A few months ago I mentioned CrossFit, the popular workout regime. I don’t do it to be macho. I do it because being in good shape makes ordinary tasks much easier. And when you need to be strong? You’ve done the groundwork.

Sure you can go to the gym to work on specific muscles groups and gain great definition in your pecs or biceps. It looks great! But CrossFit works every part of your physique. That’s more practical – whether you’re carrying shopping, sprinting for a bus, or even just staying focused at your desk.

I was reminded of the value of all-round fitness by a fascinating assignment this month. It’s for a group CFO I’ve placed before now – one of the first FDs I knew who isn’t an accountant. And they built a career that’s developed their all-round fitness.

It started in a US conglomerate. A round of divestments meant a more responsible role in a spin-out. Then they went to a strategy consultancy; a private business; and then a global firm, with diverse business interests, as strategy director. They’re now a global CFO hunting for a dynamic “group FC”.

Their business has scaled quickly. It’s got lots of moving parts – which means the role will be very different to the one undertaken by the exec who’s leaving. We have the opportunity to write the brief from scratch, which is the best kind of recruitment assignment.

That’s a different kind of “definition”. It’s not sculpting specific muscles to impress, but defining a role – possibly in consultation with the most promising candidate – that will add the most value. The right person will show motivation, curiosity and adaptability, not just a solid accountancy pedigree or “something like this” in their CV.

“All-roundedness” is looking more important right now. In a few weeks, we’ll have a new government, and although not much will change (whoever wins), ongoing uncertainties will reward companies and management teams who have all-round fitness – and are able to define their own roles.

As the recruitment market picks up, it’s clear there are few cookie-cutter, simplistic roles out there. Companies need people to help define strategy... and sweat working capital to maximise options. They want CFOs with imagination… but also with discipline. In other words, all-round fitness is key, not just good definition in one part of your career.

I’m going to touch on those issues at the FDs Forum on 11 June, when I’ll be talking about whether that all-roundedness might end you up in a CEO post – and if you’re coming along, bring your thoughts. Because I’m not sure it does. In this market there should be plenty to stimulate even the strongest all-rounder in a well-defined CFO, FD or FC role.

- Ray Nicholls

Things to do...

***Now...***
**Check the aircon.** And the drains! June is upon us, but climate change means we need to be braced for record temperatures *and* “50 days of rainfall” in the next three months. If your business operates outdoors, be warned...

***Next...***
**Dump the DB.** Most companies ditched defined benefit pension schemes 20 years ago. But legacy members have been a balance sheet drag. Two years of better gilts have now delivered surpluses. Buy-out? Run-on? Time to strategise the risks.

***Later...***
**Apprenticeships.**
A hot topic whoever wins in July, we’re likely to see more flex in apprenticeships – and widening to other forms of training. Could be good for the finance function, especially for levy-paying businesses.

Lies, damned lies, and...

Cyber attacks: does more than half mean it's "normal"?

The government’s Cyber security breaches survey 2024 is out and makes chilling reading. The headline stat is bad enough – half of UK businesses have suffered an attack or breach in the past 12 months. But for medium and large firms, that rises to 70% and 74%. That means it's normal to have been attacked.

The good news? The number of companies deploying malware protection is up (to 83%) as is better admin controls (73%), firewalls (75%) and agreed processes for addressing phishing (up from 48% to 54%). But that last number is still too low: phishing is the most common type of attack, used in 84% of cases.

As finance folk you want to manage the risk: 62% of medium businesses and 54% of large ones insure against cyber threats – but that could mean anything from basic cover against the cost of recovering data, right through to the complete response and remediation packages. Note that a much higher proportion of large businesses have specific incident response protocols – perhaps because they’re not outsourcing it.

Bottom line? Cyber-risk is now just a price of doing business. And the chart above, showing percentage of organisations with board members having responsibility for cyber security? It’s not as bad as it looks: among medium-sized firms, 51% have a board member with direct cyber responsibilities; and in large ones, it’s 63%, up from 53%. Which begs the question: why do so many small companies think they don't need to have proper board debates about cyber security?

On trend

Hybrid: are we there yet?

Speaking of things that are now "normal"... It’s hard to believe that it’s more than four years since the Covid lockdowns came into force. It’s even harder to remember a time before Zoom meetings and Teams “invites”. But while most organisations have settled into some kind of hybrid working, it’s still uncertain how often you should expect people to come to the office – especially when recruiting.

The ONS data say hybrid has bedded in – from 20% of workers in April 2022 to 30% in April 2024. Finance, of course, being an office job is much more likely to treat hybrid as a norm. So what arrangement should you ask for – and offer your team?

The Hybrid Work Commission reported in September, but isn’t much help. Three-quarters of hybrid workers say it improves work-life balance; but 8% of 18-24 year-olds said it was negative (twice the all-age average), presumably starved of social and mentoring opportunities. Hybrid is preferred by many in minority groups (including LGBT+, older workers, and people with disabilities). And it’s accelerated a decline in training budgets – which might therefore be a differentiator when you’re hiring. But it’s also saved UK businesses up to £10bn a year in reduced recruitment and retention costs.

The recommendations? First, make in-office attendance meaningful. Important meetings, strategy conclaves, training – but not random days. Second, offer managers training on making hybrid work. But no detail. Hmm. Third? Nothing to do with you: it’s a call for the government to help businesses develop guidelines.

Elsewhere, the advice is similarly vague: communicate better, focus on wellbeing, create social links for staff, “find a balance”. Which adds up to, “suck it and see” for the most part.

I’d like to know more – so please do send us your approach to hybrid in your team or company. What’s your policy? Is it working? How are you selling it to new recruits? And if you’re an FD or CFO, what would you ideally like to see with work patterns? Email me at the usual address…

Words from the wise

Hunterbrook on the hunt

The 1980s? Rise of the investment banker. In the 1990s the traders were stars – Nick Leesson and all. The 2000s were all about the rise of private equity. And you can make a decent case for the 2010s being the decade when the hedge fund went from shadowy backrooms to being the investment vehicle of choice for pop culture references.

The profile of hedgies who made millions when they realised the subprime mortgage market was ready to collapse in 2008 helped. Then in 2016 Billions hit the TV screens bringing hedge fund fashion, slang and cold-hearted decision-making to the masses.

One hedge fund has embraced that high profile by turning the proprietary research it does into businesses – in order to trade ahead of the market – into journalism. Hunterbrook does the research, makes its trades, then publishes what it found as news articles.

The cynic might suggest that digging up dirt, shorting a business, then publishing said dirt is simply a way of accelerating profits from aggressive trading. After all, why rely on the markets or the media stumbling across the downside risks for a company when you can just tell everyone why it should trade lower? Hunterbrook makes clear which stories it’s traded on – and has published plenty of “public interest” journalism that hasn’t generated profits at all.

It's worth checking out – especially if you like consumer safety, environmental and corruption stories. (Or if you like clever, entirely legal, market manipulation.) Is it the future of business journalism? Possibly. Is it ethical? In the world of the hedge fund, most definitely. Maybe every company should hire reporters to see what they can find on their rivals - or themselves! Check out Bloomberg’s Matt Levine explaining all on his excellent podcast…