Ep. 254: Soufyan Hamid - Mastering the Art of Finance Storytelling

Welcome to the Count Me In Podcast! In this episode, host Adam
Larson invites Soufyan Hamid, a highly experienced finance
professional with over 15 years in the industry. Soufyan is also
the founder of SouFBP, a global consulting firm that helps
finance professionals enhance their presentation delivery. Join
Adam and Soufyan as they delve into Soufyan's remarkable journey
in the accounting field, from working with top-tier firms to
transitioning into corporate finance. They discuss the challenges
of effective storytelling in the finance world and the importance
of clear communication to effectively convey complex financial
data. If you're eager to gain valuable insights into the world of
finance and accounting, this episode is a must-listen!


Catch Soufyan live at IMA's European Accounting and Finance
Conference in April 2024


Full Transcript:
 < Intro >


 


Adam:           
Welcome back to Count Me In. Where we bring you compelling
stories and insights from the world of accounting and finance. In
today's episode, we have a fascinating conversation with Soufyan
Hamid, an experienced accounting professional with over 15 years
of corporate experience. As the founder of SouFBP, a global
consulting firm, Soufyan's expertise lies in helping finance
professionals, globally, master the delivery of their
presentations by improving their preparation, messaging, and
visuals.


 


Soufyan takes us on his remarkable journey, through the
accounting field from his early days at a Big Four firm to
becoming a finance business partner. We'll hear about practical
strategies for becoming a more effective communicator, and how
human skills are more vital than ever, in the age of automation.
Let's get started.


 


< Music >


 


Soufyan, thank you so much for coming on the podcast today. We're
really excited to have you. I thought we could start off our
conversation by, maybe, you could tell us a little about your
journey, in the accounting field, and what initially drew you to
the profession?


 


Soufyan:        Well, it's
quite easy because this is basically following the leads, that I
started following in my studies in business, finance, and
economics. And suddenly I realized that I liked the logic of
accounting and the logic of finance. How precise it is, how
organized it is to know the debits and the credits from one side.
It has to be perfectly equal on both sides, so I liked the logic.
And when you are in such an orientation, when you are in your
studies, well, it goes quite easy because the Big Four are all
over you, even before you end your studies.


 


And, so, in my last year, I directly signed a contract with PwC,
and that's how my accounting career started, basically. And, so,
I started as an auditor, working for PwC, and I did that during
four years. And I liked that journey because it was an
accelerated program, to understand better accounting without
having to go through all specializations. You're easily brought
into the whole picture, into the helicopter view of a P&L,
for example, or a balance sheet.


 


And, so, I didn't have to go through all the transactions like
bookkeeping AP, or AR, or cash, to finally become a general
accountant. Thanks to that, after two years, I was already
working on analytical reviews of the P&L, and working on the
full balance sheet. So it was really a second university, I would
say, and I love that.


 


But since I didn't want to become a public accountant for a
living, and I didn't want to end up my career like that, I
decided to move. And, at that moment, I was still considering
myself as a rookie because you understand a lot of things when
you work in audit, but you're still somehow in studies.


 


And, so, I wanted to face the reality of working in a company.
But, obviously, at that time, I didn't have any experience
working inside a company. So I decided to join Deloitte in
temporary work department, with the business process solution
department. And they offered us the possibility to work in
accounting, but also controlling treasury, all finance fields, as
a temp. Meaning that I had assignments of three months, six
months, sometimes, one or two years.


 


And, so, I had the opportunity to continue learning how to work
inside of finance department, under the umbrella of Deloitte. And
that was really where I discovered what it was to work in
finance. And this is also where I discovered my passion for
controlling, FP&A, and finance business partnering.


 


Adam:           
Mh-hmm, I think that's amazing. Because many accountants, whether
they go the traditional route, starting at a Big Four like you,
or they go right into corporate, right into the finance
department, or the internal accounting team. They find
themselves, eventually, getting to that point where they're
looking at those finance, looking at the FP&A side of things,
and being that business partner.


 


And what are some of the main challenges that you find when you
get to that point? Or you've been doing all these things and you
get to, "Hey, I'm going to be analyzing this complex data and
trying to tell the story." When you're trying to convey these
things to people, not even in finance. So you're no longer
working with auditing teams or working with accounting teams.
You're talking to people who don't understand how it all works.
What are some of the biggest challenges that you find, when that
happens?


 


Soufyan:        Well, I
found these challenges when I started to work as internal for a
company. Because when I left Deloitte, after five years, I
decided to join a Belgian Telco company, as a finance business
partner, and I was really good, technically.


 


Technically, I was really good. I was one of the few to master
financial modeling. I was one of the few to master Excel, visual
basics, Power Pivot, everything, that was, somehow, what made me
successful at Deloitte. And I was kind of happy, and in finance,
everybody was happy because I developed dashboards, I helped them
automate many things.


 


But when I had to compare how I was welcomed by non-finance
people, it's another story. Because I was so convinced that my
success would go through the technical stuff, that I completely
missed the fact that I was working with people, not mastering the
same things as me. And I was there, telling them about the many
exceptions you found in the data about I don't know which IFRS
rule that made an exception to their figures. Another
[Inaudible 00:06:05] that I had to reverse this
month because it was too old to be there.


 


And, so, I had a difficult time having a real partnership with
them. And since I was supposed to be a finance business partner,
that made it tough. So I thought I was right, and I just
understood that when you're working inside a company, and that
you leave the world of PwC, of Deloitte, of one of the Big Four,
and even one of the consulting firms, you don't have that shield.


You don't have that umbrella anymore, to protect you, and to give
you the credibility, you need to convince people. So you have to
work on your communication, you have to work on those ...