Latest / The Internal Move Podcast with Fexingo: Lateral Roles, Internal Transfers, and Staying at Your Company / How an Internal Transfer Can Help You Learn Your Company Financials
Transcript
- Lucas: So you're in a company for three years, you know your team, you know your product, but you look at the quarterly earnings call transcript and half the terms might as well be in a foreign language. Luna: Gross margin, operating expense, EBITDA — it's like a code you're expected to crack on your own. Lucas: Exactly. And most people never do. They stay in their functional silo and the financial side remains this vague backdrop. But here's the thing — an internal transfer can actually be the fastest way to learn your company's financials, without going back to school. Luna: I love this angle because it's so practical. How does that work in practice? Lucas: Let me give you a real example. There's a woman I'll call Sarah — she was a marketing manager at a Fortune 500 retailer, the kind that has hundreds of stores. She knew campaign ROI inside out, but when her VP asked her to justify a budget increase against other departments, she froze. She didn't know how to read a P&L. Luna: And that's a career-limiting moment — not because she wasn't smart, but because she lacked a specific vocabulary. Lucas: Right. So instead of taking an external job or an MBA, she found a lateral move into what the company called 'strategic finance liaison' — a role that sat between marketing and the finance team. Her job was to translate marketing needs into financial language. Luna: So she got paid to learn finance on the job. Lucas: Exactly. Within six months she was reading consolidated balance sheets, understanding how inventory turns affect cash flow, and she could walk into any meeting and talk about revenue recognition. That's a superpower for a marketer. Luna: What's the specific mechanism? How did the move itself teach her — was it the access to data, the mentorship, the exposure to different meetings? Lucas: All three, but especially the meetings. In her marketing role, she saw the final budget number. In the liaison role, she sat in on monthly financial reviews where the CFO's team explained exactly how each line item was derived. She heard the same people argue about depreciation schedules and lease accounting. You can't learn that from a textbook. Luna: And internal transfers have a huge advantage over external hires for this. If you're already inside, you have context — you know the product lines, the distribution channels, the competitive landscape. You just need the financial framework. Lucas: Plus, trust. Companies are more willing to share sensitive financial data with someone who's already been vetted. An external hire might not get access to the same granular P&L by store or by SKU for months. An internal transfer can ask for it on day one. Luna: That's a great point. So if a listener is thinking about making a transfer partly to build financial literacy, what should they ask in the interview? Lucas: Three questions. First: 'How much exposure will I have to the full P&L or budget process?' Second: 'Will I attend any cross-functional financial reviews?' And third: 'Is there a mentor on the finance team I could shadow?' If the answer to all three is no, that move won't teach you financials. Luna: And what about roles that aren't explicitly finance-adjacent? Like, can you learn financials in a supply chain or HR transfer? Lucas: Absolutely. Any role that touches budgeting, forecasting, or cost analysis. In supply chain, you're dealing with inventory carrying costs and freight expenses. In HR, you're looking at total compensation costs and benefits liability. The key is to find a role where financial data is part of your daily decisions, not just a quarterly report you glance at. Luna: There's also the hidden benefit of credibility. When you can speak in financial terms, you get invited to strategy conversations. You're no longer just the marketing person or the HR person — you're someone who understands the business. Lucas: That's the career accelerator. And it's not just about moving up — it's about being more effective in whatever role you're in. Sarah eventually moved back into marketing as a director, but she kept her financial fluency. She could argue for budget based on ROI in the language the CFO understood. That made her invaluable. Luna: So the move itself is a kind of education. But it depends on the manager being willing to give you that exposure. How do you vet that? Lucas: Talk to people who've worked for that manager before. Ask: 'Did they include you in financial discussions? Did they explain the numbers behind decisions?' Also look at the team's composition — if the team already has a finance expert, you might just be a helper. You want a team where financial literacy is expected from everyone. Luna: And what about the company culture? Some companies are very open with financial data — they share P&Ls with all managers, they hold all-hands on quarterly results. Others treat it like state secrets. Lucas: That's a huge factor. At a company like Berkshire Hathaway, each subsidiary runs independently and financials are closely guarded. At a tech startup, you might see the burn rate in your first week. If financial literacy is your goal, you want a culture of transparency. That's something you can ask about in informational interviews before you even apply for the transfer. Luna: I want to circle back to something you said earlier — that internal transfers can be faster than an MBA for building financial skills. That's a bold claim. Lucas: It is, but I stand by it. An MBA teaches you frameworks — capital asset pricing model, discounted cash flow, all that. But applying those frameworks to your actual company's data, with real context and real stakes, is a different level of learning. Plus, you're earning a salary instead of paying tuition. The opportunity cost is negative. Luna: And you build relationships with the finance team that become a network. Those are people you can call later when you need a model reviewed or a budget approved. Lucas: Exactly. So if you're considering an internal transfer, think about the financial literacy you could gain. Ask yourself: does this role force me to understand the numbers? If the answer is yes, it might be the best career move you make. Luna: Before we wrap, I want to mention something that's been on my mind. We put out this episode for free, and we don't run ads — that's a choice we made because we hate interrupting the conversation. Lucas: Yeah, and we hear from listeners that they appreciate it. The trade-off is that the show relies entirely on listener support. If you've gotten value from an episode — maybe it helped you think through a career move or gave you a concrete tip — consider tossing a coffee our way. Luna: It's buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. That's it. No tiers, no perks, just a simple way to say 'this matters.' And it genuinely helps us keep going. Lucas: Back to the topic — I want to leave listeners with one final thought. Financial literacy isn't a nice to have for senior leaders. It's becoming a baseline expectation for anyone who wants to influence decisions. And an internal transfer is one of the most underrated ways to build it. Luna: So next time you're scoping out a lateral move, ask not just 'will I like the work?' but 'will I learn the numbers?' Lucas: Exactly. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time.