100 Days War

JOINING A NEW COMPANY IS A TOUGH ASSIGNMENT FOR ANY FD. TO FIND OUT HOW TOUGH, WE PERSUADED ONE TO TALK TO US THROUGH HIS FIRST THREE MONTHS IN A NEW JOB. HIS STORIES MAY RING A FEW BELLS...

April 2002: perhaps I should have known I was in for some hard labour after the arduous interview process... I had spent 14 months at one of the UK's biggest high street stores playing a key role in restructuring its finance department. I enjoyed the job but I knew the change of management phase was ending. So it was good timing when I was approached by the recruitment agency. They had some interesting news: another big retail operator was on the hunt for FDs. Let's call it CB, Classy Brand. The CB role looked fascinating. They needed a senior director of finance to facilitate the rapid expansion of a new business. The job was to establish the finance function and partner the senior VP of business development. This was all about decision making, not just number crunching.

The recruitment process was thorough. I had five interviews but I was very happy - I had just what I wanted: I was still in retail and at a great company. Also, I wasn't responsible for the monthly grind of numbers. Well, the reality was not quite as simple. Sure, I didn't have responsibility for the monthly management accounts. Instead, I was going to have responsibility for the rolling forecasts and I didn't quite realise what a treadmill that was going to be, in my first few months.

By coincidence, I actually started work at CB on the first day of the new financial year, which seemed somehow appropriate. I knew immediately that there were a couple of problems with the post. I'm closer to the top through the retail operation - via my partnership with the VP of business development - than I am through the finance function. This seems a rather fine distinction but it means that it has taken me longer than I had hoped to develop a power base. My retail colleagues expected me, the director of finance, to be plugged into the top tier of finance straight away. I'm sure many of you have experienced this sort of problem if you work for large multinationals.

Then there were problems with my newly formed finance team. First, I wasn't allocated enough staff for the workload. Second, some of the staff that were already there, would have been happier in different roles. And third, by chance they found out I had system implementation experience. So they held me responsible for a couple of IT projects. The trouble was, I wasn't incharge of the IT manager, who actually had the power to make things happen. To cap it all, there was some jockeying for position among the senior financial managers - nothing I couldn't handle, but it takes time and effort, especially when you are new and there's so much else on your plate.

Another issue emerged on day one: the staff was in split sites. Some were in central London and some were in a commuter town. So if I was going to take my staff out for a drink to get to know them, it looked like it would be in two places. I was going to get to know certain stretches of motorway fairly well. I had hardly sat down at my new desk when the floodgates opened. "Get around and meet people of all different kinds in the business and take an interest in what they do," I'd been told. I didn't need to do that. Loads of people from all over the company came to me instead. In droves.

They came with queries, which, frankly, didn't seem to be anything to do with me. But the rest of the company doesn't distinguish between different types of accountants. A director of finance is just an accounts man with a big hat, right?

So in the first few days, I was overwhelmed with queries such as, "why haven't my expenses been paid?" and "how do I get an invoice authorised?" Of course, being the new boy, I didn't know. However, that didn't seem to be an adequate response. Being positive about it, I suppose it was good that I did meet so many people, even if it was only while answering their incredibly mundane queries. But as a new FD, it's still frustrating. The (incorrect) perception of my quality of service is down to the performance of other people in the day-to-day accounting function - and I have very little to do with them.

If I wasn't quite expecting to deal with the minutia of the accounting process, I certainly wasn't expecting the next problem that landed on my desk. The new senior VP, my new boss, calmly informed me that he had just offered the CEO a full five-year strategic plan. Sound idea. Except we were meant to deliver it in a matter of weeks and the VP's commitments meant that, in essence, it would be left to yours truly to sort out. By now, I knew I needed help. I also knew I needed it fast. Apart from not panicking, I did what any sensible FD would do in a crisis: I used my network of contacts and pinched someone I knew and respected from my last assignment. It's the tried, trusted and simple method. So within days, John came on board. Between us, we worked out what needed doing.

Without giving too much away, we split the territory our new division was running into four regions and then went through some straight forward retail assumptions (price, size of shop in square metres, occupancy charges, stock turnover, pricing assumptions and so on). I can't believe it only takes a sentence to explain what took from day 30 to day 90 to produce! John and I constructed some robust spreadsheet models.

We took time with the senior VP to make sure it reflected his retail experience as well as mine. And throughout this period, I was actually wrestling with what I saw as the main day job: providing the business with control on the ambitious expansion plans. In other words, I was providing head office with solid numbers on their feasibility studies. For this job, I had inherited a spreadsheet model that had been supplied by our colleagues in the US. It's tricky, especially as the model had to cope with two lots of currency - the local European currency and then the conversion back to US dollars. To make matters worse, we found errors in the spreadsheet. Well, what proportion of spreadsheets are error free? Even if we had wanted to, we couldn't scrap the US model completely. Instead, we spent days messing about with standard input fields and making changes to the model so that it converted automatically from the host currency to dollars. We eventually got it working.

If that wasn't daunting enough, there was part two of the day job. That consisted of completing the standard US requirements for fortnightly rolling budgets - giving revised forecasts for the month, the quarter and the remainder of the financial year. The forecast is done store-by-store and involves talking with the head planning director and gathering other financials from the rest of the accounting department. After a tricky start and loads of hard work, we started to get some praise for the accuracy of our forecasting. I was very pleased - progress!

August 2002: I'm off on holiday now. Thank goodness! I'm satisfied that I've done a good job and that the first 100 days have gone pretty well. Perhaps in some ways better than I had hoped. But I know that when I get back, there are some challenges I will have to sort out and the daily grind of forecasting what I and my team have to do won't get any easier.

One thing I'm determined to do when I get back to my desk - or, more accurately, desks - is to try to sort out the work/life balance. Frankly, that aspect of the first 100 days was pretty appalling. Like most FDs, I reckon I can take long hours and a heavy workload – but not as consistently as for the last three-and-a-bit months.

So, how have I coped with the first 100 days? Well, we had our five-year strategic plan; most of the routine spreadsheets are working to help us produce good forecasts; and the staff plan is starting to take shape. Right from the start, I built close relationships with my retail colleagues and the company's other finance teams. When things started to get tough, I was glad I'd made good relationships at the beginning. I've seen some comments about having enough time to really make a difference to the overall IT programme. Sometimes you have to admit that you can't do everything.

And what else have I got to look forward to when I return to my desk? The life of a director of finance wouldn't be complete without constant pressure. My next priority is that system upgrade. I am looking forward to working with detailed and timely data to understand the business better. Also, I'm going to be more heavily involved in writing specs and attending supplier demonstrations. Not much chance of sorting out that work/life balance in the run up to Christmas, then. Now next year - that is going to be different!

THE EXPERT'S VIEW
Fran Wilson is an adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and an expert on senior management acclimatisation.

"It was good of this FD not to get too aggravated in the beginning about people not understanding his role. First you need to get a broad picture of what's going on in the organisation. As FD, people will think you're responsible for the trivial as well as the strategic, and you can get people on your side by having a caring, inclusive approach. He can start redirecting and delegating soon enough but he might discover some useful insights into people and processes from the 'shop floor' info he's receiving.

"Getting help through your networks is a great idea. However, if you accomplish some of your early tasks in an unrealistic timeframe, this might be expected from you on every project. Be positive in responding to challenges, but also learn to say no (in a nice way, of course) from the start of a new job if something isn't going to be achievable without constantly burning yourself out, expecting your team to do so or calling on temporary resources.

"Remember your work/life balance in this crucial early stage at a new company. You're there to do an excellent job and to lead. But you need to do so at a pace that's sustainable. Team-building is vital.

“With the amazingly challenging job you've got as FD, you're going to need the best team around you. You'll get that though coaching, team building, mentoring and so on. And there's no substitute for face to face contact. A lot of communication in business is via telephone or e-mail. But when you're trying to establish yourself as the new FD, meeting people will build rapport buy-in from colleagues and staff."

IN THEIR OWN WORDS: FDs ON THE FIRST 100 DAYS
" Assess the finance team. I like to get rid of dead wood sharpish. I would also restructure the team if necessary. Make an assessment of the reporting and control environment. I would want this area to be solid so that it formed a strong foundation for everything else. Develop short and medium-term strategies. I would want to map out my objectives for the next 12 months, supported by a reasonably detailed action plan and then a high-level view of what I wanted to achieve beyond that."

"Relationships are the secret: establish contact with finance providers - banks, VCs, private shareholders, City analysts - and with the rest of the executive management team."
Andrea, FD of mid-sized quoted company

"Mine is a 30-day plan (and I don't take weekends, because you need the extra time to absorb all the new information). Before I start, I review the CEO's organisation chart and my organisation chart. I want to know who my people are and where they are. Get performance and succession planning information - identify any potential problems. On arrival, have one-on-one meetings with all the CEO's direct reports and your own reports."
" Sit with all inherited files and scan read them all. Pick out the good stuff to read later in more detail. Do site visits, go on a roadshow - let people know who you are. Host a free bar and talk to everyone in finance. This always works. You'll get names and faces set in your mind. This process is tried and tested!"
Bob, FD of a well-known retailer

"Get around and meet people of all different kinds and take an interest in what they do. Then take a tough decision that will upset someone. Oh, and take your team out for a drink."
Philip, FD of a public sector body

"Make an impact —always change something (a working practice or process) to differentiate yourself from your predecessor."
Mark, FD of a UK subsidiary of global manufacturer

"'Bring out your dead' - get all those potential problems belonging to the previous financial management out into the open. Invest time to make sure that you find these issues or they will come back and bite you!

And invest time to learn about the business and the people. Learn as much as you can as quickly as you can before you start to change anything. In fact, maybe even go so far as not changing anything for the first three months as you probably won't know enough about what really goes on!"
Alan, FD of a FTSE-250 company

"Talk to everyone as soon as you can - it's always easy when you are the 'new boy' and people are very willing to give their tuppence-worth."
Jim, finance manager of a UK subsidiary

"First impressions count. So it's important that you rapidly make your mark with a quick win. Before day 100 arrives, launch an initiative that will convince your boss he made the right choice and will attract favourable attention from your peers. You don't want to go trampling on a colleague's turf at this early stage; equally, if it's too financial, no-one else will be interested. But your fresh eyes should be able to spot a quick win that you can take to your first board meeting."
John, FD based in Europe

"Be open-minded and don't try to implement sweeping changes without getting the confidence of your new colleagues beforehand."
Paul, FD of a small business“Get to grips with the debt ledger, understand it and improve it. This will bring you into contact with the whole of the organisation, will enable you to have an immediate impact and show people you are bringing the cash in to pay their salaries!"
Gavin, group FD of a private property firm

"Be objective. Look at the work of your predecessor and identify the good and the bad. Keep the good - especially people. Don't get trapped by the 'not invented here' syndrome."
Faisel, CFO of a Dutch company

"Establish who is best-placed to provide a statement of cash balances and borrowings and make sure that you get evidence of the reconciliations and original bank statements. The biggest embarrassment is if there's a problem here and you haven't seen it by month three. Ask for the cash forecast for the next 100 days and give it a quick sense check.
" As soon as is practical, you need to meet all key players and visit key locations. You're not expected to know much when you start. But after 100 days, you are expected to know everything. Basic questions asked later will expose you. Write notes: it will be impossible to memorise it all. And trivial facts fed back months later to the source will impress and lend credibility to you as the new FD. It's best not to share views in these introductory meetings - just be a very good listener."
Mike Jones, interim executive

" Are there any skeletons? If so, find them fast and decide what to do. Can the historical numbers be relied upon as an indicator of what actually happened and be used for decision making? Or have they been massaged to flatter trends? Are the systems generating good numbers?
Which organisations are crucial to the business? Establish personal relationships with them - auditors, banks, investors, brokers, suppliers, customers, etc. And what are you there for? As a key executive, you are paid to think. It may not look as good as rushing round to meetings, but if you don't make time to think you will fail."
Tony, FD with a big company background

"Do something different to your predecessor in the way things are run. It slgnaIs ownership - and that other things will change. And don't forget your life outside work. Being an FD is a marathon, not a sprint."
David, FD of a well-known quoted company

"Don't focus on the numbers. Instead, focus on the people responsible for the numbers."
Barry, FD of a medium-sized company:

1. Decide what to fight for - don't get sucked into things that don't matter.
2. While you're fresh to the situation, use radical thinking tempered with common sense - but remember the team are not as fresh as you.
3. Walk the floor to learn what needs to be done. But be careful not to over-promise - you must prioritise or the to-do list gets too long.
4. Identify your best managers - chose energy over talent. Set them to work on the big issues.
5. Find out which functions (or people) rely on, ignore or despise the finance function. Talk to them and find out why.
6. Don't be afraid to demand extra resources to deal with things at the beginning."

Richard Farr, former CFO,now with PwC Corporate
Finance and Recovery

WHERE NEXT...
www.petercharles.com
Peter Charles is an FD who specialises in turnarounds. He'd welcome any tips you have - e-mail him at 100days@PeterCharles.com, or visit his site at www.petercharles.com. His own advice for your first 100days? "Focus on people, cash and scrutinising the balance sheet - this is where the bombs are. Also, listen (not talk) to everyone about everything - this will be the raw material for your longer-term strategy."

www.cipd.co.uk
Home of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development

http://content.monster.com.au/experts/tunbridge/library/nt001/
Tips for the first day on a new job

www.plainsense.com/Health/Stress/newiob.htm
Handling the stress of a new work environment