Optimizing Financial Processes

🚨 Why Farmers Stay Poor: Are Finance Models Designed to Fail Them? It’s not the weather. It’s not the soil. It’s the system. For decades, financial models in agriculture have appeared to support farmers, yet poverty persists like a crop that won’t die. But why? Because the system is designed to finance the input, not the impact. Farmers are given loans to buy seeds and fertilizer only to sell low and borrow again. This is not empowerment. It’s a financial treadmill. Here’s the uncomfortable truth: > Most agricultural finance schemes were designed for lenders to manage risk not for farmers to build wealth < Three systemic design flaws that keep farmers trapped: 1. Short-term loans for long-term crops: Cash crops like coffee, banana, or avocado need patient capital. But most agri-loans are seasonal, forcing early harvests and losses. 2. Collateral bias: Land titles or assets are demanded, excluding women and youth who ironically are the ones farming most. 3. Profit blindness: No financing model asks: Will this farmer actually make money from this season? It assumes yield = success. But yield doesn’t pay school fees. Profits do. We don’t need more credit. We need credit designed for context. So what’s the solution? 📌 Agri-finance products co-designed with farmer groups. 📌 Flexible repayment systems linked to harvest cycles, not calendar months. 📌 Data-informed risk scoring using real-time climate and market data. 📌 Incentives for banks to finance regenerative and value-adding models, not just inputs. In 2025, agricultural finance must go beyond transactions to build transformation. If you're building a new finance product, running an agri-startup, or investing in food systems and you’re not thinking about this you’re building on sand. Let’s create capital that liberates, not entraps. National Agricultural Research Organisation - NARO FAO M-Omulimisa Enimiro Uganda Avotein Farms Limited Amabanda Uganda Limited Emata Shambapro AgriLink Uganda AgriProFocus Uganda Solidaridad East and Central Africa AGRA Are you curious on how I can redesign your agri-finance approach to actually build farmer wealth? Let’s connect. #Agribusiness #Agrifinance #InclusiveFinance #UgandaAgriculture #Agritech #SmallholderFarmers #Agripreneurs #AgriPolicy #FintechForFarmers #TheAgrithinkersTimes #AgriWealthStrategies #ClimateSmartFinance

If you’re a young person working in African agriculture… You might be wondering: Where’s the money? Why do investors ignore smallholder farmers and rural youth? But here’s what many don’t realize: You’re sitting on the continent’s most powerful untapped investment. Let’s break it down: If Africa had just 100 people: ↳ 60 depend on agriculture for their livelihood ↳ 33 are youth under 30 ↳ 20 are unemployed ↳ 10 run informal agri-enterprises ↳ Only 3 ever receive formal investment And yet—agriculture contributes over 30% of GDP in many African countries. This means: Africa’s agriculture is full of potential but starved of capital. Now, here's how you can position yourself—and your community—to attract and grow investment: 1/ Think Like an Agripreneur Agriculture isn’t just digging and planting—it’s a business. ↳ Track your costs and profits ↳ Package your work into a clear business model ↳ Create value along the supply chain Investors don’t fund ideas—they fund solutions with numbers. 2/ Build Investment-Ready Projects If you’re seeking funding, show that you're fundable. ↳ Have a simple pitch deck or concept note ↳ Know your numbers: revenue, expenses, break-even point ↳ Show traction, even if small (a pilot project, customer base, testimonials) Start lean. Prove demand. Scale later. 3/ Leverage Digital Agriculture Data is the new currency in agri-finance. ↳ Use apps to monitor your production ↳ Gather testimonials and digital evidence of impact ↳ Platforms like Hello Tractor, AgUnity, and ThriveAgric are helping youth raise capital Investors trust what they can track. 4/ Tell a Better Story Your pitch needs a purpose. ↳ Why this crop, this region, this model? ↳ How many jobs are you creating? ↳ What problem are you solving for consumers or climate resilience? Impact + clarity = attention. 5/ Start with Local Financing Don't wait for global investors—look around you. ↳ SACCOs, microfinance groups, village savings and loan associations (VSLAs) ↳ Cooperatives pooling funds ↳ Agribusiness competitions and government grant calls Every $100 you secure and multiply builds trust. 6/ Collaborate for Scale You may not have land, capital, or equipment—but someone does. ↳ Partner with youth-led cooperatives ↳ Offer your skills in data, marketing, or logistics ↳ Build trust and equity through shared results Smart partnerships attract smart money. 7/ Don’t Just Seek Investment—Be One Once you grow, reinvest. ↳ Support other young farmers ↳ Mentor others on what you’ve learned ↳ Share your wins so others see what’s possible The best way to grow African agriculture is to plant into people. So, ask yourself: Are you building something worth investing in? The future of African food systems is young, digital, and investable. Start where you are—with what you have. P.S. Have you ever applied for an agri grant or investor pitch? What worked (or didn’t)? Share your experience👇🏾

When KPIs are measured in silos. Every department hits its targets—while the mine misses its goals. Our last discussion on silos in mining education sparked an overwhelming response. Many of you pointed out these silos don’t stop at education—they shape how mining companies operate. Here’s what you shared: ✅ Geologists model resources but often miss downstream mining and processing needs. ✅ Mine engineers focus on moving tonnes but don’t always consider processing constraints. ✅ Metallurgists optimize recovery but lack insight into ore variability, setting them up to fail. But siloed KPIs hurt operations. Mining succeeds by maximizing metal recovery and throughput at the lowest cost. Yet, companies break this into departmental KPIs that reward local efficiency at the expense of overall performance. Here’s how that plays out: 📍Mining teams hit targets by extracting more tonnes—whether the plant can process them or not. ⚡Processing teams cut energy costs, even if it reduces throughput and recovery. 🔧 Maintenance minimizes downtime but defers repairs, leading to bigger failures later. 💸 Procurement buys the cheapest equipment, causing breakdowns and lost productivity. Each team hits its targets—while the mine falls short. Why does this happen? Company culture. Organizations set siloed KPIs because they manage operations in silos—separating budgets, encouraging competition instead of collaboration, and rewarding local wins over profitability. And they ignore one critical principle: 👉 Culture eats strategy for breakfast. Success depends on aligning incentives so every team works toward the same goal. This is where value-chain thinking matters. Mining must align every step of the process, from geology to the final product. ✅ Geologists must provide data that mining and processing teams can act on. ✅ Mine engineers must optimize feed prep for plant performance. ✅ Metallurgists must balance smelter requirements with environmental goals. This isn’t new—it’s Follow the Money 101. Yet teams optimize for their own success, not the mine’s profitability. The result? ❌ Poor communication disguised as “alignment meetings” that fail to drive real change.  ❌ Departmental KPIs that create trade-offs rather than shared wins.  ❌ Budgets that encourage departments to hoard resources instead of collaborating. How do we break free from siloed thinking? 1️⃣ Align KPIs with overall performance. ✅ Measure teams by their contribution to mine-wide success. ✅ Reward mining teams for delivering the right ore, not just more ore. 2️⃣ Break down budget silos. ✅ If cost savings in one area increase costs elsewhere, it’s a hidden expense. ✅ Empower managers to spend where it actually delivers results. 3️⃣ Build cross-functional teams. ✅ Use shared KPIs that require collaboration. ✅ Get geologists, engineers, and metallurgists aligned before problems arise. Until leaders fix this, the mine will keep falling short. What do you think? Let’s discuss.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗙𝗢 — 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗲 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗙𝗹𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 “𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦.” I was recently brought in to transform a finance function that “needed serious attention.” The mandate was clear: rebuild the foundation—modernize systems, improve accuracy, and strengthen controls. But at the same time, I was expected to keep delivering strategic insights, supporting growth, and driving enterprise value. In other words, I was asked to 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗳𝗹𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴. It’s a challenge every transformational CFO knows well. You inherit a legacy finance organization—often underinvested, overextended, and dependent on spreadsheets that should’ve been retired years ago. Yet the business still expects you to operate like a jet engine: fast, precise, and ready for takeoff. Here’s the truth: transformation isn’t a side project. It’s a full-flight overhaul that requires patience, prioritization, and, above all, clear communication. Managing expectations—especially with the CEO and board—is critical. The instinct to “do it all” is strong, but that mindset often leads to burnout, missed milestones, and half-fixed systems. When I step into these roles, one of my first conversations with the CEO centers on 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱. Transformation doesn’t mean slowing down—it means sequencing change so that improvements stick. A new ERP system doesn’t fix bad data. Faster reporting doesn’t matter if the numbers can’t be trusted. Growth is only sustainable when the foundation beneath it can support the weight. The CFO’s job, then, is to keep the plane in the air while methodically upgrading its parts—replacing the outdated instruments, tightening up the engine, and making sure the wings are strong enough to handle the turbulence ahead. That means knowing when to accelerate and when to glide. It’s about being strategic enough to see the long-term destination while pragmatic enough to land safely if the warning lights start flashing. Sometimes, the bravest thing a CFO—or any leader—can do is pause and say: “𝗪𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲.” Modern CFOs aren’t just financial stewards; we’re transformation pilots. We’re guiding organizations through complexity, balancing forward motion with foundational repair, and making sure growth doesn’t outpace readiness. So, to my fellow finance leaders: how do you keep your organization moving forward while ensuring the systems, people, and processes beneath it are truly built to last? #TheAccidentalCFO #FinanceLeadership #TransformationInAction #inersec #CFOInsights

I became an auditor to discover financial truth. An audit is a mirror to a company's reality. I learned this early in my career. Transactions are not just debits and credits. They are about people and their choices. Audits surface what culture tries to hide. Late reconciliations, rushed reviews, brittle controls. Behind each symptom is a habit. If we treat an audit like a fight, we lose the lesson. If we treat it like an opportunity, the company grows. Here are my 7 tips to help you prepare for an audit: 1. Close cadence: ➞ Every task has an owner, a deadline, and reviewer. ➞ Have a clear plan so the audit starts on time. 2. Reconciliations: ➞ Bank, ledgers, intercompany, inventory, payroll.  ➞ Verify, explain, clear or escalate. 3. Evidence on first click: ➞ Policies, contracts, approvals, and calculations. ➞ Saved with transactions for easy access. 4. Cutoff discipline: ➞ Shipments, revenue, accruals, and provisions ➞ Completed promptly with clear timestamps. 5. Segregation of duties: ➞ Nobody does everything. ➞ Share tasks to lower collusion or fraud risks. 6. Open door policy: ➞ Staff can flag pressure or errors without fear. ➞ Encourage proactive disclosure. 7. Review within 72 hours: ➞ After close, capture errors and fix root causes. ➞ Prompt improvements save you time. When leaders do this, their audit costs reduce and trust increases. Run this ritual for your next audit and let me know how it goes. How do you keep better financial records? ------- ➕ Follow Jonathan Maharaj FCPA for finance‑leadership clarity. 🔄 Share this insight with a decision‑maker. 📰 Get deeper breakdowns in Financial Freedom, my free newsletter: https://lnkd.in/gYHdNYzj 📆 Ready to work together? Book your Clarity Session: https://lnkd.in/gyiqCWV2

Mining companies should treat resource drilling like option portfolios. Conventional drill planning is one of the largest sources of value destruction in the sector. A mining company that hedges its gold price or negotiates a streaming deal is acting like a bank. When that same company plans a $10m drilling program, it does not see it as an investment and thus underestimate the full cost of the program and its built in inefficiencies.  The most capital-intensive decision in the resource cycle is routinely made without the analytical frameworks that govern far smaller allocations of shareholder capital. The trouble starts with the curve of diminishing returns. Every resource conversion program follows one. The first holes generate enormous value, upgrading geological knowledge from speculation to confidence. Each subsequent hole contributes less. As a result, additional drilling confirms what is expected without changing a single decision the company will make. That’s how every metre drilled consumes resources that could create more value if drilled elsewhere. Real options theory explains it perfectly. The framework treats each drill hole as a purchased option on geological information. The cost is fixed. The upside is that a single hole can transform the economics of a deposit. But like any option, its value depends on what you already know. The first hole into an unexplored zone is a cheap call on enormous potential. The fiftieth into a well-defined block is an expensive premium paid for negligible incremental knowledge. The mining industry buys both at the same price The chain of resource classification makes the stakes concrete. An inferred ounce of gold carries a fraction of the market value assigned to a measured one. Each upgrade unlocks financing gates that were previously shut: streaming deals, project debt, and bankable feasibility. The drilling required to achieve each upgrade is the premium paid for that financial option. Pay it efficiently, and you create extraordinary leverage. Overshoot and you consume budget that could have opened floodgates at another opportunity. Objectivity's DRX was built around understanding and communicating the value of decreased returns - where many AIs tell you where to drill, we also tell you when it may be time to stop drilling. By generating multiple optimised drill plans across a range of budgets, and capabilities (e.g U/G vs surface, wedged vs. actively deviated)  and plotting them as an investment curve, it makes the options structure of a drilling program explicit. The steepest part of the curve shows where each dollar generates maximum classification uplift. The flattening region shows where you are overspending. The distance between an existing plan and DRX shows how much value conventional planning leaves behind - we call this the value triangle. Meet us at PDAC to learn more. Booth 623.

A company you may never have heard of called Stacks just raised a $23 million Series A round to bring Agentic AI into the the CFO's office. They're building a platform for enterprise finance teams, aimed at taking the grind out of reconciliations, journal entries, and the month-end close. They say they are already saving finance teams over 100,000 hours per year, with more than 30 enterprise customers on board. Having spent most of my career in financial services, the real problem Stacks is solving is that finance data is scattered across ERPs, spreadsheets, data lakes, and legacy systems. As a result, every “why did this number change?” at month end turns into a manual hunt. I've been there with my face in a green screen, and it's painful. But Stacks is tackling that by building a finance data layer first, then letting agents run repeatable work on top of it. The sequencing here matters, because automation fails very quickly when the data foundation isn't in place; hence why so many AI initiatives aren't baring fruit. So why is agentic AI the right fit here? The monthly, quarterly, or year-end close is not one task. It's a chain of tasks with handoffs, approvals, exceptions, and constant context switching. Agents do well when the tasks are in a sequence, not a single prompt. And we're talking tasks here, not entire roles. I think Agentic AI in the contact center as the enterprise warm-up act puts an interesting perspective on the Finance play. Finance is definitely a higher-stakes arena because every single output touches controls, audit trails, and accountability. So if you lead a function that lives in spreadsheets and swivel-chair workflows, your world is about to get rocked. So everyone from Procurement, Revenue Ops, Payroll, Risk & Compliance, and Internal Audit should be taking their company's contact center leader out for lunch soon to pick their brain on the impact they're about to experience. So, who do you think is next in your company, once Finance stops being spreadsheet-first and becomes system-first? #finance #ai #agenticai #futureofwork

Everyone says AI will transform finance, but no one tells CFOs how to make it actually pay off. AI pilots are everywhere… but measurable ROI is rare. If you’re a CFO or FP&A leader, you don’t need another tool, you need a framework that connects AI to business outcomes. Here are 5 that actually work: 1) The 4R Framework Recognise → Identify real finance pain points. Redesign → Integrate AI and automation into the process. Run → Pilot with real data and defined KPIs. Realise → Quantify time, cost, and error reductions. 2) The VALUE Framework Vision – Automate – Learn – Use – Evaluate. Start small, build literacy, then scale what delivers measurable impact. 3) The 3P Framework People. Process. Platform. Train your team, redesign workflows, and choose scalable tools (Python - available now in Excel, Copilot, ChatGPT Enterprise, Power BI). 4) The ROI Loop Measure → Deploy → Measure again → Reinvest. Treat AI like any other capital project. Expect a return, not a headline. 5) The MIND Framework Model – Interpret – Narrate – Decide. Turn deterministic Python outputs into GenAI-powered insights that drive action. BONUS: The FOUNDATION Framework Before deploying AI, build a clean, automated, and standardised data layer. Then: a) Define the real business problems to solve. b) Deploy a standardised, repeatable solution that uses not only AI, but also automation, data governance, and integration across your systems. Because AI is only as powerful as the data and the discipline behind it. These frameworks can help you move finance from AI hype to measurable value. Sharing 3 More Resources to make this happen: https://lnkd.in/erM6KiNv https://lnkd.in/eTgrPPec https://lnkd.in/eTVnDvKQ

𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲. Few actually know where to start. I've seen it too many times. Finance teams launching transformation initiatives. New tools. New processes. New ambitions. Yet nothing moves. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝗺𝗲: They're missing two things: structure and progress. Without structure, you can't measure. Without measurement, you can't benchmark. Without benchmarking, you can't set a target. And without a target, every initiative feels pointless. A process house like this one breaks the finance function into 21 specific processes: • Accounting • Tax Management • Capital Allocation • Risk Management • Cost Management • Financial Reporting • Asset Management • Financial Compliance • Treasury Management • Regulatory Compliance • Financial Communication • Cash Handling and Banking • Financial Policy Development • Financial Planning & Analysis • Finance Education and Training • Strategic Financial Management • Financial Systems & Technology • Employee Benefits Management • Sustainability and ESG Reporting • Vendor and Supplier Management • Financial Analytics and Business Intelligence Each one can be measured. Each one can be benchmarked. Each one can have a clear ambition. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵: Finance functions that lack structure end up being reactive rather than strategic. They chase ad-hoc improvements. They invest in tools without knowing which process needs them most. They never have a clear picture of where they stand versus where they want to be. 𝗠𝘆 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲? 𝟭. 𝗠𝗮𝗽 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 Use a framework like this to identify every process in your finance function. No blind spots. 𝟮. 𝗠𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗻𝗲 Define KPIs for each process. Be honest about current performance. 𝟯. 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗺𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 Benchmark against best practice. Decide how good you want to become. Then prioritize. Because here's what separates finance functions that transform from those that just talk about it: They structure their function first. Then they improve it systematically. 𝗦𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁: Does your finance function have a clear structure for measuring and improving performance? ---------- 🧑💼 I'm a partner at Business Partnering Institute 🆘 Need immediate help in your finance team, call us! 🤝 We help increase the influence of your finance team 🔔 To see more content, hit the bell on my profile 📘 Order our new book now: https://bit.ly/4h2P9AA 🧑🎓 Enroll in our LinkedIn course: https://bit.ly/4a5fB9l 📻 #FinanceMaster podcast: https://bit.ly/3NLSt73 📺 Follow us on YouTube: https://bit.ly/4bSBut6 📢 Join our WhatsApp channel: https://bit.ly/3WWGOrc 📄 Check out all our templates and cheat sheets here: https://lnkd.in/eC_zuCU4

Are you struggling to make money in your business? One of the fastest ways to turn the corner is to cut costs. Here are 7 ways to cut costs: 1) Conduct a cost audit The word audit makes chills go up my back. Going through an audit stinks. But this is a different type of audit. Do a thorough review of your expenses to identify areas where you can reduce costs without too much impact on the business. 1. Pull 12 months of transactions 2. Label them: - Fixed or variable - Essential or non-essential 3. Identify subscriptions or recurring charges 4. Group them into 3 buckets: cut, review, or keep 2) Optimize operational efficiencies Easy to say right? Do these 3 things: 1. Incentivize your staff 2. Bring in an outside expert in automation and/or processes 3. Create a process flow diagram for your major processes and look for areas of improvement Work with your team on the review items to decide which to cut. 3) Adjust employee authorizations Revisit who you’ve authorized to do what and spot-check employee spending. This keeps employees accountable. Yes, give employees authorization to make decisions, but only when you have the proper structures in place. 4) Outsource Non-Core Activities You can’t be an expert in everything. Outsource activities like accounting, IT, marketing, and HR. Each requires immersion to become great, so let the pros handle it. 5) Re-negotiate contracts Build a relationship and understand the other businesses' needs. Share yours as well, then look for areas of mutual benefit. Just asking “we need to lower cost by 10%; how can we make that happen?” can open up the floodgates. 6) Leverage technology Consider what can be: 1. automated 2. move to the cloud 3. made more efficient Tech can be expensive up front, but often you’re saving in time or error reduction. Don’t pinch pennies while your team spends hours weekly on workarounds. 7) Setup a regular review Regularly reviewing costs, softwares, and processes is a great way to stay on top of your costs. This creates a culture of accountability. This often slips when people get busy, so make sure it’s a priority and stays on the schedule. Cost-cutting should be a temporary thing. A constant focus on cutting cost is going to sow doubt among your team. Cost reduction is a great first lever, but it should never be the only measure. Thank you for reading! This was originally in my newsletter, where I share business finance tips for 40k SMB owners each week. Subscribe here: https://lnkd.in/gVigaTwi