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As VP of Financial Reporting and Technical Accounting at FLEETCOR Technology (NYSE: FLT), Rachel Baesler partners with internal business leaders to execute the company’s aggressive M&A strategy. She joins Adam Larson to discuss the responsibility of internal accounting experts in demonstrating how they can add value to M&A deals and other business-building initiatives.
Show Notes
Welcome back to another edition of Count Me In. The podcast that explores the world of business from the management accountants perspective. My guest today is Rachel Baesler, VP of financial reporting and technical accounting at FLEETCOR Technologies, a leading global business payments company. We talk a lot on this show about the need for accountants inside the organizations to partner cross-functionally with leaders and groups, driving business performance and growth as an accounting leader at a company that has completed over 90 acquisitions, Rachel is the perfect guest to help us better understand how accountants can overcome common stereotypes and thrive as strategic business partners. So let's get started.
Adam:
So, Rachel, thank you so much for coming on the podcast today, and we're just gonna jump right in cuz we're talking about strategic partnerships today and when you're building those strategic partnerships, a common term or role today for accounting and finance professionals is business partnering. That's the term we've been hearing a lot. And so how do you ensure success when building these relationships across departments?
Rachel:
So to ensure business success, collaboration and partnership across departments is critical to the success of the organization, I was reading this Deloitte report that said that 83% of organizations want to increase the time spent on finance business partnering over the next three years. So it can be difficult to foster open communication with accounting. We're often seen as an impediment rather than a strategic business partner. So they understand that we handle the numbers and that we handle compliance, but it's up to us to, you know, articulate our value and demonstrate how we can be a strategic partner. A major component of FLEETCOR's success is our M&A strategy we've had over 90 acquisitions to date. Each of these require extensive involvement from accounting. So last year we purchased AFEX for over 400 million. They are part of our cross-border payment solutions similar to Cambridge global payments, which are all newly aligned under our court pay business unit.
Rachel:
We have noticed over time that we are getting similar accounting issues come up in these deals. So for our deal team, we created this quick reference guide and we shared it with them. So these matters that come up over and over again, they have them at the front of their mind versus the back. This helps, you know, demonstrate our value as a partner cuz they know every decision they're making and an acquisition, there is an accounting impact. It also helps just foster a relationship with them. Now they know, you know, they know my name, they know to come to me, when things come up, I can help them work through issues and they understand their accounting implications.
Adam:
So is that why it's so important for accounting and finance professionals? Because you have to be a seat at the table, no matter what's happening, whether it's an M&A, or the strategy that's being run or FP&A like all those different things are happening. Why is it so important for accounting and finance professionals to be a part of that?
Rachel:
Well, there's, you know, the compliance matters, obviously it's our job to ensure that the books and records are accurate, but also, you know, in the business environment today, all departments are being asked to demonstrate their value and partnering with other departments is how we demonstrate our value in an organization. And this also helps us, you know, foster culture of governance and compliance because you know, we have a seat at the table and we know what's going on in the business. It also helps us, you know, understand what's going on in the business. So we can better communicate with our stakeholders. You know, I'm the one preparing a lot of investor documents, right? So knowing what's going on across the organization helps me communicate more effectively with our investors.
Adam:
So what skills have you had to develop to be a successful relationship builder in this process?
Rachel:
Okay. So I read another Deloitte study and it was talking about the main competencies you need to be a successful finance business partner. And it talked about you know, being able to challenge negotiate, have, you know, commercial acumen, strategic thinking. And then one, I think for me has been critical, which is relationship management, such a simple thing, but building interpersonal relationships with people in other departments helps foster open communication and builds trust. You know, we live in an environment where we receive lots of emails. Whenever possible, I try to meet with people in person or have a face to face video call even pick up the phone, you know, you're not, you don't really have the opportunity to build a relationship when you're communicating over email, this, you know, just helps facilitate an open dialogue and create a trusted relationship. I'll give you an example.
Rachel:
I was working on this project with, you know, it was KPIs and I was having to talk to different leaders of the businesses. I'm sure it felt like an incremental ask. One of our lines of business leaders I was working with on this project. We just started chit chatting about Disney world. He has kids, I have kids, he was giving me some tips. I haven't taken my children yet. They're a little too young, but we built this, you know, great rapport fast forward a few months. And we acquired a business and he didn't understand, you know, how the revenue recognition pattern was working with one of the new products. Fast forward a few months later, we acquired a new business and we have a new product and there's trouble with the business leaders, understanding how the revenue recognition pattern works for that new product. You know, now they know my name, they know my face. They know to reach out to me, I can help them, you know, translate the, you know, the product to the accounting impact. So it helps me, you know, I'm getting to know the business that we've acquired from the business leaders and from the target itself. And you know, I'm at the front end of the issue they know to get me involved and it's just a really productive relationship and it, you know, helped us get involved early. So.
Adam:
Yeah, it's almost like you've you learned how to connect on a human side with your other collaborators and then because you connected, you developed the relationship and that allowed you to, when that you needed their help or they needed your help, you were able to connect in a better way.
Rachel:
Absolutely. I mean, you know, if I'm just shooting an email, so I'd be like, give me this, you know, or even asking politely. You know, I'm not gonna be the front of their mind when a problem comes up. So, you know, just spending a little bit extra time with folks, you know, building that connection, it really helps create a good relationship. And you know, it enables you to have a strategic partnership. I think that's really hard to just like force that on someone.
Adam:
Yeah. I was thinking, you know how it's always easy for us to talk about for as accountants to say, how do we partner with everybody else? What advice would you give to somebody who is not an accountant? How do you best partner with the accounting team? We've already talked about the human side and building that relationship, but are there other elements that we can say, Hey, this would, this would be best way to communicate. This is the best way to kind of build that relationship, especially for, with the accounting and finance team.
Rachel:
I would say, bring us in early and bring us in. Often we can't be a strategic partner if we don't have a seat at the table.
Adam:
That makes sense.
Rachel:
Yeah. I mean, we're, you know, you know, we can be seen as a naysayer, but you know, we can be a strategic partner and understanding how we can help, you know, facilitate your performance goals. You know, for example, mergers and acquisitions, they don't fall out of the sky fully assembled involving accounting on the front end is gonna help have a more successful integration of a business help you meet your like performance goals. We play an indispensable role in these things ultimately. So if we're able to get involved in the front end, it's gonna help, you know, prevent any unexpected surprises or compliance issues.
Adam:
So it's almost like you're realizing it's, whoever's leading whatever project it is is realizing that the finance and accounting team has to be a part of the table in the beginning, as opposed to, Hey, now we need to talk about numbers. Let's bring you in later.
Rachel:
Yes. So maybe you have created some kind of business case in your mind, and obviously a numbers are important component to that. So when you're bringing something to a key decision maker, you don't wanna run it by accounting after the fact and find out that, you know, the projected figures you used in something are incorrect, cuz that's obviously going to have an impact on the decision making process.
Adam:
Of course. So when thinking about the future, you know, we've gone through a lot, the last three, almost three years now with the pandemic and everything. Are there certain competencies that you feel that, you know, finance lead finance and accounting leaders would need to continue to develop to become the best business partner possible?
Rachel:
So I think finance leaders need to have great leadership and communication skills and specifically in advising and counseling, your finance and accounting function, empowering them to engage in the business to engage in operations. I also think it's really important for, you know, finance and accounting leaders, to be able to articulate our value, to share our success. You know, how we were a strategic partner in a transaction. This helps demonstrate our value in an organization. You know, a finance and accounting leader needs to be able to share the value and success of the accounting organization, to other corporate leaders that run the business units. This will help encourage getting us involved. You know, someone here is about, you know, how we helped with this acquisition and understanding this product. They have a question on an acquisition that's rolled up into their business unit, they know to come to us on the front end, for example,
Adam:
Do you have any examples where that worked or didn't work or where that somebody wished that they had done that and then you were able to help them with that, that you can share?
Rachel:
Yeah. I mean, you know, we roll out new products, part of our growth strategy. So I've had some people forecast certain revenue figures and submit the budget and get it approved, but they didn't actually contemplate like the accounting impact of that new product. So I'll have to be the bad news bear on the back end being like I'm so sorry. That's actually, my revenue figure you projected, you know, is it's not achievable because the accounting standard says X. So when these situations occur, I always, you know, I talked about earlier, sometimes you have to be pretty explicit in your value is a strategic partner. You know, I'm like whatever new products you're contemplating, I'm happy to be involved in the conversations and the budgeting process. So, you know, bring me in and you know, I'm happy to help. Yeah. I've had both the successful and unsuccessful conversations, so.
Adam:
But I'm sure those conversations kind of help lead you to where we've been talking about of becoming that strategic partner, helping educate your team members to get them to that place where they bring you in earlier.
Rachel:
Absolutely. I mean, that's the bad scenario, right? When you find on the back end that, you know, something you thought achievable is not actually achievable, but I mean, yes, they're constantly at FLEETCOR, we are truly seen as a business partner in accounting. So more times than not, we are involved in contract negotiations. We're there at the beginning to help the business leaders understand how any changes in terms and conditions might impact our bottom line, for example. So we've had a lot of success in partnering with operations to achieve our performance goals.
Outro:
This has been Count Me In, IMA's podcast providing you with the latest perspectives of thought leaders from the accounting and finance profession. If you like what you heard, and you'd like to be counted in for more relevant accounting and finance education, visit IMA's website at www.imanet.org.
Creators & Guests
What is Count Me In®?
IMA® (Institute of Management Accountants) brings you the latest perspectives and learnings on all things affecting the accounting and finance world, as told by the experts working in the field and the thought leaders shaping the profession. Listen in to gain valuable insight and be included in the future of accounting and finance!
Welcome back to another
edition of Count Me In.
The podcast that explores the world of
business from the management accountants
perspective. My guest
today is Rachel Baesler,
VP of financial reporting and technical
accounting at Fleetcor Technologies,
a leading global business
payments company.
We talk a lot on this show about
the need for accountants inside the
organizations to partner
cross-functionally with
leaders and groups,
driving business performance and growth
as an accounting leader at a company
that has completed over 90 acquisitions,
Rachel is the perfect guest to help us
better understand how accountants can
overcome common stereotypes and
thrive as strategic business partners.
So let's get started.
So, Rachel, thank you so much
for coming on the podcast today,
and we're just gonna jump right in
cuz we're talking about strategic
partnerships today and when you're
building those strategic partnerships,
a common term or role today for accounting
and finance professionals is business
partnering. That's the term
we've been hearing a lot.
And so how do you ensure success when
building these relationships across
departments?
So to ensure business success,
collaboration and partnership across
departments is critical to the success of
the organization,
I was reading this Deloitte report that
said that 83% of organizations want to
increase the time spent on finance
business partnering over the next three
years.
So it can be difficult to foster
open communication with accounting.
We're often seen as an impediment rather
than a strategic business partner.
So they understand that we handle the
numbers and that we handle compliance,
but it's up to us to, you know,
articulate our value and demonstrate
how we can be a strategic partner.
A major component of Fleetcor's success
is our M&A strategy we've had over
90 acquisitions to date.
Each of these require extensive
involvement from accounting.
So last year we purchased
AFEX for over 400 million.
They are part of our cross-border
payment solutions similar to
Cambridge global payments,
which are all newly aligned under
our court pay business unit.
We have noticed over time that
we are getting similar accounting
issues come up in these
deals. So for our deal team,
we created this quick
reference guide and we shared
it with them. So these matters
that come up over and over again,
they have them at the front of their mind
versus the back. This helps, you know,
demonstrate our value as a partner cuz
they know every decision they're making
and an acquisition, there
is an accounting impact.
It also helps just foster a
relationship with them. Now they know,
you know, they know my name, they know
to come to me, when things come up,
I can help them work through issues
and they understand their accounting
implications.
So is that why it's so important for
accounting and finance professionals?
Because you have to be a seat at the
table, no matter what's happening,
whether it's an M&A,
or the strategy that's being run or
FP&A like all those different things are
happening. Why is it so
important for accounting
and finance professionals
to be a part of that?
Well, there's, you know,
the compliance matters,
obviously it's our job to ensure that
the books and records are accurate,
but also, you know, in the
business environment today,
all departments are being asked to
demonstrate their value and partnering
with other departments is how we
demonstrate our value in an organization.
And this also helps us, you know,
foster culture of governance
and compliance because you know,
we have a seat at the table and we
know what's going on in the business.
It also helps us, you know, understand
what's going on in the business.
So we can better communicate
with our stakeholders. You know,
I'm the one preparing a lot
of investor documents, right?
So knowing what's going on across the
organization helps me communicate more
effectively with our investors.
So what skills have you had to develop
to be a successful relationship builder
in this process?
Okay.
So I read another Deloitte study and it
was talking about the main competencies
you need to be a successful
finance business partner.
And it talked about you know, being
able to challenge negotiate, have,
you know, commercial acumen,
strategic thinking. And then one,
I think for me has been critical,
which is relationship management,
such a simple thing,
but building interpersonal relationships
with people in other departments
helps foster open
communication and builds trust.
You know, we live in an environment
where we receive lots of emails.
Whenever possible,
I try to meet with people in person
or have a face to face video call
even pick up the phone,
you know, you're not,
you don't really have the opportunity
to build a relationship when you're
communicating over email, this, you know,
just helps facilitate an open dialogue
and create a trusted relationship.
I'll give you an example. I was
working on this project with, you know,
it was KPIs and I was having to
talk to different leaders of the
businesses. I'm sure it felt
like an incremental ask.
One of our lines of business leaders
I was working with on this project.
We just started chit chatting about
Disney world. He has kids, I have kids,
he was giving me some tips. I
haven't taken my children yet.
They're a little too young,
but we built this, you know,
great rapport fast forward a few months.
And we acquired a business and he didn't
understand, you know,
how the revenue recognition pattern was
working with one of the new products.
Fast forward a few months later,
we acquired a new business
and we have a new product and
there's trouble with the business leaders,
understanding how the revenue recognition
pattern works for that new product.
You know, now they know my
name, they know my face.
They know to reach out to me, I can
help them, you know, translate the,
you know, the product to the accounting
impact. So it helps me, you know,
I'm getting to know the business that
we've acquired from the business leaders
and from the target itself. And you know,
I'm at the front end of the issue they
know to get me involved and it's just a
really productive relationship and it,
you know, helped us get involved early.
So.
Yeah,
it's almost like you've you learned how
to connect on a human side with your
other collaborators and
then because you connected,
you developed the relationship
and that allowed you to,
when that you needed their
help or they needed your help,
you were able to connect in a better way.
Absolutely. I mean, you know, if I'm
just shooting an email, so I'd be like,
give me this, you know, or
even asking politely. You know,
I'm not gonna be the front of their
mind when a problem comes up. So,
you know, just spending a little
bit extra time with folks, you know,
building that connection, it really
helps create a good relationship.
And you know, it enables you to
have a strategic partnership.
I think that's really hard to
just like force that on someone.
Yeah. I was thinking,
you know how it's always easy for us to
talk about for as accountants to say,
how do we partner with everybody else?
What advice would you give to
somebody who is not an accountant?
How do you best partner
with the accounting team?
We've already talked about the human
side and building that relationship,
but are there other elements
that we can say, Hey, this would,
this would be best way to communicate.
This is the best way to kind of build
that relationship, especially for,
with the accounting and finance team.
I would say, bring us in
early and bring us in.
Often we can't be a strategic partner
if we don't have a seat at the table.
That makes sense.
Yeah. I mean, we're, you know, you know,
we can be seen as a
naysayer, but you know,
we can be a strategic partner and
understanding how we can help, you know,
facilitate your performance
goals. You know, for example,
mergers and acquisitions,
they don't fall out of the
sky fully assembled involving
accounting on the front
end is gonna help have a more successful
integration of a business help you meet
your like performance goals.
We play an indispensable role
in these things ultimately.
So if we're able to get involved in the
front end, it's gonna help, you know,
prevent any unexpected
surprises or compliance issues.
So it's almost like you're realizing it's,
whoever's leading whatever project it
is is realizing that the finance and
accounting team has to be a part of the
table in the beginning, as opposed to,
Hey, now we need to talk about
numbers. Let's bring you in later.
Yes. So maybe you have created some
kind of business case in your mind,
and obviously a numbers are
important component to that.
So when you're bringing something
to a key decision maker,
you don't wanna run it by accounting after
the fact and find out that, you know,
the projected figures you used
in something are incorrect,
cuz that's obviously going to have an
impact on the decision making process.
Of course. So when thinking
about the future, you know,
we've gone through a lot, the last three,
almost three years now with
the pandemic and everything.
Are there certain competencies
that you feel that, you know,
finance lead finance and accounting
leaders would need to continue to
develop to become the best
business partner possible?
So I think finance leaders
need to have great leadership
and communication skills and
specifically in advising and counseling,
your finance and accounting function,
empowering them to engage in the
business to engage in operations.
I also think it's really
important for, you know,
finance and accounting leaders, to
be able to articulate our value,
to share our success. You know,
how we were a strategic
partner in a transaction.
This helps demonstrate our value
in an organization. You know,
a finance and accounting leader needs to
be able to share the value and success
of the accounting organization,
to other corporate leaders
that run the business units.
This will help encourage
getting us involved. You know,
someone here is about, you know,
how we helped with this acquisition
and understanding this product.
They have a question on an acquisition
that's rolled up into their business
unit, they know to come to us
on the front end, for example.
Do you have any examples where that worked
or didn't work or where that somebody
wished that they had done that and then
you were able to help them with that,
that you can share?
Yeah. I mean, you know, we roll out new
products, part of our growth strategy.
So I've had some people
forecast certain revenue figures
and submit the budget and get it approved,
but they didn't actually contemplate
like the accounting impact of that new
product.
So I'll have to be the bad news bear on
the back end being like I'm so sorry.
That's actually, my revenue
figure you projected, you know,
is it's not achievable because
the accounting standard says X.
So when these situations
occur, I always, you know,
I talked about earlier,
sometimes you have to be pretty explicit
in your value is a strategic partner.
You know, I'm like whatever new
products you're contemplating,
I'm happy to be involved
in the conversations and
the budgeting process. So,
you know, bring me in and you
know, I'm happy to help. Yeah. I've
had both the successful and
unsuccessful conversations, so.
But I'm sure those conversations kind
of help lead you to where we've been
talking about of becoming
that strategic partner,
helping educate your team members to get
them to that place where they bring you
in earlier.
Absolutely. I mean, that's
the bad scenario, right?
When you find on the
back end that, you know,
something you thought achievable is not
actually achievable, but I mean, yes,
they're constantly at Fleetcor,
we are truly seen as a
business partner in accounting.
So more times than not, we are
involved in contract negotiations.
We're there at the beginning to help
the business leaders understand how any
changes in terms and conditions might
impact our bottom line, for example.
So we've had a lot of success in
partnering with operations to achieve our
performance goals.
This has been Count Me In,
IMA's podcast providing you
with the latest perspectives
of thought leaders from
the accounting and finance profession.
If you like what you heard,
and you'd like to be counted in for
more relevant accounting and finance
education, visit IMA's
website at www.imanet.org.