Financial Leadership in the AI Era

The Evolution of Finance Leadership When I earned my chartered accountant qualification, I envisioned a career focused primarily on technical accounting principles, financial reporting, and compliance. Fast forward to today, and the role of a finance manager has evolved into something far more dynamic and strategic than I could have anticipated. This transformation mirrors a broader shift in the finance profession—particularly for those in controller and finance manager positions. The days of the financial controller as a mere “bean counter” are long behind us. Today’s financial controllers are expected to be strategic partners, data analysts, risk managers, technology implementers, and forward-looking advisors. We’re tasked not just with reporting what happened financially, but with providing insights that shape what will happen next. ...

VS Code Mastery: A Beginner’s Guide to Being Productive So you’ve downloaded VS Code and opened it up. Now what? In this guide, I’ll walk you through everything I’ve learned about making VS Code work for you, especially if you’re just getting started. Why I Chose VS Code Before getting into the details, let me share why I chose VS Code: Lightweight enough to open quickly Powerful enough for serious development Enormous extension ecosystem Regular updates with new features Works consistently across Windows, Mac, and Linux Getting Started: The VS Code Interface When you first open VS Code, here’s what you’re looking at: ...

Post 2: Text Editors vs. IDEs for Python Development Welcome to the second post in my Python learning series. Last time, we got Python installed and ran our first code. Now it’s time to set up a proper coding environment. Working directly with .py files in Notepad gets tedious quickly, so let’s explore better options for writing Python code. In this post, we’ll cover: The difference between text editors and IDEs Popular options for Python development Setting up VS Code for Python (my personal choice) Key productivity features that will save you time Running and debugging Python code from your editor 1. Text Editors vs. IDEs: What’s the Difference? When I started learning Python, I was confused about whether to use a “text editor” or an “IDE”. Here’s the simple breakdown: ...

PowerShell Essentials: A Comprehensive Guide Introduction to Command Line Interfaces Before diving into PowerShell specifically, it’s important to understand what command-line interfaces are and why they remain essential tools for modern computing. What is Command Prompt? Command Prompt (cmd.exe) is the traditional command-line interpreter for Windows operating systems. Dating back to MS-DOS, it allows users to interact with their computer by typing text commands rather than using a graphical user interface (GUI). While functional, Command Prompt has significant limitations: ...

Git Crash Course for Beginners: Commands, Workflow & Terminology If you’re new to Git, you’re about to discover one of the most powerful tools in a developer’s toolkit. Git allows you to track changes, collaborate with others, and maintain different versions of your project. This comprehensive guide will take you through everything you need to know to get started with Git on Windows. Setting Up Git Download Git and configure your identity: ...

Post 1: Getting Started with Python on Windows Welcome to the first post in my Python learning series. As I learn Python myself, I’ll be documenting my journey here. This first post covers the essentials to get you up and running with Python on Windows: What Python is and why it’s worth learning Installing Python on Windows (with step-by-step instructions) Quick install notes for macOS & Linux users Writing your first “Hello, World!” program Using the Python interactive shell 1. What Is Python (and Why Learn It)? Python is a high-level, interpreted programming language that’s gained enormous popularity for good reason. After looking into various languages, I chose to learn Python because: ...

My Python Learning Journey Welcome to my Python learning series! As a finance professional exploring programming, I’m documenting my entire journey through 17 posts that take you from absolute beginner to building practical applications. What to Expect from This Series This series is designed for fellow finance professionals and beginners who want to learn Python in a practical, step-by-step manner. Each post builds on previous concepts while introducing new skills. ...