Raising Capital: How to Execute the Leaders’ Most Crucial Responsibility
The most essential challenge for any organization is to raise capital. Without financing – no employees and no bank account, meaning there is no organization. What is the process to raise funds to finance an organization? What are the alternatives in addition to debt or equity? What are the pros and cons of each?

To successfully raise financing, you must plan extensively, have multiple alternatives, and consider the transaction from the investor’s perspective. Raising financing is a tricky challenge, tailored to suit each individual organization. Whether you are the CEO, CFO, Board member, accountant, consultant, or advisor – this seminar will help you understand what to consider when raising financing and how to do it.

Topics Discussed:

• Understanding the need
• How much is needed, when, what will it be used for, etc.?
• Keys to success:
• Planning
• Understand how the use, stage, amount, how and when – impacts the decision
• Unintended consequences to avoid
• Low cost is not necessarily a sound option.
• What are the non-quantifiable factors that can change the financing decision?
• Details on the time-intensive processes
• Common blunders when raising financing
• The perils of choosing the wrong alternative or wrong investor!

Accounting for People: Workforce Trends and Talent to Add Value
Leaders are increasingly responsible for the human resources function, despite limited formal training in people management. This seminar explores how to account for people as a valued asset rather than an expense. Managing the costs, trends, and risks associated with today’s ever-changing workforce has changed. From recruiting and retention to engagement and compensation alternatives. The modern leader must understand how employee-related decisions drive both performance and profitability. This session will examine the financial implications of HR trends, workforce planning, and the evolving role of talent strategy. We will also explore how to influence investments in people through accounting and reporting tools. Successful organizations have moved employees to the left side of their balance sheet. Have you?

Topics Discussed:

• Trends in the modern workforce: demographics, generational shifts, remote work, and engagement
• The true cost of talent: hiring, retention, and turnover
• People as assets versus people as liabilities
• The varied challenges in accounting for human capital
• Metrics that matter: KPIs for employee performance and value
• Integrating people costs into financial strategy
• Navigating compliance, risk, and benefits

Rethinking Your Customers to Maximize Profitability: Identifying the Right Clients
Some customers are unprofitable from an economic or time perspective – but many organizations do not differentiate or know the difference. When an organization has a unique, well-differentiated service or product, understanding value from the customer’s perspective becomes a crucial factor in profitable pricing. We must take the time to fully understand what our customers value - from the customer’s point of view. What is value? Why do brand, value, and customer focus matter?

Developing a deep understanding of our customers is vital. Our most important customer might be someone we have not yet recognized. Understanding both external clients and internal stakeholders - including the evolving role of the finance department, is critical to long-term success.

Topics Discussed:

• Who is your customer?
• How to segment your customers
• Identifying and understanding your most valuable customers
• What is solution-based planning for customer value?
• Recognizing internal customers (e.g., departments served by finance)
• Exploring profitability differences between customers with similar revenue
• Creating and sustaining a customer value pyramid

Activate and Execute Your Strategy: Turn Planning into Results
Organizations that execute a wise strategy succeed; others are executed in the market. Many organizations invest significant time in strategic planning but fall short when it comes to execution. According to McKinsey, most fail to properly execute their strategy. This session explores the critical transition from strategy to performance while challenging outdated planning models and myths. We often do not think of strategy in the same context of longer-term organizational projects like ERP transitions or risk management. Why should you consider “killing” your current plan and building a new plan centered around financial performance? We will dive into the reasons strategy fails, uncover the practical tools for bridging the planning-performance gap, and explore how strong financial integration enables strategy to succeed. We review insight into what works—and what must be stopped immediately.

Topics Discussed:

• The strategy-execution gap: common reasons why most strategic plans fail
• Why should financial planning lead strategy?
• Evaluating the lifespan and relevance of your strategic plan
• Building your strategy to include risk management
• Building an adaptive, finance-focused strategic approach
• What we should learn from the rise and fall of major companies
• How to align financial metrics with strategy

Corporate financial leaders, financial managers, CEOs, CFOs, controllers, accountants, board members, advisors, and consultants; CPAs in public practice and CPAs in industry; business owners, entrepreneurs and professionals who are interested in raising capital, improving profitability, cutting costs and those seeking to enhance their ability to manage strategy and the direction of the organization.