Latest / The Diary of a CFO / Meet The CFO Who Went Viral on TikTok: Professor Bee Nance
Transcript
- 0:03Welcome back to the Diary of a CFO podcast. The
- 0:06podcast where finance leaders share the lessons,
- 0:09challenges, and wins that shape their careers,
- 0:11as well as their organizations. Today I'm so
- 0:14delighted to have with me Professor Baseemah Nance,
- 0:17also known as Bee. Professor Bee Nance is a licensed
- 0:20CPA with over 15 years of professional experience
- 0:24in accounting, budgeting, and financial management.
- 0:27She works full -time as a CFO. Chief Financial
- 0:31Administrative Officer of a multimillion -dollar
- 0:34documentary film not -for -profit while moonlighting
- 0:37as an accounting professor, accounting translator,
- 0:39and published author. Welcome to the show, Professor
- 0:43B. Thank you so much. I'm so excited to be here.
- 0:47Awesome. You have such an impressive career,
- 0:51spending from finance, accounting, education,
- 0:54entrepreneurship. What initially drew you to
- 0:56accounting, and did you always envision your
- 0:59career to have so so many dimensions. Yeah, so
- 1:03I had never heard of accounting before. So I
- 1:06was in high school. I loved math. I thought I
- 1:09wanted to be a doctor. Science wasn't my thing.
- 1:12And so I just did some research and tried to
- 1:14figure out what kind of jobs made sense for people
- 1:17who liked math. And that's how I found accounting.
- 1:20That's awesome. So you have so many roles. I
- 1:22just want to go role by role, starting with the
- 1:25one you have now, the first one, which is Chief
- 1:28Financial and Administrative Officer. Tell us
- 1:31more about it. What do you find exciting or difficult
- 1:34about the role? So at this role, I oversee all
- 1:38of the accounting and finance, but as well as
- 1:40like the administrative pieces of the work. One
- 1:43of the exciting things about this role is it
- 1:46does allow me to really concentrate more on,
- 1:49like, just the accounting and finance pieces.
- 1:52But the challenging part is this organization
- 1:56does a lot of multi -year gifts, and that's my
- 1:59first time kind of dealing in that arena of accounting
- 2:02and finance and... Ooh, non -for -profit accounting.
- 2:05Yes, non -for -profit accounting. So it's non
- 2:09-for -profit with a little edge, because... It's,
- 2:11you know, like we do a lot of fundraising for
- 2:13documentary films and films take five years to
- 2:17produce. A film can be open for five years and
- 2:20we're accepting donations. And so tracking that
- 2:23that money is it's a very interesting challenge.
- 2:26Oh, wow. Nice. But then before becoming CFO,
- 2:31you were CEO before and you worked at other.
- 2:34organization. So can you tell a little bit about
- 2:36how being a COO maybe have helped you? How did
- 2:39you get to be a COO in the first place, especially
- 2:41since you're starting in accounting? So I started
- 2:44that role as a director of finance. I think over
- 2:47time, I was there for seven years. Over time,
- 2:50my role kind of grew and took on different elements
- 2:53because I'm a multi -passionate person. And so
- 2:56I also do really well in person with like meeting
- 2:59people and helping with programming and other
- 3:01things. And so when it came time to advance,
- 3:05it didn't make sense for me to be just chief
- 3:07financial officer because I was doing so many
- 3:10other pieces of the program as well. In addition
- 3:13to finance, in addition to HR, in addition to
- 3:16administrative, I was also over some of the operational
- 3:19pieces. Wow. That's a lot. even within it. What
- 3:25do you think makes a CFO successful in that space,
- 3:29in a not -for -profit space? Because in any organization,
- 3:32yes, you will have to deal with a lot as a CFO.
- 3:35Some say you're a therapist, you're the friend,
- 3:38you're the buffer. You have to go beyond just
- 3:41finance and accounting, but I feel like in not
- 3:43-for -profits, there is also other aspects that
- 3:46you have to be aware of or intentional about.
- 3:49What would you say about that? Flexibility is
- 3:51like so important. I think in nonprofit organizations,
- 3:55because of the lack of resources, a lot of times
- 3:57we end up wearing so many hats. Being open in
- 4:00my last role, being open to be more a part of
- 4:04the programming and the operations really helped
- 4:07me get to the chief level, honestly, because
- 4:10I showed that I was able to take on more and
- 4:13be diverse in the things that I could manage.
- 4:16And the thing that a lot of times we don't think
- 4:18about is that accounting and finance lends itself
- 4:20so perfectly to other things. So we're good at
- 4:24numbers, but there are a lot of other aspects
- 4:26of like a nonprofit organization. We graduated
- 4:30from a school of business. So, you know, like
- 4:32when you put your business hat on, a little HR,
- 4:35a little a little you dabble in so many things.
- 4:37And so that really just makes you really marketable
- 4:39when it comes to trying to advance in your career.
- 4:42And that shows. how accounting can be your superpower,
- 4:46right? Having that background, which leads me
- 4:48to your second role, which is professor. Like,
- 4:52what drew you to teaching? I'm always amazed
- 4:55at people who are in teaching for two reasons.
- 4:57First, COVID, and I had my two young kids at
- 5:00home, and I'm like, how do these teachers do?
- 5:02And then also realizing I don't have the patience.
- 5:05I know the stuff. If I explain twice, I turn
- 5:08into the Tasmanian devil. Like, why don't you
- 5:10get? So what drew you to teaching? How do you
- 5:14like it? Well, so my mom is actually a teacher.
- 5:18She was, she graduated, she retired a couple
- 5:20of years ago. And so I feel like it was something
- 5:23that was always kind of in the background and
- 5:26like it was in my blood. And then it came to
- 5:29the surface, but I don't know if I would have
- 5:32done it in grade school, but I teach accounting.
- 5:35And it's just something that I don't know. I
- 5:38feel like it's like a passion that snuck up on
- 5:40me. And so when I got the opportunity to teach,
- 5:43you know, I took it. And then I honestly feel
- 5:46like one of the teaching jobs I had is one of
- 5:49the, one of my favorite jobs that I've had in
- 5:51my career, the full -time teaching jobs. Tell
- 5:54us more. So what grade or what part of accounting
- 5:56do you teach typically the topics? I do a lot
- 6:00of intro to accounting. Those, I love the babies,
- 6:02you know, the intro, like they come in. thinking
- 6:05about debits and credits as it relates to like
- 6:07their bank account. And I'm like, no, don't think
- 6:09of that. Like, forget that. That's my favorite
- 6:11part. I love doing that. So I've done advanced
- 6:13accounting. I've done a lot of cost accounting,
- 6:15managerial accounting. But my favorite is financial
- 6:17intro accounting 101. And I always teach for
- 6:21the most part at community colleges. But right
- 6:24now I'm also teaching kind of a little bit on
- 6:27my TikTok channel. You know, I have a YouTube
- 6:30page as well. So I just try to... drop nuggets
- 6:33when I can. That is awesome. Because accounting
- 6:37is hard. The debits and the credits, I think
- 6:39it's that time where everybody, I feel, either
- 6:43gets it or you don't. And that's the part you
- 6:45either hate it or you're going to love accounting.
- 6:46For me, I went into my first class and I was
- 6:49like, yes, this is so cool. And my roommate was
- 6:52like, what the heck? Because we took it together.
- 6:55So you just mentioned your TikTok page. And I
- 6:58know you went viral on TikTok. So. And you are
- 7:02known as the accounting translator. You have
- 7:04educational content, like you said, on YouTube.
- 7:07Tell us more. Like, how is that going for you?
- 7:10It's been a whirlwind, really, because I've always
- 7:14been putting out content and, you know, kind
- 7:16of just as it feels right. But this is, like,
- 7:20kind of going viral. So I went from almost 700
- 7:23followers or something to, like, 42 ,000. it
- 7:27kind of made me feel like, oh, okay, this is
- 7:29really something. Let me try to organize this.
- 7:31Let me try to, like, so I threw together a syllabus,
- 7:33like, over the weekend after this happened. And
- 7:37I've been trying to follow along pretty well.
- 7:39So I feel like sometimes things happen in our
- 7:41life where it forces us to, like, get serious
- 7:45about something that's probably already been
- 7:47there in the back, just marinating, and it's
- 7:49like, oh, now it's time to cook. Yes, yes. I
- 7:53think it also tells a lot about traditional education,
- 7:57right? Because what we've seen in the news, the
- 8:01accounting news, I should say, is we have less
- 8:03people enrolling in college. But then here you
- 8:06are, you go on TikTok, you do a video about that
- 8:09accounting that we say we don't have enough students
- 8:11for, and you go viral. How do you have to change
- 8:15the content, maybe the way you are approaching
- 8:17it on social media, versus what you do in the
- 8:20classroom? Yeah, I think it's the age -old thing
- 8:23that happens where, like, with each new generation,
- 8:26we have to figure out new ways to reach the new
- 8:29generation. Especially in accounting, for me,
- 8:31like, as a teacher, I think a lot about AI and
- 8:34automation and how it's affecting the new up
- 8:37-and -coming accountants. Especially, I teach
- 8:39at Unity College, and so most of them will be,
- 8:42like, bookkeepers and, like, intro -level accountants,
- 8:45and a lot of that work now is being done with
- 8:48automation. What I try to do is teach skills
- 8:51that... give them a leg up. And so I think part
- 8:54of what happens with TikTok is it presents like
- 8:57a unique opportunity because I'm not held by
- 9:00the confines of a curriculum that is kind of
- 9:05loosely given when you teach at a college. It's
- 9:07like, I can teach accounting from a personal
- 9:10accounting perspective, which is kind of what
- 9:12I'm doing is like your personal income statement,
- 9:15your personal budget. and I have accountants
- 9:17on there who are commenting like, I never understood
- 9:19this until you told me equity was net worth.
- 9:22I'm like, those concepts that overlap and it
- 9:26just gives more freedom to be able to discuss
- 9:29these things in ways that people can really understand
- 9:31and relate to their everyday life. Wow. So what
- 9:34was that video that went viral? Like, what was
- 9:37the topic? How was it presented? And what does
- 9:39it really say about how we teach it in college?
- 9:42Basically, it started with another professor,
- 9:45Dr. Barlow, who just got on TikTok and did an
- 9:48intro for her actual real -life African American
- 9:52history course. And then a lot of other professors
- 9:55got on and did an intro for their make -believe
- 9:58courses that was kind of a combination that would
- 10:00be like a combination with her course. That was
- 10:03the video for me that went viral. where I was,
- 10:06welcome to Intro to Accounting. I see that you've
- 10:09been enrolled in Dr. Barlow's class and these
- 10:11other classes, but now you need an accounting
- 10:13class. And I'm here to answer that call, basically.
- 10:17Wow, that's amazing. And what would you say are
- 10:21some of the, some of the topic that people probably
- 10:24found refreshing, like you said, about equity,
- 10:27about learning, that they probably didn't see
- 10:29or learn through school? I think that's been
- 10:32the biggest one so far is I developed like a
- 10:35spreadsheet, a Google sheet that I give away
- 10:37for free where people can go and actually fill
- 10:40in their personal information. I think the lesson
- 10:43that's been the most engaging so far has been
- 10:46like the personal income statement conversation.
- 10:49I developed an Excel spreadsheet where people
- 10:51can go and drop in their personal finance information
- 10:55and take a look at like where. where they are
- 10:58they're spending from a monthly perspective so
- 11:01they drop in their revenue their money coming
- 11:03in they drop in their expenses money going out
- 11:05and then they look and they see kind of what
- 11:07that is and then we take it the next step and
- 11:09look at it from a budget perspective okay so
- 11:12this is how much you spend in January what does
- 11:13that mean for your budget did you overspend basically
- 11:16it's making them look at their finances which
- 11:20i think some of them we avoid a lot of times
- 11:22but it's really i think pulling them in at a
- 11:25level you can talk about yourself, right? You
- 11:28can look at yourself. Accounting makes you look
- 11:30at businesses, and a lot of the conversations
- 11:33relate to businesses, and you can do it for business.
- 11:36But when you're thinking about yourself, you're
- 11:37looking at your bank account, I think that's
- 11:39a way that that's an intro for people that makes
- 11:42it easy for them to come into the conversation.
- 11:45Wow. It's really eye -opening for myself because
- 11:47I remember when I was going to college, the only
- 11:50example in a textbook was Tootsie Roll. the Wiley
- 11:54Book Tootsie Roll Manufacturing Company. And
- 11:58pretty much throughout your curriculum, you are
- 12:00studying, you know, their cost of goods sold
- 12:03and studying all these things. And really, the
- 12:06way you are approaching it is bringing it more
- 12:08personal, so the accounting part makes more sense.
- 12:12I think that's truly, truly brilliant. And what
- 12:16would you say are some of the things that we
- 12:17could do better at the college level? Not just
- 12:21to increase the enrollment, the whole experience
- 12:24of learning accounting and finance. I think the
- 12:28foundation information that we learn is so important.
- 12:32It's so like you can't move away from it because
- 12:35systems will break down or they, you know, it's
- 12:38still only as good as what you put in it. But
- 12:41I do feel like there is a need for more emphasis
- 12:44on the types of fintech is like crazy nowadays.
- 12:48I did teach like a computerized accounting where
- 12:50we did some QBL, like some QuickBooks. lessons,
- 12:53which was I think was really helpful. But I feel
- 12:56like that's like even QuickBooks nowadays. It's
- 12:58just like it's not old. It's still necessary.
- 13:01But there's just like so many more levels to
- 13:03it. We could set our students up better if they
- 13:07come out of school with more information on how
- 13:10to use some of the financial technology that
- 13:13exists so that they are getting ahead of AI.
- 13:16So it's like, yes, I know I'm a bookkeeper, but
- 13:20I know how to use these systems. And so that's
- 13:22why you should hire me. Yes, that's definitely
- 13:24Edge. And I think another one that would be nice
- 13:26would be different industries, right? Like I
- 13:29said, it was Tootsie Roll. It was all manufacturing.
- 13:32And when I came out of college, the company I
- 13:34worked for was manufacturing and technology,
- 13:37so they had software development. And then they
- 13:39wanted to do subscriptions. And I was like, this
- 13:41was not in the pamphlet. It wasn't in the book.
- 13:43We could do more. Oh, gosh, that's such a good
- 13:46point. And even in the nonprofit world, like,
- 13:49I started off with an internship. at a public
- 13:51accounting firm because that's kind of, with
- 13:53the book, the textbook, and the teachers, that's
- 13:56kind of the way that they push you. And then
- 13:59I got there and was like, oh my gosh, I don't
- 14:01like this. So I felt lost, you know? So eventually
- 14:05I found nonprofit accounting, but it wasn't necessarily
- 14:07due to any help that I received in college or
- 14:11school. I just knew what I didn't want to do
- 14:13based off of what we were being pushed towards.
- 14:15So that's a really good point, is a more thorough...
- 14:20Illustrations of, like, all the different things
- 14:22that you can do in accounting. Not just public
- 14:25accounting, but, like, industry, manufacturing,
- 14:28like, all the things that you just said. Government,
- 14:30nonprofit, education. Sass. Like, it's huge.
- 14:34And even now, into Treasury and FP &A, like,
- 14:37there is stuff that I didn't even know. back
- 14:40in college, because I feel like we are either
- 14:42in investment banking, if you finance, you don't
- 14:44think FP &A, and if you're accounting, it's going
- 14:47to be a public accounting CPA, and you're like,
- 14:49eh, I'm not sure about it. Exactly. I feel like
- 14:53even now, as somebody who's been in the profession
- 14:57for a while, things will happen, and I've had
- 15:00conversations with people, and they feel like
- 15:01they wanted to leave the profession. I think
- 15:03we were talking to somebody at lunch, and I think
- 15:06A lot of times the reason that happens is because
- 15:09we feel trapped in the segment of the accounting
- 15:13profession that we have been in or that we're
- 15:16looking at. And so we don't see that the accounting
- 15:19profession is so wide and there's so many ways
- 15:22that you can go in it. That's really not good.
- 15:26It's not. And I'm glad you're doing your part
- 15:28being so involved in colleges beyond being a
- 15:32CAO. and being on TikTok on YouTube, but you're
- 15:35also an author. You wrote Sunny Gets Money. Please
- 15:39share about the book, because I was like, yes,
- 15:43Waseea, maybe I should start writing a book,
- 15:45man, after two pages. Again, renewed appreciation,
- 15:49besides teacher to author, so amazing. Tell us
- 15:54more about your book. So, Sunny Gets Money is
- 15:57a financial literacy book for kids. It's a picture
- 16:00book. My husband did the illustration. for it.
- 16:03And for me, it's just when I look at like as
- 16:07as a black American, there are just so many lessons
- 16:11that we don't learn from a financial literacy
- 16:15perspective. So just how to save how to invest
- 16:19our money, how to get good credit and keep good
- 16:22credit. Book doesn't go into all of that, but
- 16:24all of that was kind of the reason behind writing
- 16:28this book is I was looking at our kids, my son,
- 16:31who was the inspiration for the image on the
- 16:34cover. And, you know, we wanted it to be like
- 16:36a black boy, a chocolate black boy. I'm thinking
- 16:39about him and his experience with money as he,
- 16:43you know, goes out into the world. And I don't
- 16:45want it to be like my experience with money where,
- 16:47you know, I had to make so many mistakes before
- 16:50I learned from them and got better. I want our
- 16:54children to, that financial stuff to be instilled
- 16:57in them, like growing up, like they learn how
- 16:59to walk, they learn how to tie their shoe, they
- 17:01learn how to save. It's just like, that's just
- 17:03a part of growing up. My thought process was
- 17:06to get the kids, get to the kids. Not that they're
- 17:09too far gone, but I want the kids. Yes, and the
- 17:12adults probably needed to, because I was speaking
- 17:15with my financial advisor, and he was like, Waseya,
- 17:18you'd be amazed at how many people work in finance
- 17:22and accounting, and that finances are not what
- 17:25it should be. Like, we do such a good job for
- 17:28companies, the companies that we run, the companies
- 17:31that we keep the books for, the companies we
- 17:33do the FBN and the Treasury for, but for our
- 17:36own finances, we're not that great at managing
- 17:40them. Yes. Yes. I felt like a hypocrite for years.
- 17:43I had horrible credit. And part of that is, you
- 17:46know, some of the... those hard lessons. I messed
- 17:49up my credit in college. You know, I didn't know
- 17:51how to get out of the hole that I was in. And
- 17:54so, being an accountant, counting other people's
- 17:56money, you know, figuring out, like, giving other
- 17:59people advice, it felt so hypocritical because
- 18:01behind the scenes, I'm like, I can't even apply
- 18:03for a credit card if I wanted one. So, yeah,
- 18:06what you're saying is exactly... It's a thing
- 18:09that we deal with. How can we do better, though?
- 18:12Like, I like how you have your book already for
- 18:15kids, and maybe I'm suggesting you to do one
- 18:17for adults, but no pressure there. But how do
- 18:20you think, like, why do you think we, in that
- 18:23state, really? It's almost, because when I heard
- 18:25it from my financial advisor, I was like, huh,
- 18:29I'll always feel like we will be, you know, top
- 18:32of the game. I know Dave Ramsey. how to survey
- 18:35and he was talking about the people that the
- 18:37next door millionaire, right? The people that
- 18:39we wouldn't know are doing so great in their
- 18:41personal finances. But what would you say are
- 18:44some of the reasons we are in that state as finance
- 18:47and accounting professionals? I think it's like
- 18:49a don't ask, don't tell, don't talk about it.
- 18:51Just like go keep moving along. I think the problem
- 18:55with that is like I had bad credit for years
- 18:59and nobody knew. It's one of those like taboo
- 19:01things to talk about, especially I think when
- 19:04you're an accountant, accounting and finance
- 19:06professional, because there is an expectation
- 19:09that my CPA who's giving me advice is killing
- 19:13this, right? It's already their life is completely
- 19:16set up and we're human. And especially from a
- 19:20credit perspective, you know, it takes years
- 19:22to get good or bad credit. You know, it can.
- 19:25And so there's a level of shame. that comes along
- 19:29with it when you're not in tip -top shape and
- 19:32you're an accountant. And I think that that's
- 19:34like a huge misconception because, first of all,
- 19:36we count money for businesses, not individuals
- 19:38most of the time. And just because I'm counting
- 19:43the money for an organization doesn't necessarily
- 19:45mean that everything in my life has flown in
- 19:48a way that has allowed me to be able to do that.
- 19:51You know, a lot of things happen that put people
- 19:54in difficult situations. You could have had the
- 19:56best... situation and then you get divorced somebody
- 19:59passes away so there's a lot of things that will
- 20:02explain it but i think it's just we just don't
- 20:04talk about wow thank you so much for sharing
- 20:07that and going back to you having that accounting
- 20:11as a superpower right so you were you were cfoc
- 20:15You were a COO before becoming a CFO, which is
- 20:17amazing. You are a professor, you teach accounting.
- 20:21You are translating accounting for people on
- 20:23TikTok. You wrote a book for kids and you soon
- 20:27do one for adults. How do you, would you say
- 20:30all these things come together? Like, how do
- 20:32you balance all these roles? How can probably
- 20:35one feed another? Like, how does it come together
- 20:38for you? I think when I really take a step back
- 20:41and I look at it, accounting... at its foundation
- 20:45is my passion. And so when you have a passion
- 20:47for something, it doesn't feel like work. Now,
- 20:50there are other things about the actual work
- 20:53that I do that feels like work, but the TikTok,
- 20:56the book, the, you know, translation, the accounting
- 20:59superpower, like speaking and things like that,
- 21:02it doesn't feel like work. I'm always trying
- 21:05to find time to do it because it's like... Oh,
- 21:07what can I do on TikTok today? Like I made, after
- 21:10the Super Bowl, I made like a video at, you know,
- 21:14Kendrick Lamar because it was just, it's just
- 21:15fun for me. And so I did a video about like Kendrick
- 21:22Lamar's accountant while he's performing, you
- 21:24know, like from that point of view. And so it's
- 21:26just, you know, stuff like that is fun for me.
- 21:29I think it's also needed. And so that's where
- 21:32like my passion and the needs of the world kind
- 21:34of interconnect. So, because of that, it doesn't
- 21:37feel like I'm doing... When you list it out like
- 21:41that, it makes it feel like, like... Oh, I get
- 21:45the same. That's why I'm asking you, because
- 21:46we so much alike. Oh, my God. We are. But I don't
- 21:50think it feels like work in that way, for aspects
- 21:54of it. And so, I think one of the things that
- 21:56I'm looking forward to doing in the future is
- 21:59figuring out how to get more into those pieces
- 22:02that don't feel like work and further away from
- 22:04some of the pieces. that are feeling like work
- 22:07and draining and things like that. Yes, I think
- 22:12it's a draining part because when you do something
- 22:14you enjoy, the energy comes. Even if you felt
- 22:18like you were down, when you're doing something
- 22:20you like, like, sometimes at the end of the day,
- 22:23I'll be like, oh, somebody's calling me as one
- 22:25of my mentee or coachee. And I'm like, oh, I'm
- 22:27sad. But then I get energy. And I'm like, oh,
- 22:30yeah, yeah, you should do this. You should do
- 22:31this. Have you tried this? And I'm excited. And
- 22:33I hear the success stories. And I'm like, yes,
- 22:35we're winning. The energy comes to do those extra
- 22:39things. It's amazing. Yes, it is amazing. It's
- 22:43amazing what you can do in the evening, late
- 22:45in the evening, when normally you're like, oh,
- 22:47I'm too tired. Uh -huh. But you still have energy
- 22:50for that thing. And I think there's something
- 22:52there. There's something where it's like, oh,
- 22:55I should explore this more. And I'm like, I feel
- 22:57like I'm talking to myself. I'm giving myself
- 22:59like a little sermon, like I should explore this
- 23:00more. But I think that's a big piece of it, is
- 23:04like really leaning in and like paying attention,
- 23:07like being. aware of those pieces of even if
- 23:11it's your job is like what parts of this job
- 23:13feel like it gives me joy and what other parts
- 23:16feel like it's draining and then Obviously, it's
- 23:19a job. So sometimes you can't not do the draining
- 23:22part, but maybe you can get somebody else That
- 23:29is amazing and and I think to as leaders we don't
- 23:36like to admit it but Yes, you also need healthier
- 23:39things that you have to do, because you have
- 23:41to do, but it can also empower somebody else.
- 23:45Like, what you find draining in your role, probably
- 23:48because you've done it so much, will be so empowering
- 23:50for somebody else. Oh, my gosh, yes. They'll
- 23:53be like, yes, I want to do some of it, but you
- 23:55have done it so many times. Oh, I have to do
- 23:57it again. Like, oh, I have to report to the board
- 23:59again. Like, oh, I want to do this. Yes. So,
- 24:02not a bad thing. It's so true. It's not a bad
- 24:05thing. Now, what would you say you do outside
- 24:07of work? So I know work, work, work for you is
- 24:11different things, but what are some of the things
- 24:12you enjoy doing outside of work? I think mostly
- 24:16spending time with my family and then, you know,
- 24:20I like to cook. I don't do it a lot, but when
- 24:22I get in there and I'm like, you know what? I
- 24:25enjoy this. I sing a little bit. I'm all over
- 24:28the place. I have a guitar behind me. I don't
- 24:30know if you can see it. Oh, nice. I can't play
- 24:33it, though. I keep trying. It's there for the
- 24:37decoration. I know basic chords, but no, that's
- 24:41another dream is to be able to play it. But,
- 24:44you know, so I dabble in so many different things.
- 24:48I'm like an adventurer in the way I'm a planned
- 24:51adventurer. I'm not just like a painless one,
- 24:53but I like to dabble and try new things. I love
- 24:57to travel. I'm all over the place. Oh, that's
- 25:00good. I mean, to me, And I like how you say planned
- 25:03adventurer because it shows the accountant in
- 25:06you. Yes, I want this, but as he makes sense,
- 25:10cost benefit analysis. Absolutely. Yes. That
- 25:15is awesome. And my last question for you, second
- 25:18to last question. What would you say is your
- 25:21favorite quote and why? My favorite quote is
- 25:25service to others is the rent that we pay for
- 25:29our room here on earth by Muhammad Ali. I feel
- 25:32like I've governed my life by that quote. It's
- 25:35like, you know, what are you doing to serve others?
- 25:38Because we're a community, right? Like, none
- 25:40of us are in silos. None of us were meant to
- 25:43be here alone and individual. So it's kind of
- 25:47like, what are you doing to give back? So, service
- 25:49tough. So in your service to others, what would
- 25:52you say are some advice you would give this upcoming
- 25:54generation of finance and accounting leaders?
- 25:57I think it's just to make yourself available.
- 26:00Don't allow yourself to get siloed, you know?
- 26:03So volunteer for different things. Like, volunteer
- 26:06for nonprofit organizations, government organizations,
- 26:08and just be out in the world and allow yourself
- 26:13the space to not feel like you have to be pigeonholed
- 26:16into one aspect of accounting or one aspect of
- 26:20life in general. Like, the world is so big. The
- 26:23field is so vast. Keep reaching and keep looking
- 26:27and don't allow people to put you in a box and
- 26:30don't... live in a box, you know, explore. Wow.
- 26:34And where can we all find your viral TikTok videos?
- 26:38Because I want to hear it, like, right now. Because
- 26:41not everybody will actually read the show notes.
- 26:44Yes. So I am online as Professor Underscore Nance
- 26:48on most platforms. So Instagram, TikTok. And
- 26:52then I also have a website that is under construction.
- 26:56ProfessorNance .com. So I'm trying to build that
- 26:59out, but yes. That's awesome. Thank you for sharing
- 27:02and thank you so much for being on the show.
- 27:05This was so, so good. Thank you. Thank you for
- 27:08having me. It's always great to see you. And
- 27:12that's it for today's episode of The Diary of
- 27:14a CFO. Thank you so much for tuning in. If you
- 27:17enjoyed the show, don't forget to like, review,
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- 27:42is any topic you would like me to cover in the
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- 27:52of a CFO .com. See you soon.