Foreword by Kate Vitasek, Faculty – Graduate and Executive Education, University of Tennessee, Author, educator, and architect of the Vested business model

Fast moving, to the point, and rooted in first-hand executive experiences, this book is for people of vision and action, and for creating the conditions required for growth, innovation, and increased competitive advantage.

Finance Unleashed is based on a series of interactive interviews with a diverse group of global influencers and executives, all of which will challenge readers to think laterally and find inspiration in the new role of finance. Cases and interviewees represent organizations such as UPS and DHL,  and the London School of Economics, and approaches such as Lean Six Sigma, innovation, customer-centricity, the financial supply chain, and behavioral procurement. The authors’ goal is to serve as a catalyst for leaders who are positioned to make meaningful changes today.

The book includes a practical model to help executive teams redesign and refocus finance to drive business leadership - with an emphasis on the CFO. The model has three primary components: 1) Customer-Centricity - Listen and Map; 2) Process - Structure and Technology; and 3) Innovation - Create and Measure. These are presented as phases that each executive team will need to consider based on the goals and maturity level of their organization.

For the CFO and ambitious finance executives, Finance Unleashed presents a path forward towards success and career advancement. For the CEO and the board, it presents an expanded vision for what financial organizations are capable of.

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Early Praise for Finance Unleashed...

“I have been Innovation Director as well as CFO, and currently I have both responsibilities. I firmly believe the CFO should be a major driving force for innovation, in strategic decision making, portfolio management, budgeting, working capital management, restructuring and so on. This book captures these subjects; I recommend everybody to embrace the ideas in it!” -- Paul Smits, Innovation Director and CFO, Port of Rotterdam Authority

“The financial supply chain is real, and this book presents it as a cohesive element rather than a string of disconnected links. Finance Unleashed provides a practical model to illustrate how successful companies can navigate the coming transition. This book will forever change how you regard finance and the role of the CFO.” -- Robert Davis, Former CFO of CA, Inc.

“Lind and Barner present how nonfinancial companies can lead change through financial disruption and how it can dramatically increase competitiveness, profitability and customer acquisition and retention. They place the CFO at the center of this transformation and captivate the reader by describing what financial disruption means for the CFO, CEO, and the Board. It is an inspiring must-read.”  -- Lena Apler, co-founder and Chairman and Collector Bank, and fintech investor

“Finance Unleashed reinvents the CFO's office and puts it into the center of strategic business leadership. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a model for how successful non-financial companies can deal with coming changes.” -- Christian Lanng, co-founder and CEO, Tradeshift

“Magnus and Kelly have captured essential insights into the often overlooked but complementary roles of finance and procurement.  In today’s risky environment, the need for these two corporate partners to align strategies to bolster enterprise value and build resilient supply chains is more important than ever.  Insights into the tradeoffs between price competitiveness, working capital, the total cost of ownership, and visibility into financial and operational analytics are all captured in practical insights in Finance Unleashed.  Financial and supply chain analysts alike should read this book and start working together to create health supply chain balance sheets and longevity of relationships for the future.”  -- Robert Handfield, Ph.D., Bank of America University Distinguished Professor of Supply Chain Management at North Carolina State University, and Executive Director of the Supply Chain Resource Cooperative

“The collective innovation capacity of our supply partners vastly exceeds that of any one organization on its own.  But what role can the CFO play in unlocking this enormous source of competitive advantage?  Finance Unleashed provides both the inspiration and a practical model for Finance executives to deliver revenue growth and reduce internal costs by facilitating supplier-led innovation.” -- Philip Ideson, Managing Director of Palambridge and Founder of the Art of Procurement

“Lind and Barner wonderfully bring together the key facets and implications of the "mash up" of the financial and physical supply chains driven by the De-globalization and Disintermediation of the Banks and the emergence of digitalised manufacturing supply chains. The positioning of the book, frequently written from a CFO perspective operating on either side of the financial institution or manufacturing and supply chain fence, really helps to translate global economic theory into the key aspects and challenges of future corporate strategy.” -- Nick Ford, Executive Director, Odesma

“Digital transformation has affected so many areas of modern business (technology, communications, data, and intelligence) and yet it has left the financial supply chain largely untouched. Lind and Barner point out that elevating intelligence and streamlining corporate processes - especially those that affect the supply chain - are the keys to value creation, innovation, and sustained competitive advantage.” -- Stephany Lapierre, CEO, tealbook

“Lind and Barner take the wraps off an undiscovered opportunity: When guardians of finance use the power of cashflow to unleash innovation in their suppliers, the result is increased value for suppliers, buyers and the buyers’ customers.  This is an innovative and important premise and one that CFOs need to act on. Finance Unleashed shows how.” -- Donal Daly, Executive Chairman, Altify

“Finance Unleashed is a pledge to finally address issues that have been hindering business relationships for too long. Both Procurement and Finance need to evolve from a tactical role to an enabling one. As the testimonies and interviews of a very diverse panel of experts illustrate, there are many opportunities and reasons to close the disconnect between the physical and the financial supply chain (and between Procurement and Finance). The book is a call to action to focus less on operational technicalities and more on the meaning of business.” -- Bertrand Maltaverne, Senior Business Consultant, JAGGAER, Procurement Digitalist