“Imagine waking up to a world without nature. Blue skies replaced by grey, grass by dirt, oceans turned to dust and mud. This isn’t some far-fetched Science Fiction movie, it is the reality we are facing now. We are staring down the gun at the end of the world as we know it and business leaders need to unite to implement new ways of thinking and doing before it’s too late.”

Introducing Paula Kensington, award-winning CFO, business leader and director of consulting group, PK Advisory; and founder/CEO of CFO Conversations.

In her recently published green paper, Paula draws on global research, highlights the pitfalls of the past and offers hope for the future by outlining a strategic road-map out of outmoded, profit-focussed business practices to a new ‘planet-centric’ approach, with CFOs and CEOs leading the way.

“More than just a numbers person, CFOs are ‘key stewards’ that can drive change from within to align business outcomes with earth outcomes to go beyond carbon credits to turn profit into purpose,” she says.

Our conversation on this podcast centres on three key themes:

Why should CFO’s lead the purpose agenda
How do we ‘flip the business model’?
How do we reconstitute what we value as business success

If you are a CFO, this episode is especially for you.

If you’re not a CFO, the value this interview offers is understanding that Purpose and Sustainability is no longer a ‘nice to have’. The ‘compliance’ stakes are gearing up and soon. Paula shares her thoughts, insights and paths to navigating from ‘business-as-usual’ to a new world of business. Great insights and I hope you might consider sharing with a CFO you know; perhaps in your own business.

Some of the highlights of this interview:

Why CFO’s should lead the purpose agenda
- What might be holding CFOs back from leading the purpose and sustainability agenda
- CFO Excellence Index report – when the CFOs leads the sustainability agenda, the business is more successful
- How new regulations and standards are going to mandate sustainability reporting which sits alongside the financial results and reporting
- Her thoughts on probable timing of these reporting requirements (and it’s soon!)
- What can CFOs do to prepare for these new mandates
- The risk frameworks (COSO) around effective internal controls over sustainability reporting
- Campfire Conversations: Paula’s approach and an analogy on how CFOs can navigate this new world and expectations
- How “CFO Conversations” works and what CFOs can expect to gain out of them
“Flipping the business model” – how do we change our focus on valuing the end product to a new world where we also value all inputs and resources?
- How do we value nature while its living?
- How do we bring living nature onto the balance sheet?
- How do we transition to this new world which may be 5-10 years away?
- Disrupting the business model. Paula shares the deep questions she believes business leaders must ask
- She questions how businesses are allocating their capital reserves, challenging the notion that the majority is re-invested into business-as-usual
How do we reconstitute what we value as business success?
- Do we need new language, models, ledgers?
- Horizon concepts
- What can we do right now?
- Stewardship over ownership
- Whole system approach
- As a CFO now we need to be aware of whole system thinking
- Regenerative principles… challenge our thinking …decoupling everything tied to a financial outcome

Links promised in the interview:

BCG Article on CFO leading the way on Sustainability and ESG Paula's Green Paper No.1 COSO report on Achieving Effective Internal control over sustainability Reporting CFO Conversations on LI Connect with Paula Linkedin PK Advisory Website Email