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Fast Company
2 hours ago
- Business
- Fast Company
Is it time to bring on a financial advisor? 13 factors to consider
As a business evolves, there often comes a point when leaders need expert guidance to manage complex finances, plan for growth, and protect what they've built. While a professional's qualifications are important, there are many other factors to weigh when choosing a professional in the finance world that you can trust. It's crucial to find someone whose approach, ethics, and understanding of your business truly align—and when you do, it can have a positive impact on your company's long-term success. To help you make this important decision, Fast Company Executive Board members share 13 key questions to think about before inviting a financial advisor into your inner circle. 1. DO YOU HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE AND BANDWIDTH TO MANAGE THE BUSINESS FINANCES? A business leader must realize when they don't have the bandwidth to follow their financial investments and financial decisions on their own. Leaders hire us to follow the ramifications of various factors that are happening daily—and to watch out for their best interest—so they can spend their time doing whatever they need to do directly. – Richard McWhorter, SRM Private Wealth Subscribe to the Daily newsletter. Fast Company's trending stories delivered to you every day Privacy Policy | Fast Company Newsletters 2. IS THERE ALIGNMENT IN VALUES AND APPROACH? Select a financial advisor whose professional ethics, transparency, and approach align with the company's strategic goals and culture. Financial advisors have a profound influence on strategic decisions; therefore, leaders should thoroughly vet candidates, focusing on their demonstrated integrity, accountability, and proven history of discretion and sound judgment.- Britton Bloch, Navy Federal Credit Union 3. WHAT ARE THEIR DATA PROTECTION PROTOCOLS? Ensure they have robust data protection protocols for your sensitive financial information. Ask about their cybersecurity measures, backup systems, and how they handle data breaches before sharing confidential business details. – Chongwei Chen, DataNumen Inc. 4. DO THEY HAVE A FIDUCIARY DUTY TO THEIR CLIENTS? Trust and transparency are key. Business leaders should ensure the advisor has a fiduciary duty, meaning they are legally obligated to act in the client's best interest. This helps avoid conflicts of interest and ensures financial advice is aligned with long-term goals, not personal gain. – Maria Alonso, Fortune 206 5. IS THERE TRUST, TRANSPARENCY, AND A FOCUS ON LONG-TERM STRATEGY? One key factor business leaders must consider is trust and alignment of values. A financial advisor should not only have expertise but also understand the company's goals and risk tolerance. Their advice must support long-term strategy, not just short-term gains, while maintaining transparency and integrity. – Stephen Nalley, Black Briar Advisors 6. ARE THEY ADEPT AT USING AND INTERPRETING NUMBERS, SPREADSHEETS, AND DATA? Math is just another language, so make sure all members of your leadership team share the same objectives and understanding of the business. Numbers and spreadsheets by themselves are merely tools to organize data and help guide decisions, so choose a financial partner adept at using those tools to accelerate the growth of your business and not slow it down. – Tim Maleeny, Quad 7. DO THEY UNDERSTAND YOUR BUSINESS'S UNIQUE PATTERNS AND CHALLENGES? Ensure they understand your business's unique cash flow patterns and challenges. Many advisors excel with traditional portfolios but lack experience with irregular revenue cycles. Ask them to walk through scenarios specific to your situation, such as seasonal revenue dips or growth capital needs. If they push generic solutions without understanding your operational realities, keep looking. – Joynicole Martinez, The Alchemist Agency advertisement 8. CAN THEY SUCCESSFULLY INTEGRATE PERSONAL GOALS AND FAMILY DYNAMICS INTO WEALTH PLANNING? Business leaders should choose a financial advisor who can align wealth planning with personal goals and family dynamics. The right advisor helps navigate emotional, financial, and governance complexities—especially during transitions like a sale or succession. – Mark Valentino, Citizens 9. WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS? One critical factor business leaders must consider when bringing on a financial advisor is being crystal clear in expressing the expectations you have for the role. Not only must they be aligned with your vision, but you must also be clear with them on what goals you are trying to achieve (improve margin, cut costs, improve ROI). Your advisor needs clarity on how you view success. – Rich DePencier, Brand Growth Accelerators 10. CAN THEY SUPPORT YOUR COMPANY'S LONG-TERM GOALS? One important thing to consider is whether the advisor truly understands your business goals, not just your numbers. It's not just about managing money, but about finding someone who can offer guidance that fits your long-term vision. Trust and clear communication matter just as much as expertise. – Gianluca Ferruggia, DesignRush 11. DO THEY HAVE EXPERTISE IN THE AREAS THAT MATTER MOST TO YOUR BUSINESS? When bringing in a financial advisor, make sure they have expertise in the areas most critical to your specific business, whether it's fundraising, FP&A, or debt management. It's hard to find someone who excels in all these areas. For startups, which are typically leaner teams, you also need someone who can dive into details and roll up their sleeves, not just stay high-level. – Alejandro Botto, Turing 12. HOW DO THEY DEFINE THEIR ROLE, GOAL, AND METHODS? Listen to their language and how they express and define their role, their objectives, methods, and processes. Listen for what matters most to them. Do they see themselves as operating within a circle or as a separate point on the circumference of the circle? What does the content of what they speak about say about their focus of attention? What is their process-to-people ratio of focus? – Jay Steven Levin, WinThinking 13. DO THEY KNOW YOUR INDUSTRY AND BUSINESS MODEL? Business leaders should consider the financial advisor's knowledge of the industry and business model to be of primary importance. The advisor must have not only strong financial capabilities but also knowledge of the sector and its potential unique challenges and opportunities. This will ensure they provide advice that's relevant and tailored to the business's growth trajectory. – Asad Khan, LambdaTest Inc.
Fast Company
3 hours ago
- Business
- Fast Company
14 myths about business wealth management, debunked
At its core, wealth management is about making thoughtful decisions to grow, protect, and pass on what you've built. For business leaders, that means managing not just personal finances but also how money moves through their companies, covering everything from tax strategy and risk management to succession planning. However, several common and persistent myths and missteps can stall or even hinder your financial well-being. To help you avoid these pitfalls, 14 Fast Company Executive Board members debunk the most common business wealth management myths and share what leaders should remember instead. 1. TRADITIONAL INVESTMENT ADVISORY GUARANTEES SUCCESS. Investment advisory is a myth in itself. Screenplays, private stock, and indices in retirement portfolios can all be optioned. Payout structures to equity holders in movies can be more certain than private equity, since royalties are paid in the absence of liquidation preferences. The velocity from derivatives and private equity can generate wealth more quickly, but the distribution varies. – Sean Adler, SWN 2. WEALTH GROWTH AND MANAGEMENT IS STRAIGHTFORWARD AND GLAMOROUS. There isn't one perfect path. Sometimes the product or service that gets you there isn't glamorous. Know that wealth isn't just what's earned—it's what's built sustainably, passed along wisely, and anchored in purpose and people. Managing wealth isn't simply about tracking the cash flow or accumulating assets—it's about stewarding value, passing it on, and uplifting others along the way. – Larry Brinker Jr., BRINKER 3. YOU SHOULD WAIT UNTIL YOU'VE BUILT UP 'ENOUGH' CAPITAL. The biggest myth is thinking you need to wait until you've built more wealth to start managing it. Leaders overlook how far ahead you get by having capital to work with early and investing in things you know you'll need. It's like housing. If a $1M home rises 10 percent in a year, you'd need to save $100K just to keep up. Delaying can cost more than starting with what you've got. – Travis Schreiber, 4. BUILDING WEALTH MEANS NEGLECTING OTHER ASPECTS OF YOUR LIFE. Chasing account balances while their health crashes, marriages crumble or souls are empty is not a 'rich life.' True wealth integrates everything. You're broke if you're rich but can't sleep, disconnected, or dead inside. Real wealth management means investing in vitality, love, and purpose. The fullest accounts mean nothing if you're too depleted to enjoy them. – Dr. Camille Preston, AIM Leadership, LLC 5. WEALTH MANAGEMENT IS SOLELY FOR THE WEALTHY. One of the biggest myths is that wealth management is only for the ultra-wealthy. In reality, strategic planning is crucial at every stage of business growth. Many leaders overlook how early tax planning, investment diversification, and succession strategies can protect assets and fuel long-term sustainability, even before they reach peak revenue. – Maria Alonso, Fortune 206 6. BUSINESS WEALTH MANAGEMENT IS ALL ABOUT INVESTING PROFITS. The biggest myth is that business wealth management is only about investing profits. In reality, it's a holistic strategy that includes tax planning, risk management, succession planning, and aligning personal and business finances. Ignoring this broader view can lead to missed opportunities and long-term instability. – Stephen Nalley, Black Briar Advisors 7. THERE IS A SINGLE GUARANTEED FORMULA FOR SUCCESS. The biggest myth in business wealth management is believing there is a singular, proven process everyone follows. You benefit mostly from close fiduciary advisors who ask deep questions on how you view financial success, and then help you create a specific plan customized for you. It sounds simple, but remember, wealth management is not 'one way/right way'—it's what way is best for your goals. – Rich DePencier, Brand Growth Accelerators 8. YOUR WEALTH DATA IS INHERENTLY SAFE. The biggest myth is that wealth data is automatically safe. Leaders often overlook backup strategies for financial records, risking catastrophic loss. Diversify storage locations and test recovery processes regularly—your wealth management is only as secure as your data. – Chongwei Chen DataNumen Inc. 9. YOU DON'T NEED TO THINK ABOUT WEALTH MANAGEMENT FROM THE START. There is a lot of misconception where people think business wealth management only matters once you're making serious money. Early cash flow management, reinvesting wisely, and keeping your business and personal finances separate can save you from running into issues later in the business journey. Often, it's the difference between just getting by and building something sustainable. – Gianluca Ferruggia, DesignRush 10. WEALTH MANAGEMENT BEGINS AND ENDS WITH INVESTING FUNDS POST-SALE. The biggest myth? That business wealth management is just about investing the money after a sale. In reality, it's about preparing for the emotional, financial, and family impact of that transition—ideally, years in advance—to avoid surprises and protect what you've built. – Mark Valentino, Citizens 11. A FINANCIAL ADVISOR ISN'T NECESSARY. The biggest myth that most leaders fail to realize is the value that a competent financial advisor can provide, and that the business leader is capable of doing it on their own. This may be true, but in most cases, business leaders realize what they excel at and understand those areas where they need help and hire the best to be around them. The same is true with hiring a financial advisor. – Richard McWhorter, SRM Private Wealth 12. YOU SHOULD FOCUS SOLELY ON MAXIMIZING PROFITS. Effective wealth management is about strategically balancing risk, aligning financial decisions with long-term business goals, and safeguarding the organization's economic stability and sustainability. Leaders who narrowly focus on profit maximization often overlook essential factors, such as risk mitigation, succession planning, liquidity management, and tax optimization. – Britton Bloch, Navy Federal Credit Union 13. GROWING YOUR SURPLUS FUNDS IS ENOUGH. Wealth management is not solely about investment returns; it also involves optimizing cash flow and tax strategy. Focus on maximizing profits and retaining them. Prioritize capturing all available business deductions, optimizing tax efficiency, and maintaining adequate cash reserves. True wealth management begins by maximizing operational earnings and keeping, not just growing, surplus funds. – Joynicole Martinez, The Alchemist Agency
Fast Company
2 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
If your AI adoption is hitting a wall, stop and examine your own biases
FAST COMPANY EXECUTIVE BOARD While buzz over AI continues to dominate technology conversations, a distinct gap exists between the stated intent to embrace AI and actual on-ground adoption. [Adobe Stock / Harsha] The Fast Company Executive Board is a private, fee-based network of influential leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. BY While buzz over AI continues to dominate technology conversations, a distinct gap exists between the stated intent to embrace AI and actual on-ground adoption. While there is the apparent reason of unrealistic expectation from a technology that is actively evolving, there's also a greater challenge at play. A recent Accenture survey revealed that while 98% of business owners want to adopt AI, only 10% of companies have generative AI models in production. The reason is not just about integrating the technology into workflows. Instead, the real barrier is re-examining how businesses view AI and other emerging technologies. As with any technology, there will always be early adopters and late adopters for AI. Those who are inherently wary of trying new technology will find themselves at a disadvantage as AI changes not only how people work, but what work they do. The challenge, therefore, shifts from how AI can be used for business value to how knowledge workers adapt to working with AI. GROUND REALITY What is the leadership's perception of employees who rely on AI tools? According to a recent survey by Slack, 48% or nearly half of the desk workers across companies find it uncomfortable to admit to using AI for various reasons. For instance, employees find themselves out of their comfort zones while using these new-fangled tools. They may even fear that the new technology will render their role redundant. Additionally, in some high-pressure work environments, people hesitate to admit that they use AI since they fear being perceived as inauthentic or lazy. To be fair, these fears are not unfounded. They are rooted in real concerns resulting from systemic gaps in the understanding of AI. That's why technology education and employee upskilling should become a priority to build confidence and trust in these technologies. Businesses building their own AI models must evaluate AI training modules closely as they directly affect the output. If employees aren't effectively using AI, it creates a roadblock in receiving the necessary feedback to adjust and change the way the AI itself is trained. In turn, this further impedes the use of AI. Thus, creating a circle of stagnation that stalls most AI integration projects. BEHAVIOR CHANGE DESIGN A conscious change in perspective is much needed to bring a fundamental shift in the psychology for those working with AI. This is critical to sustain the progress that AI promises. In an interesting research, Wharton Business School applied the Fogg Behavior Model to AI adoption and its three elements that fuel a change in behavior: motivation, ability, and a prompt. Catalysts for motivation, such as clear rewards and open-mindedness, and the ability enhancers of training and real-world use cases, are essential to pushing the needle forward. Prompts to accelerate this progress include executive-level sponsorship and funding for AI initiatives across the business, enabling sustainable AI transformation. Detailed training and skilling opportunities guide employees toward being more tech-forward. These must move past mere theory and include real-life situations, where they can implement their learnings and see the results for themselves. Consider offering rewards, recognition, and incentives to those who are open to using AI in their work creatively and efficiently. This will not only give employees the necessary push to incorporate AI into their workflow, but also encourage them to experiment with it further. For these two aspects to yield results, leadership must cultivate an environment conducive to open experimentation and failure. Moreover, ensuring that AI initiatives and training receive the appropriate funding and resources also becomes a priority. Integrating new technologies into established systems is never easy. However, to make something new work for us, the first step is often to acknowledge the need for a new approach. PERCEPTION OF AI-DRIVEN SUCCESS It can sometimes become difficult to understand what successful AI transformation looks like. As CEOs, we are more biased toward return on investment. Business metrics follow when most employees identify their own success metrics for using AI and follow through to achieve targeted benefits. Voluntary usage, time saved, creative solutions, and improved work quality are better indicators of success than training completion, having SMEs optimize AI, or the number of pilot projects. As AI agents continue to roll out into business applications, use cases will transform, and success will look different. From model efficiency, we are moving toward output efficiency. However, human involvement in the loop will continue in the foreseeable future, which means that human biases will continue to impact output. In such a scenario, it is essential that organizations focus and invest in addressing behavior shifts that are conducive to AI adoption. Simply investing in AI solutions is not going to be enough. The super-early-rate deadline for Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies Awards is Friday, July 25, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Vineet Jain is the CEO and Co-founder of Egnyte, the leading multi-cloud platform for content security and governance. Read Vineet's Executive Profile here. More
Iraq Business
6 days ago
- Business
- Iraq Business
64-page Report on IMF Iraq Findings
By John Lee. In a follow-up to last week's report on the state of the Iraqi economy, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has issued a more comprehensive 64-page report on its findings. The full document package includes: A Press Release. The Staff Report prepared by a staff team of the IMF for the Executive Board's consideration on a lapse of time basis, following discussions that ended on May 13, 2025, with the officials of Iraq on economic developments and policies. Based on information available at the time of these discussions, the staff report was completed on June 11, 2025. An Informational Annex prepared by the IMF staff. Click here to download the full report. To browse our comprehensive library of reports on Iraq, click here. (Source: IMF)
The Hindu
15-07-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
The U.S. established and extinguished multilateralism
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, is the visible part of the global transformation that is underway and the global trend supports India's re-emergence. The current super power has marginalised the United Nations, and, with it, emasculated the collective bargaining strength of the Global South — there will be no going back. The U.S. is now engaging countries with strategic commerce-related bilateral deals that fragment the global order. The asymmetry of power is such that there was no opposition in the BRICS Summit in July 2025. The BRICS Declaration that comprised 31 pages and included 126 outcomes failed to note the rejection of multilateralism which required a focus on South-South cooperation. Essentially, unilateral tariffs are a means to bring individual countries to the table for seeking concessions, not global consensus. The U.S. shock Mr. Trump is fully aware that 2025 is not 1950 and the U.S. cannot shape a new common global framework. The national interest of the U.S. now is self-sufficiency and containment of China's influence flowing from the world's reliance on its products, which is the other side of the coin. Over the last 25 years, the world has become interconnected and the spheres of influence, trade and financial sanctions provide a more effective management tool than leverage through global intuitions. As a result, no one really knows how to respond as 75 years of diplomatic history has been erased by raw power. Where does this state of flux leave India with its young population having the potential to be the third largest economy in 2027 and overtake the U.S. by 2075, with global influence based on leadership of the Global South? The answer lies in accepting the end of multilateralism. The answer lies in focusing on national prosperity and South-South cooperation. The glue binding the Global South can no longer be financial benefits of a voting bloc in the UN. India needs their support in elections and positions in various committees for global influence; it has already lost the elected post of vice chair of the Executive Board of UNESCO to Pakistan. India needs to specify 'strategic autonomy' for what it is, namely, neutrality between major powers and enunciating its core interests in its own voting pattern. Second, the challenge for a continental size 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' of one billion people is to look east, and not west, for ideas. Trade concessions to the U.S. should be tuned to trade agreements with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Similarly, the loss of exports to the U.S., for example, steel, can be offset by a network of expressways, high speed rail, data centres with assured electricity and science universities reorienting consumption and exports. In 2013, China spent almost half its GDP on infrastructure; such scale alone makes for sustainable double digit growth. Third, India's intrinsic strength is being at the forefront of the fourth industrial revolution, a new chapter in human development. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization, India has overtaken the U.K. and Germany in the number of GenAI patents published, and has a strong foundation for endogenous growth and well-being. Fourth, the world over, military doctrines are being re-written for reliance on integrated air defence, satellites, missiles, drones and cyber. For the first time since Independence, India is in a position to be a global leader in all domains, enabling a substantial reduction in costly ground forces and imported large platforms, giving flexibility in foreign policy and spin-offs for growth. Fifth, India is already revisiting the way it has framed border issues leftover from colonialism and needs to push this to focus on growth. Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's assertion that India and China should not 'remain stuck in the past', achieve trust and work on the goal of demarcation of an international border has been favourably received by China that is preoccupied with Taiwan and in responding to Mr Trump. The Indus Waters Treaty, where Pakistan is keen to engage, provides a new frame to achieve similar trust. An international border in eastern Ladakh will be a decisive step to settling the international border in Jammu and Kashmir. The real lesson from 'Operation Sindoor' is the oldest one in military history — wisdom lies in knowing when to stop. In India's case, it is clear that there will not be a military solution. Summit as opportunity Last, the BRICS Summit in India in 2026 provides an opportunity to revitalise the Global South around cooperation jettisoning the multilateral practice of collective bargaining by the G-77 seeking benefits from the G-7. The future lies in sharing prosperity by reorienting tariffs and value chains to divert exports to meet growing consumption in the South. It should be possible at the low prices the South currently gets, and done in a manner that complements, not threatens, local production. Certainly a seismic shift, but so was multilateralism in 1950. Mukul Sanwal is a former United Nations diplomat
