Latest / The Diary of a CFO / Wassia Kamon’s 15-Year Journey from Staff Accountant to CFO

Transcript

Wassia Kamon’s 15-Year Journey from Staff Accountant to CFO · The Diary of a CFO

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It took me 10 years to become director of FPNA
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and only five more to become CFO. Mind you, I
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grew up in a former French colony and came to
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the U S at age 17, which means my first language
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was French. And so by the time I came here, I
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didn't fully understand what people were saying.
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I understand the culture and I definitely didn't
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know what being a CFO was. Fast forward. I am
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now the CFO of access to capital for entrepreneurs.
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And I've been named twice 40 under 40 by CPA
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practice advisor. I'm also a guest faculty on
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the Wharton online FP &A certificate, and I've
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been featured in major publications such as the
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Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, Accounting
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Today, and Strategic Finance Magazine. So today
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in this video, I want to share with you my full
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journey. And so I'll be sharing the lessons I
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learned, the obstacles I had to overcome, and
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the many, many, many, many things I wish somebody
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had told me earlier. Let's dive in. Growing up,
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I was always top of my class and both my parents
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were executives. So when I came to the U S I
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was determined I was going to do the same. And
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so I knew I wanted to be in business. You know,
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I was 17 years old, but I knew what I didn't
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want to do. I didn't want to deal with blood,
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IT, computer science. So I went into business
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as a major. And when I took my first accounting
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class, I just fell in love and that became my
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major. Now in my third year of college, I had
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a college professor, Alison Jacobs. I'll never
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forget this woman. And she said, if you want
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to be successful in accounting, whether it's.
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Public accounting or industry, you have to be
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a CPA and you have to work for a big four. So
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the good student I was said, yes, let's go. Now,
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when I graduated from college, I got an internship
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at PWC in the assurance slash audit practice
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and I hated it. Okay. I did not like audit. I
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did not like public accounting. It wasn't going
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to be for me. And I went into industry and I
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became a staff accountant at a manufacturing
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slash technology company. So when I look back
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at my time at this time, what are some of the
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things that I really learned? So when I went
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to PWC as an intern in assurance, I just hated
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it. I did not like public accounting. And so
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I went to industry and I became a staff accountant.
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And that was really the start of my accounting
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and finance career. So what are two things that
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I learned in that transition, that part of my
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career that really helped me become a CFO, even
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though at the time I didn't see it as a goal.
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Number one, operating outside of my comfort zone.
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I had to operate by default outside of my comfort
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zone. First of all, every time I speak, I'm speaking
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a language that is not mine. And I operate in
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an environment where I didn't grow up. And so
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I had to become comfortable in those class project
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in applying for role. We use back home, we use
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a CV. My mom was the HR director and now here
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it's a resume. What are those differences? Even
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these tiny. that we often take for granted when
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we are within our culture, I had to learn to
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operate out of my comfort zone and be confident
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in that. The other thing that I had to learn
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was learning to make decisions with limited information,
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which is really the foundation of navigating
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uncertainty with confidence. What, why is that?
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Well, first, when you're learning a new language
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and you're talking with someone, you probably
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only understand 50 to 60 % of what that person
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is saying. That was my case in class. was my
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case in group project. That was definitely my
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case during internships and you know, understanding
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what the role and the expectations was. So I
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had to learn to really focus to get things the
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first time because I didn't have much time. I
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didn't have to, I couldn't just ask the professor
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in class to just repeat a whole segment because
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I didn't get it. So I had to really listen in
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and learn to piece in and be able to grab all
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these different details and move on with it.
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If I was in the street and asking for direction
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and somebody said, you go left, right, and it's
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all sunny, blah, blah, blah. In my head, I had
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to hold on to the information I knew and go with
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it. And I will say that these are two things
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that we often underestimate in the journey to
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being an executive really in any, um, discipline,
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but especially as a CFO one, you are always operating
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as sort of your comfort zone. As a CFO, I spend
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more time outside of the finance function and
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with my own finance team. with the CEO, I'm dealing
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with people in marketing, I'm dealing with the
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CEO, I'm dealing with so many people who don't
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have a finance and accounting background. And
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so you have to be comfortable in those things.
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People are looking up to me for decisions in
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a certain economy when I'm uncertain about some
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of the things that I want to do, but oh well,
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it's part of the job. You are providing clarity
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as you are yourself looking for clarity. And
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so the second thing about learning to operate
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in that uncertainty is the same thing. all comes
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together. And so the earlier you can really ground
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yourself and be comfortable operating outside
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of your comfort zone by doing things that are
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outside of what you'll normally do. You don't
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have to travel to another country, but even trying
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a different discipline, learning to code, learning
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AI, learning something that you're not used to,
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and also communicating and developing friendships
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with people that don't have the same background
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as you, as you will really, really help. And
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that's really what helped me when I look back
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at that time in my career. When I became When
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I became a staff accountant, my first duties
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were billing, bank recs, we're using Sage at
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a time, and using Hyperion to report to our parent
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company. And so as the company grew rather quickly,
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I had the opportunity to move from staff accountant
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to senior to accounting manager very, very quickly.
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And that was the start of my problems. A lot
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of things became very difficult for me because
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I wasn't ready. Managing people who used to be
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my peers, managing people who were much older.
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than me, having to fire, hire, promote, having
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to do annual performance reviews, reporting with
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a parent company. And it was a lot. I wish that
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somebody had said earlier how corporate America
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works. Like we should have a corporate America
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one -on -one in our curriculum in college. I
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mean, we should learn that in school somewhere.
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I don't know because you have to learn how to
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leverage a one -on -one. What is a one -on -one?
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How can you use it to showcase your work and
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not just work hard, hoping that people will see
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you, how to deal with office politics, how to
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ask for a raise, for a promotion. It was just
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a lot of things I had to learn. The hard one
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was very frustrated. Now when I look back, I
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will say that one of the most valuable lessons
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for me was that you learn a lot when you work
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for a small or medium sized company. One, because
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you're exposed to a lot more areas. And two,
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because you have a lot more access to executives.
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That is invaluable. And at the time I didn't
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realize it, it was all painful. all a lot, but
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now I look back and I really appreciate it. And
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I know it goes against a lot of common advice
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that you have to work just for big companies,
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Fortune 500, household names. But I think that
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at some point, moving between company sizes is
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an underrated way to accelerate your career.
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It has helped me a lot in my journey. Moving
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from accounting manager to controller seemed
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like a natural, simple move, especially since
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I knew that to get there I need three letters,
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C -P -A. And I did, I passed all four parts of
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the CPA exam by age 25 by working like a mad
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woman. Because mind you again, my first language
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is French, which means as I was going through
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this, I was learning the CPA exam in a different
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language. And in the process, I always had to
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break it down in order for my native French speaker
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to understand it. That was a skill I didn't know
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I will really need when I became CFO and on that
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journey. is you really need to know how to break
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down very hard concept into simpler terms for
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your audience. So I was like, I'm getting this.
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I have the letters. And so, hey, now is my turn.
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But it didn't happen that way. The company I
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was working for had a lot of turnover in the
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controller ship role. And so I went through three
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controllers in like five years. So when that
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third controller left, I thought, now is my turn.
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Especially since I had the three letters the
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CFO required in one day. She called me in her
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office. For me, I had a whole thence going on.
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I was like, oh, they're going to offer me the
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job. I was all excited. And I get into her office.
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And what does she say? She sent me down. She
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said, Waseem, I know you've been working hard.
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I'm like, uh -huh, uh -huh, of course I know.
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And she said, hang in there. We're going to post
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the position, and you'll soon get help. At that
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time, my heart like sank. Okay. I was like, wait,
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what I've been in this company for how many years
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for me? I had all, I mean, I had the loyalty
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was there. I had the letters. I worked hard.
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Not what, like, what did I need to do different?
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Why is it that she wasn't offering me the job?
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She was telling me that they were going to hire
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another controller. So I went home crying, of
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course. And my husband was like, Hey, but did
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you tell her that she wanted the role? Like instead
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of, you know, saying, uh -huh. Bye. What did
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you do? You have to fight for this. And. At the
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time I was also good friends with the gentleman
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that was our head of supply chain at the time,
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Chad Shivers, God rest his soul. And he told
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me the same thing. He said, well, see how you
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need to articulate what is it that you want and
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why you're the best person for the role. You
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have to go in with the facts and not just your
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emotions, because at that time I was all emotions.
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I was all frustrated. But again, as I said earlier,
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we don't get corporate America one -on -one or
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anything about how to ask for a raise or a promotion.
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I was able to go back to my CF for the next day
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and make my case. We negotiated and we agreed
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that I was going to be an interim controller
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at the time. I will oversee everything the controller
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will do. I got a pay bump, small one, still something.
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And I was overseeing accounting, AP, AR, the
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inventory, because we were manufacturing at the
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time. And I had employees in Ohio and also tax
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and FPNA. So that's how I was able to negotiate.
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get to controller and it was something that really
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made me realize how limited having credentials
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was because up till now I was a good accounting
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student. Remember I graduated top of my class
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back home. I graduated summa cum laude from Georgia
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state university. I went for my CPA. I was going
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for this credentials. I was even started to work
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on my NBA at the time because I need those hours
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anyway to start passing the CPA exam. And so
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that's when I really realized that having credentials.
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It's just not enough if you want to get to the
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top in corporate America. It's hard to accept
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that in a lot of ways, especially when you feel
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like you're working hard. That was my case. I
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was like, I've been here through all these people.
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I trained how many of my bosses and here I am
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not getting it. And so if you want to succeed,
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you have to make your intentions clear and known
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by the right people because you get to a point
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in your career where who you know and who trusts
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you. you is more important than what you actually
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know. Again, I say you get to a point in your
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career where who you know and who trusts you
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is more important than what you actually know.
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That's why a lot of people you will notice are
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good at office politics. Their knowledge and
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performance very shallow, but they keep going
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from promotions to promotions. And that is something
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I wish again, somebody had told me earlier. So
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I was entering controller and after my first
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successful audit and budget cycle, I was. wanted
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to corporate controller. Yay! By now, I had to
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do more work with people outside of finance and
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accounting. I had to take more charge of the
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budget itself, collecting data, spending a lot
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more time. And that's when I really enjoyed FP
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&A. By that time as a controller, when it came
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to budget season, my work was 50 % FP &A and
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50 % accounting. And during the year it was much
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less. So I wanted to go full in at 100 % in FP
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&A. So I started working on my CMA. There were
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no FP &A or any kind of content. and creating
12:09
on FPNA on LinkedIn, it wasn't a thing. So for
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me, CMA was what was gonna help me in that process.
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And so I did that and applied at a massive pharma
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company. I was hired as FPNA manager. Now the
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move came with interesting trade -offs. That
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move came with interesting trade -off. The first
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one was I had to take a pay cut, a five -digit
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pay cut. Yeah, it hurts me when I think about
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it, but it made sense, because I was going from
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how... having a lot more employees under me to
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being a sole contributor and have just not the
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big business units under my leadership. And so,
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yes, it made sense for me. I had two kids under
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three and I couldn't take one more employee,
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anything. Being a manager is exhausting. Let's
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face it. And so that's what made sense for me.
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And I knew that in the long term, because again,
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it's about playing the long game, me adding that
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FP &A layer to my already solid accounting. background
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was really going to help. Now, what I didn't
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see coming is that I will have to go through
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two rounds of layoffs, not as an impacted employee,
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but as the finance person behind the numbers.
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And that was incredibly hard mentally, physically.
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I couldn't sleep at night. It was my first time
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going through this and it was before COVID, which
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means everyone was on that spreadsheet. I had
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lunch with, I knew, and I couldn't say anything.
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They were talking about how they were going to
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have these vacation, but I knew that they weren't,
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they wouldn't be on the budget for next year.
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So that was very hard. And the main lesson I
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took from that, which I carry till this day is
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that as a professional, regardless of your field,
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you have to optimize your career. So you have
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more doors than dead ends. And for me, the best
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way to do that is to work on your personal brand
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and on your professional network so that if anything
14:05
like this happen or you are in a situation where
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you really need to go for whatever reason it
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is, you can do it easily than a lot of other
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people can. Cause I saw how those who had great
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relationships with the decision makers in that
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layoff process stayed. Those who had strong personal
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brands stayed and not just not online or offline.
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It's, it's both. Okay. You need to invest in
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your relationships and your personal brand, which
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is what I did. And that's also one of the things.
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that really accelerated my career to CFO. By
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the way, if you're watching this and you're wondering
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where you stand on your path to executive leadership,
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I created a free CFO readiness assessment that
14:46
you can take. It's less than 10 minutes and I'll
14:49
drop the link in the show notes and description.
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Strongly encourage you to take it because it
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will help you determine which area you need to
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focus on to get to that next step. Now, let's
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get back to it. And then COVID hit. Time to reflect.
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It was during that time that I realized that
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work -life harmony was so much better than work
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-life balance, because we thought all along that
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work -life balance is the best, but then you're
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home and you realize, huh, I could work 20 hours
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a day for work, but then if I come home to a
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jerk, what's the point? And so work -life harmony
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is that idea that you're optimizing your life
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and you're also optimizing the choices that you
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make in your career, so you have a truly fulfilling
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career and life. And so that really changed the
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definition. of what I had as a great job. Meanwhile,
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during COVID, I was also spending more time on
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LinkedIn. I started posting on LinkedIn, which
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till this day feels awkward, even though I have
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over 28 ,000 followers there. And so what happened
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from all this? In networking with others, I started
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attending conferences when I could, attending
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first as an attendee, but also starting to do
15:59
it as a speaker. I joined the board of a local
16:02
not -for -profit. So I started... doing things
16:05
that I realized I need to energize me beyond
16:08
my work. Now in doing that, an executive recruiter
16:12
out of nowhere reached out to me on LinkedIn
16:14
about a VP of finance and accounting role. I
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went through the interview. To me, I was ready
16:19
because I have the accounting and FP &A background.
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But when it got to the last round, his name was
16:25
Huff and he pulled me aside and said, well, Sia,
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they really think you should be the one for this
16:29
role, but they don't think you are strategic
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enough. That was a first time in my career, going
16:35
from how I was so good at my job to going to
16:38
another level. After I build that personal brand,
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I have the network. I have the experience. I
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have the credentials. By then I'm a CPA. I have
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a CMA. I was working almost done with my MBA.
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Actually I was an MBA. So all these letters behind
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my name and I wasn't strategic enough. And at
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the time I remember, yes, it hurt to hear that,
16:59
but then I didn't even know what it truly meant.
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I couldn't define that. And so he walked me through
17:05
how I was answering the question and how my first
17:09
instinct was to go directly in the weed. And
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I wasn't thinking bigger picture and I wasn't
17:16
thinking longer term. Eventually I got the role,
17:19
but then as soon as I got the role, I started
17:21
really working on that idea of being strategic
17:24
enough, of being strategic, operating at that
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level. So it's really when I became a VP that
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I got to really dive in. and really fully operate
17:35
as a strategic executive. Now unfortunately,
17:39
it is something that you don't, you're not taught.
17:41
Unfortunately, but I learned that as you expand
17:44
your professional network and start really spending
17:47
time with executives, you end up picking those
17:50
things that will make you show up as an executive.
17:53
They'll make you think like an executive and
17:56
operate as an executive. So the sooner you can
17:58
do it, I could have started doing that so long
18:01
ago. And that's something somebody I wish again,
18:03
would have told me earlier, but definitely wherever
18:06
you are in your career, work on those strategic
18:08
skills, work on showing up. and speaking and
18:11
thinking like an executive, the earlier you can
18:14
do it, the better off you would be. Cause that
18:15
was definitely something I had to overcome to
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get to the VP level and something that really
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helped me in those next interview rounds when
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it came to the CFO role. So when I look back
18:25
at that transition from being a VP to becoming
18:28
CFO, because I was a VP for about three years,
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the thing that really helped me the most was
18:33
working with an executive coach, not just any
18:37
coach, a certified coach that had a background
18:40
in accounting. Her name was Janine Brown. And
18:43
working with her really helped me understanding
18:47
and refining my executive brand. How do I talk?
18:52
Who should I typically... How do I typically
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show up in conflict? And what do I need to improve
18:59
to get there, to be more effective, whether it's
19:01
in conflict resolutions, working with boards.
19:04
And so that really helped me. Mind you, the first
19:08
time I walked with Janine, I was following you
19:11
on LinkedIn for some years, and I finally got
19:14
to meet her at the Future of Finance Summit because
19:16
she was keynoting there. So I got with her afterwards.
19:19
She also lives in Atlanta. And so we connected
19:21
and I was like, I need to work. with you. That
19:23
first time I worked with her, those first sessions
19:25
came out of my own pocket. Now, I know we tend
19:28
to wait for companies to invest in us and all
19:31
that, but as I like to say, you should treat
19:33
your career like a business. Yes, you should
19:37
treat your career like a business venture and
19:40
be comfortable with the fact that you often have
19:42
to invest your own money before other investors
19:45
show up. So yes, those first executive coaching
19:47
lessons were out of my own pocket. Now they're
19:50
part of my package, but that's how we started.
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And that's how I was really able to refine my
19:55
executive brand. And as I was doing also other
19:58
things is through her that I learned about the
20:00
concept of having a personal board of directors,
20:04
not just one mentor, but having people that can
20:06
root for you. You have sponsors on my board of
20:10
directors are people that are my age, people
20:12
older than me, people in different disciplines.
20:14
So I have a lawyer as well. And so people that
20:18
allow me to stretch my thinking. So in doing
20:21
all those things, I became a well rounded executive.
20:25
And so. When that opportunity came, when another
20:28
recruiter reached out to me on LinkedIn, I know
20:30
you will hear me say that a lot and be like,
20:31
Waseea, are you overdoing it? No, I'm not. I
20:34
am not. Recruiter reached out to me out of nowhere
20:37
on LinkedIn and within a week I was hired as
20:39
a CFO of ACE. And I know that's a combination
20:42
of all these learnings that I had to do and all
20:46
these refining I had to do over the years. But
20:49
I will say that the thing that really helped
20:51
me was working with an executive coach because
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there is such a difference between how you operate
20:56
as a manager and how you operate as an executive.
20:59
And that's why a lot of people stay stuck at
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that manager level. It is so easy to stay stuck
21:05
there because very few will share with you some
21:08
of the things I just shared or the things that
21:09
will stretch you to become an executive. So yes,
21:12
I got a CFO at a great organization with great
21:15
people. And yeah, if else Serena got a role,
21:18
but really what it means to be a CFO is I oversee
21:22
finance, accounting, compliance. primary responsibility
21:25
for planning, implementing, making sure that
21:28
our controls are there, being the face of financial
21:31
communication with the board, with our investors
21:34
and funders, as well as the rest of the organization.
21:38
And so it's been an incredible experience. I
21:41
really felt prepared when I stepped into that
21:43
role. And I really feel that I can be impactful
21:46
because of all the things I've learned, the people
21:48
that I met, the people that are currently on
21:51
my personal board of directors, because there
21:53
are certain things are very tough about being
21:54
a CFO. You have to deal with the board. You have
21:56
to be able to say no to your boss, the CEO. You
21:59
have to do so many things that are not in the
22:01
book, especially when I became CFO in 2024. We
22:04
didn't know how 2025 will be challenging in terms
22:06
of the economy, the volatility. So I had to accelerate
22:10
my learning, but thanks to the foundation I had
22:13
and that I am sharing with you, it really helped.
22:16
So what really made that foundation? What were
22:19
my key takeaway from this whole journey from
22:22
college from Ivory Coast, even all the way to
22:25
now as a CFO. So now that I've shared my full
22:28
story with you, I want to talk about a couple
22:31
of the most important things that I've learned
22:34
along my journeys. Five of them. One, force yourself
22:37
outside of your comfort zone. For me, it's a
22:40
default because my first language is French,
22:41
but I've also kept that habit throughout. And
22:45
so I would read books. I would challenge me.
22:47
I would get into activity that challenged me.
22:50
This very podcast is me. being outside of my
22:52
comfort zone. Me getting on stages and speaking
22:55
is getting outside of my comfort zone. There
22:57
is never a point where you arrive, holding cold,
22:59
but it's definitely a habit you want to have
23:01
because that will allow you to really stay calm
23:04
even when there is a storm or chaos about you
23:07
and will allow you to really lead effectively
23:10
and get clarity among chaos. Like it's amazing
23:14
how you get that confidence from doing instead
23:17
of waiting to feel confident to get certain things
23:20
done. The second thing I will say to spend time
23:23
with people that will really make you think bigger,
23:26
people that will stretch your thinking. I cannot
23:30
emphasize this enough. And that is really one
23:33
of the best decision I made in my career is having
23:36
that personal board of directors. Half of them
23:39
of the one I have are CPAs. And I also have a
23:42
guide that I will drop the link in the bio coming
23:45
up soon about how you can also build your personal
23:48
board of directors and making sure that they
23:50
are. diverse in terms of background, ethnicities,
23:53
functions, because again, as a CFO, you're dealing
23:56
with legal, you're dealing with supply chains,
23:59
sales and marketing. So you can not just be surrounded
24:00
with people in accounting and finance. You need
24:02
people that will really stretch that thinking.
24:05
Number three, which you may not have noticed
24:08
is that you have to become someone that people
24:11
genuinely enjoy working with and working for.
24:15
Remember earlier, I told you that I had to start
24:18
managing people that were much older than me.
24:21
People that used to be my peers. I had to hire,
24:24
I had to fire, I had to communicate bad news.
24:26
And in all that enable to lead effectively, you
24:29
need to be someone that people really want to
24:31
work with in order to be a good business partner.
24:33
Like if people don't like working with you, it
24:35
doesn't matter what your title is, you will not
24:38
be effective. And as a CFO, you also realize
24:40
you cannot do it all. There is no way you can
24:42
do billing and you can do invoicing and you can
24:46
do prepays and bankers. There is no way. people
24:49
have to believe in you and be willing to work
24:52
with you for you to be effective. So that third
24:55
thing is so underrated. Unfortunately, a lot
24:58
of people don't understand that. And you may
25:00
get higher and higher and higher, climb that
25:03
ladder very fast, but then get to a point where
25:06
you stuck. And sometimes this could be it. People
25:09
just don't want to work with you. So working
25:11
on that is also having emotional intelligence
25:13
and all that good stuff, but really doing that
25:15
assessment of do people really want to work with
25:18
you? me or work for me. Now the fourth thing
25:20
is invest in yourself even if the company won.
25:24
I paid for executive coaching out of pocket,
25:26
executive resume writing for certain conferences.
25:29
I paid a lot for it. Sometimes speak to it so
25:30
I can go there for free too. But you have to
25:33
be willing to do it because you have to see it
25:35
as an investment in your future because really
25:38
nobody will care more about your career than
25:40
you. Not HR, definitely not HR. And so that's
25:44
what you have to do. You shouldn't see it as
25:45
an expense. And then the last is build your personal
25:49
brand and professional network. I cannot say
25:53
enough. I look at the past five years, I have
25:55
not gotten a job through a job application. You
25:58
have all been through connections and having
26:00
a strong personal brand. The point where people
26:03
Google you, what do they find about you? Because
26:05
that's really how things are today. If you go
26:07
into a meeting, you can ask the people on the
26:09
call, how many of them looked you up on LinkedIn
26:11
or Google? You'll be surprised, probably 99 %
26:14
of them, because that's how we now form first.
26:16
That's why it's so, so, so important to do that.
26:21
So if you listen to my story and you're now thinking,
26:24
hmm, I want to get to that level. I want to get
26:26
to that level in my career too. You can click
26:28
the first link in the description to take my
26:30
free CFO readiness assessment. Again, it will
26:33
help you evaluate where you stand right now and
26:35
give you personalized recommendation to help
26:37
you reach the executive leadership level. It
26:39
takes less than 10 minutes. I've seen a lot of
26:41
people taking it in five minutes and you will
26:43
get insight instantly on the... competencies
26:46
you need to reach the VP level and above. So
26:49
again, click that first link in the show notes
26:51
and I will see you in the next episode.