Cheat sheet roundup: skill sets, IFRS, and an accounting battle royale

We know the dog days of August are a hard time to keep up with professional priorities. There’s that last summer trip to take, back-to-school shopping to do, and that beach read to finally finish.

But don’t worry, CFO Brew’s got you covered. To help you see through August’s haze, we’ve gathered more useful LinkedIn tip sheets recently posted by finance thought leaders and influencers.

Our usual disclaimer to the wise: You should always look for additional resources and expertise when doing complicated finance work, because it can be very difficult to accurately sum up sophisticated concepts.

That said, here are three cheat sheets on different finance roles, navigating IFRS 16, and how to tell accounting from FP&A.

• Aleksandar Stojanović, “Six types of finance professionals”: Everybody knows what the different types of finance roles are, right? But, as Stojanović points out, “different roles come with unique responsibilities and skill sets.” Stojanović, a fractional CFO and finance coach, lays out key attributes and duties for CFOs, controllers, FP&A managers, financial analysts, accountants, and internal auditors in a series of charts.
  
  He analyzes, in precise detail, the necessary components of each role using weighted criteria like business acumen, analytical skills, financial reporting, and accounting. This can be a helpful guide for finance professionals looking to boost their current skill sets or move into new roles.
• Bilal Khan, “IFRS 16 flowchart”: Lease accounting is a complicated but critical part of financial reporting. Khan, an IFRS coach, offers a concise, one-page flowchart that visually lays out the analysis and decision-making process for working through the IFRS 16 lease accounting standard. He provides useful guidance on necessary measurements, defines useful terms, and explains potential modifications that may arise during the lease accounting process.
  
  Our two cents: This is not for beginners, but for folks with a sophisticated understanding of accounting and financial reporting.
• Abdul Khaliq, “Accounting vs. FP&A”: Believe us, we do not want to get into the middle of an argument about accounting versus FP&A. But Khaliq wades in with a helpful dissection of how the two differ, the challenges those differences pose, and how to increase collaboration between the two. Among the differences, Khaliq sees accounting driven by standards, while FP&A is motivated by “management’s directives and requirements.” However, he says they share challenges like dependency. dependency on other parts of the organization, among other things.
  
  He also recommends that the accounting and FP&A functions focus on common goals and leverage technology to create more collaboration. Now, getting along is something that we can get behind!