going to have to make it a priority for themselves, where maybe tech in the back in the past didn't have to be a priority for small, middle-sized businesses going forward to make sure that they're on at least a competitive playing field?

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: I would agree with that. I think companies across the board, have to continue to invest to make sure they can retain and attract that talent. Some of that is going to be with your systems. You need to have clean processes and systems because especially with AI coming, people are going to expect work to be more strategic and systems to manage some of the things that we've managed manually in Excel or other places over time.

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: I think so one thing I'll add to that, Paul, is what I've noticed in the mid-market and the small to mid-market is a lot of these entrepreneurs, the circles that they're, they live in are they know a lot of other entrepreneurs and I've had more than one owner come back and go, my friend, Paul, he could do this. I want us to do this. and you as an FP&A person have to be prepared to go. We can do that. Just not with our current systems. We can do that if we have this. Are you ready to make that investment? And you also have to have sometimes those conversations with the owners to make those investments going. Your friend Paul's doing it but he's got a different tech stack. Just because he's doing something doesn't mean we can do it. Are you ready to invest? Because I can take you beyond that.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: Yes. Great point of helping realize, look, we can do that or we can even do more than that. But you're going to have to be willing to invest. You're not doing it with today's system. Yes, I've enjoyed that part of the conversation. I'm going to move into where we ask some standard questions. I'm going to have a little fun. I have a couple of additional questions I want to ask. just get your take if you have to pick one or the other. So the first couple are, which would you pick if you had to pick one? So if I asked you if you had to do all your budgeting going forward, top-down or bottom-up, Which one are you doing?

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: Bottom-up.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: All right. Which method would you use for your headcount planning? Would you do person-level, role-level, or just at a company level? How would you do if you had to pick one method to do your headcount planning? What would be your choice?

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: I like role-level, so you can look at any additional headcounts that they may want or additional roles.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: All right. Then rolling forecast, you're in charge, you can do it monthly quarterly semiannually, you can go 6, 12, 18 months out. Which one would you pick?

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: Rolling 12.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: Rolling 12? Got it. Would you update it every month?

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: Every month.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: Then what's your favorite finance software? What's that tool you can't live without?

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: Unfortunately, for me, right now it's still Excel because of those different legacy systems. The only thing they all do well is export to Excel.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: They say there are three buttons you have to have in every software. Cancel and export to Excel.

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: Exactly.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: It's amazing how ubiquitous the tool is. I love Excel, but there are times and places for other tools as well. It's finding the right tool stack. Then are you currently using generative AI in your work today?

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: No. As I said, our data is just not clean enough to be able to we have multiple facilities with the same names for things, but the data is different, so it leads to issues.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: I can relate. Been there, for sure. All right. So this next one, in your opinion, what is the number one technical skill for FP&A professionals to master?

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: So that for me is what I alluded to earlier, which was what I call accounting, which is understanding all the underlying drivers of your business and what those drivers are. I talked to somebody yesterday. Maybe it's a different word to use triggers. They use triggers. but whether it's a driver or a trigger, what those are in your business, that's the technical accounting skill that you need, is to understand all the drivers.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: Funny you said accounting because I think the first 10, 11, and 12 people I interviewed gave a different answer. The last two have been accounting. You and the person they interviewed yesterday. Oh, well, it's funny how it goes through. You don't hear of anything, and all of a sudden you hear a bunch of people say it, then you don't. Well, that's what I love different answers. I've heard Excel modeling and different things accounting. So it's always interesting the different perspectives and how they change a little bit. What's the number one softer human skill we need to master?

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: Communication. Again being able to have the interpersonal skills to communicate with all the different areas of your business to make them feel heard.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: All right. One last one, and then we'll move into the Get To Know You section. If you could wave a magic wand and change one thing about FP&A today, what would you change?

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: That's an interesting question. Well, if I could wave a magic wand, what I would do?

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: Stumped you. I like it,

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: Yes. I'm just trying to think of which aspect I would get it removed. I think I don't have an easy answer for that one. right now I feel like it's so innocent that it's hard to remove anything. Some things are more cumbersome than other things, sometimes even just pulling data. If I could wave a magic wand to say I don't have to pull data anymore, then, again, I can maybe use AI and just get it all. That would be it. But I don't know if there's anything in particular because it's such an interwoven fabric.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: I hear you and I've never asked someone that question before. I was like, ah, let's see where he goes. I figured it'd be something around data. But Yes, it's hard to say one thing because you think about it and well, it impacts this and it impacts that. Is it one thing? So, I totally get that.

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: I like the question though.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: Good. Well, I'll have to ask it again. I think I might make it more regular. I've been mixing them up a little bit lately. So next section is called the Get to Know You section. This is where we ask some questions. Get to know you a little bit better on the show. So the first one what's your favorite hobby or passion? What do you do in your free time?

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: Major League Baseball longtime Toronto Blue Jays fan but just love the sport. Overall. Love the fact that we're in the American League East so I can hate on Boston and the Yankees.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: I'm a Dodgers fan, so I am not a big Yankees fan either, so we can hate on them together.

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: Excellent.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: But I do get to hear about Toronto a lot since my training partners there. Oh, yes. Toronto. I'm like, well, my Dodgers are better, at least right now, but I'll enjoy it while I can. Amazing what money will do, right?

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: Exactly.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: If you had to recommend one book to our audience to read, what book would you recommend?

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: Atomic habits. That book about creating small habits that eventually make a big change in your life is the same thing with business. If you can get 1% better every month every day, or even every year over a certain percentage of time, it's grown exponentially. So I think atomic habits could apply to so many areas of your life, including your business life. Your work life.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: Got it? Yes, I've heard that book recommended before, and I know a lot of people love that book. So a great one to share. If you could travel anywhere in the world tomorrow, where are you going?

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: Anywhere in the world.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: Anywhere.

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: You know, if I'm traveling anywhere in the world tomorrow, it's with my wife, which means we're going to the Dominican Republic. She loves it there. I love it there. I love the people. But she loves the heat and the beaches.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: There you go, Dominican Republic. Sometimes I should not even say 'the world.' I'm waiting for somebody to say moon or Mars or something. If you could have dinner with one person in the world today, who are you taking to dinner?

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: That's another interesting question because there are a lot of interesting people. For me, somebody I've always wanted to have dinner with or coffee Malcolm Gladwell.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: He's a fascinating individual.

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: From all his books, you have Tipping Point and Blink and What the Dog Saw. He has such an interesting perspective on so many things that I think, like, he'd have an interesting perspective on how I cook a pot roast. Like, I think that would be entertaining.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: Ought to be a fly on the wall for that one. For your Malcolm Gladwell dinner, I had one person who said the the right answer, and it's always the right answer is my wife and I just laugh. I go, you got to pick someone other than her. There you go.

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: I took her on the trip. We just did. We talked about there where I want to go in the world. So I couldn't take her for this to know.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: There you go. I'm sure you'll take her to dinner on that trip. So we got it. Yes. So if you could offer advice to our audience, something they could do today, starting today, to be a better business partner, what would you tell them to do?

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: My big thing is understanding your audience. So even you've created something you're hoping will drive change in the business. How you deliver that is going to be different than if you're talking to a board if you're talking to the CEO, or if you're talking to unit directors. So understand your audience and deliver your message to that audience. You're delivering the same message, but it doesn't mean you're delivering it the same way.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: I like that. Understand your audience. With that, I'm hearing, make sure you adjust your method for the audience. It's not enough. Just understand them. But you need to craft that content to make sure you're meeting their needs.

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: Correct.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: Alrighty. Well, I think that wraps it up. I've had a lot of fun, enjoyed chatting, got to ask some fun new questions on the cuff and you were a good sport about it. So I appreciate that. If someone wants to get in touch with you or learn more about you, what's the best way for them to do that?

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: Yes. Two ways. I have a website which is called smoothaccounting.ca. 'Ca' for 'Canada'. If you want to look me up as Kenneth Lane on LinkedIn.

 

Host: Paul Barnhurst:: All right. Great. Well, we'll put those in the show notes, your website, and your LinkedIn profile. But I appreciate you joining me today and just taking a few minutes to chat. You enjoy the rest of your day. Thank you, Ken.

 

Guest: Ken Lane:: Thank you, Paul. Tfor his was great.