Financial Modeler's Corner
00:00:00 · Paul Barnhurst, Giles Male
[00:00:00] S0: This is the greatest learning, but the worst one. I inherited a business that was the most complex business we had. So I'm gonna tell a story because I think everybody will appreciate this. I'm working in FP and A. We get a new CFO. He basically tells all of us, all your models suck. Everybody's coming to headquarters next week, and we're all building new models. And you know him, that's basically the way he said it. He may have even used a few f bombs in there as he said it. You know, very colorful. And so we had to go to Texas. One of the first things he wants us to do is we're using this offset to build a ramp, And I had never done it, and I couldn't figure out the formula, he could tell I was struggling a little bit. Financial Modeler's Corner is the world's premier modeling podcast. It is brought to you by Financial Modeling Institute, the world's leading financial modeling accreditation organization. Welcome to Financial Modeler's Corner. I'm your host, Paul Barnhurst, k a the FP and A Guy. And every week, we talk with distinguished financial modelers from around the globe. And the show is brought to you by the Financial Modeling Institute. FMI offers the most respected accreditations in financial modeling, and that's why I earned the AFM. This week, I'm thrilled to be joined by my host, Giles Male. Giles, welcome to the show. [00:01:15] S1: Thank you. I'm really looking forward to this, having you in the hot seat.
00:01:15 · Giles Male, Paul Barnhurst
[00:01:15] S1: Thank you. I'm really looking forward to this, having you in the hot seat. [00:01:18] S0: So everybody knows Giles is gonna be interviewing me today. I'm gonna step back from being host and turn it over to him, and we'll see how I do. I'm already sweating, Giles. I'm so nervous what questions you might ask me. [00:01:31] S1: Have you done this before? [00:01:32] S0: I have. I had someone interview me for FP and A [00:01:35] S1: today once. Okay. Okay. But never And I've been on a few podcasts where I'm not the host. Yeah. Okay. Alright. Well, you gave me a sheet. I was gonna say a cheat sheet, but it wasn't a cheat sheet. You gave me a list of questions that you thought I should ask, and I've rewritten half of them. That should [00:01:50] S0: be And I told you you could go wherever you want. Just made it in a standard guest format and left it up to you.
00:01:50 · Paul Barnhurst, Giles Male
[00:01:50] S0: be And I told you you could go wherever you want. Just made it in a standard guest format and left it up to you. [00:01:55] S1: There's lots of questions that I think you've probably answered in lots of different ways even as the host of this and on other podcasts. I actually selfishly wanted to ask you a few questions. I know I would find really interesting and hopefully other people as well, and then we'll get into some of the things like the quick fire questions that you do to everyone else, which I definitely want to put you through. So first question for me is, I think everybody now knows you as the FP and A Guy, but we know you as an expert in your field, host of multiple podcasts. You're known for your beard. You're now for AI thought leadership as well. But what does a week in the life of Paul Barnhurst, the FP and A guy, actually look like? What do you do when you get up on a Monday morning? How does your day play out, and how does your week play out?
00:02:42 · Paul Barnhurst, Giles Male
[00:02:42] S0: All great questions. So, one, anyone who knows me knows I'm an early riser. Giles is like, wait. Isn't he in The US? Why is he messaging me at this time? What's wrong with that guy? And lots of other people think that. Although you'll laugh, I went to lunch with somebody last week, and I sent him a message. I wanna say it was, like, 03:30 or four in the morning. And they responded a few minutes later, and I remember thinking they're in the same time zone. I'm like, what's wrong with this person? They're up so early. And I thought... They go, yeah. I'm in early... I get up before my kids and do stuff, and so I can enjoy the evening with them, and I laughed because someone who is actually like me for a change. So one, very early riser. I usually get up, work for a couple hours. Early morning, that usually involves catching up on email. At least once or twice a week, I'm taking a meeting probably from Europe early before my daughter gets up. That usually involves getting some kinda post ready for the day, maybe working on a presentation. Then I'll get my daughter off to school, and then usually I run. That's kinda my time. Nice. I actually mostly run on the treadmill. I've been recovering from an injury, and I'm finally fully back. And so now I'm working on training program to run a sub twenty minute five k is the goal. [00:03:42] S1: That is fast. That's a good challenge. [00:03:44] S0: I got there before about a year ago, and I wanna get back now that my injury is finally done. So that's on a treadmill, so add a minute to that. But, hey, I'll still take it.
00:03:44 · Paul Barnhurst, Giles Male
[00:03:44] S0: I got there before about a year ago, and I wanna get back now that my injury is finally done. So that's on a treadmill, so add a minute to that. But, hey, I'll still take it. [00:03:52] S1: I've got some funny stories with you because, you know, we've done training together, and you are a sucker for stitching yourself up and booking training two in the morning your time, which I really appreciate, but you always stitch yourself up.
00:03:52 · Giles Male, Paul Barnhurst
[00:03:52] S1: I've got some funny stories with you because, you know, we've done training together, and you are a sucker for stitching yourself up and booking training two in the morning your time, which I really appreciate, but you always stitch yourself up. [00:04:05] S0: You know, I always try to be the one that's willing to take the difficult time, especially if I've asked the person, you know, as much as I can. But... Yes. So what Giles is referring to, and I'll get back to the rest of my week, usually, there's a training in there. Usually, there is a webinar or some kind of speaking event and a couple podcasts. So on average in a week, I'm probably doing some kind of speaking event, podcast training, or webinar 15 times a month, roughly, maybe 17. You know, sometimes I've done as many as five in a day. And then I'm probably meeting with three or four vendors during the week, either talking about a marketing collaboration or just wanting to see their tool and talk to them, whether it's a spreadsheet software tool, whatever it might be, giving advice. And then the rest of the week, I could be working on a digital training. I could be working on, you know, web page for affiliate. I could be doing something on LinkedIn. But that typically the week for me, I usually finish my work between two and 5PM, depending on whether I gotta go get my daughter from school and what's going on about 02:30 and five, but I'm often starting between three and four.