I'm in new job. How to make an impact?
Hi, I'm seeking advice. A few days ago, I started a job as a financial analyst in a residential developer company. Based in Europe, if it matters. It's a relatively small company. The parent company has around 20 investments. I report to the Finance Director and work with the second analyst/controller and specialists assigned to produce statements with IFRS and local GAAP.
In the last company, I had worked in a small treasury team. I had done many tasks related to FP&A and automated every task possible. I feel very strong in this field, and I've also looked for smaller companies, where it might be an advantage. What I knew, from my new boss, was that the technical side of the finance team is my responsibility.
I would like to ask you: what would you like to do in my position, and how would you communicate with the CFO to be successful and develop a career in finance?
I've started doing my job; I got access to the accounting database, and I see many places for improvement. Of course, I will do this to get better performance and work easier, but I seek field visibility for my boss. After 10 months, I will get a new job contract, and it's important for me to get a promotion/better money.
I can hold some new reports like AR/AP aging, real cash position, and future payments, but I'm not sure if they're valuable for the CFO and board. In the past, statements, forecasting, and valuation were done just with Excel files, which is understandable, and I just couldn't change how I input data. Do you have ideas for what might be good to fill their expectations and manage my career as well? I still don't know their business. Definitely, I understand giving insights from data is crucial, and I have to understand the company position, but I want to make myself visible also from a better reporting side.
I can give some new reports to the company and ask my boss, but I don't know if it's the best strategy, and still I consider what might be good for the presentation.