October 23, 2025 • 21 mins
Get ready for another exciting bonus episode from SuiteWorld 25! Host Adam Larson sits down with Kimberlee Duval, CFO of Cymbiotika, an inspiring leader whose unconventional journey in accounting will resonate with anyone passionate about growth and purpose. Kimberlee shares how her early experiences shaped her career, the key lessons she learned while scaling startups, and why her mantra of “measure twice, cut once” is her guide for success.
From working with supportive mentors and breaking the mold in corporate leadership, to building teams where curiosity thrives and mistakes are part of the process, Kimberlee offers candid stories and actionable advice on cultivating a culture that empowers people to grow, learn, and truly love what they do. Plus, you’ll hear her insights on embracing AI and technology in accounting, ensuring that her teams spend less time crunching numbers and more time thinking strategically.
Whether you’re climbing the ranks in finance, leading a team, or just looking for inspiration, don’t miss this conversation packed with heart, humor, and practical wisdom from Kimberlee Duval.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Adam Larson (00:00):
Hey, guys. Look where we're at here at Sweet
(00:02):
World, '20 twenty five in LasVegas. We are excited to share
some new episodes with you thatwe recorded here live in Sweet
World in Las Vegas talking aboutAI and innovation and what CFOs
can do to be better leaders inthis organization. So we're so
excited to have you here, sostay tuned for some great
episodes. I was looking at youhave a very impressive career
(00:28):
path.
Kimberlee Duval (00:29):
Oh, thank you.
Adam Larson (00:30):
And I was wondering if you could share a little bit
about what got you intoaccounting, and what what's your
passion about?
Kimberlee Duval (00:37):
So oddly enough, I started off thinking I
was gonna go to law school. ButI grew up very poor. I was
emancipated at 16, so paying forand dedicating that many years
just really weren't gonna be inthe cards. So I took my first
accounting and finance classback when you used to be able to
(00:58):
do that without declaring it asyour life mission, and I fell in
love. It was it was somethingfor me that just clicked, but it
wasn't the numbers that clickedfor me.
It was that I saw how strategicit could be. Yeah. That I could
build and and really createsomething. And I made the
(01:23):
decision to not go into at thetime, it was a big eight. Yep.
Adam Larson (01:30):
That's the four or the three.
Announcer (01:31):
Yeah. Exactly. It
Kimberlee Duval (01:32):
was a big 10 when I started. Yeah. I I wanted
to work for a smaller firm. Iwanted to learn more. And so I
had that great opportunity.
So I got to learn everythingfrom, you know, your basic
financials all the way throughto tax, sales tax, all these
things. And I just thought, wow.Like, this is bitching. I love
(01:54):
this. Yeah.
With that, you know, I got myCPA and all that good stuff and
really wanted to figure out howI was gonna make that into a
career. Mhmm. And I found myfirst startup. Wow. And that
changed the trajectory of mylife in a in a moment because I
(02:17):
really got to be a part of agrowth story from the beginning.
Okay. It was a medical devicecompany. We ended up scaling
quickly, taking the product tomarket. We bought another
company, so I got to be part ofthat process. We started, down
the path of going public.
(02:38):
And so I got to do all of that,like, amazingly hard work, but
really understood the value ofthe day to day compliance and
considerations you have to haveto enable you. Yeah. So that
that role, I think more thananything else, really taught me
the value of my mantra, measuretwice, cut once. Yeah. Right?
(03:02):
Be thoughtful as you make plans,as you do things, and not be
about just today. Mhmm. It'sgotta be about the future as
well because otherwise, you'rejust gonna rework it.
Adam Larson (03:15):
That's right. Right? Yeah.
Kimberlee Duval (03:16):
More expensive, more time, like, all those sorts
of things. But if you take amoment and think strategically
in the onset, even if you don'tknow everything that's gonna
happen, so it's impossible, atleast you build in for those
potentials, those possibilities.Because I think that that's what
(03:36):
happens for a lot of people isthey get very pigeoned because
they don't take the time toreally strategically think about
it.
Adam Larson (03:44):
Did you have any mentors as you were coming up
and to help help guide youtoward the leader that you are
today?
Kimberlee Duval (03:53):
I was brought up in from a career perspective
at a time where there were veryfew women, and the women that
were tended to either be thebarracuda or the pushover. And I
so I learned from them of what Ididn't wanna do. But I
ultimately have had a a numberof really great mentors. All
(04:19):
have oddly enough been men, asopposed to, which is a little
sad, but it's also what ignitesme to be a mentor for others.
Mentors for me were verydifferent.
Right? And and as I was saying,these men really created
opportunities for me because Iwent after them. I wanted to
(04:41):
know what doing businessdevelopment was. How do I get
more involved in that? How do Ibring my strategic finance
capabilities into that part ofthe world?
And so I had a head of BD thatworked, you know, and he
welcomed me in, and I got tostart looking at deals and
figuring out why we were a verylarge medical device company.
(05:06):
And so we had a lot ofopportunities for people wanting
to sell us their stuff. But wewere also looking at sometimes
and proactive versus reactive.And he was the first one that
really was just like showed mehow much more being an
accountant could really be.Yeah.
(05:28):
And I think then that drove tothe next, you know, opportunity.
And then I had an incredible CEOwho had been a CFO for most of
his career that, again, showedme what was possible Mhmm. And
that the the standardexpectations were just that, and
(05:50):
that doesn't mean it needs to beme. Yeah. And he was who gave me
my first CFO role.
I took the job director offinance for three months, and at
the end of the three months,they said, you're the CFO. You
we don't need to look foranybody else. You've got the
job. That's amazing. And it wasit was really great.
Yeah.
Adam Larson (06:09):
So what's what is your
Announcer (06:11):
because I as I've talked
Adam Larson (06:11):
to different accounting leaders, everybody
has their own kind of, like,leadership philosophy. You
already said cut once, you know,cut cut once, measure twice. But
how would you describe yourleadership philosophy,
especially in the accountingworld?
Kimberlee Duval (06:22):
I really think about it really from a team
perspective. Yeah. Culture fit.I want to pay it forward, and I
want if everyone loved their jobjust 50% the way I love mine,
imagine how great the worldwould be. And so I want them to
(06:47):
have that passion Mhmm.
To find it, but moreimportantly, to be willing I
have to be willing to work tohelp them find it. I can't do it
for them, but I can certainlyhelp them figure that out. And I
think a lot of times leaderstend to get caught up in this
(07:09):
path is what you're supposed totake. Right? You're you're in
accounts payable.
Therefore, you should you're incertain accounts receivable. No.
The my path was not a straightline. Mhmm. You know?
I did lots of zigs and zags ofdifferent roles and
opportunities and industries andfull time consulting. So why
(07:31):
should they have to stick to acertain path? Let's figure out
what's interesting to you. Mhmm.What does excite you?
What is it about your currentrole or different things that
maybe we are not doing todaythat we should be doing? And
then how do I help them not justmove toward to reach those
(07:52):
goals, but give them time tospend to learn. Right? It's it's
about great. It's a new skillset.
You're not gonna just know it.You've gotta learn it. Right?
And whether that's me supportingthem and teaching them, whether
that's going to classes, whetherthat's, you know, doing
(08:13):
something that's going to helpthem, and they have to have the
time to be able to do that.Yeah.
Right? It's we have to have somebalance. And, yes, this is part
of your career, and I'm notsuggesting, well, you only work
eight hours a day every day. No.So, yes, maybe you're taking two
hours out of this day, but theyneed to know that they've got
(08:33):
permission, that they'reempowered to do
Announcer (08:34):
it. Yeah.
Kimberlee Duval (08:35):
That it's an expectation to help them grow.
It helps them. It helps me. Ithelps our team. It helps the
organization.
Adam Larson (08:42):
So what's it like building that type of a culture?
Because it's not easy to havethat type of a culture because
corporate America is very muchlike, you have to do all these
things and no matter what,bottom line, that's it. And so,
like, how is it how is itbuilding that type of a culture?
Kimberlee Duval (08:58):
It really starts at the top. And and it
sounds very cliche, but, youknow, cliche is that for a
reason. The the reality is isthat when I go into an
organization, that is anexpectation I set right off with
my CEO. Okay. This is what'simportant to me.
This is how we're gonna build agreat team, a great
(09:19):
organization, right, and and tobe able to do all the things
that you want us to do. Yeah. Ineed to be allowed to do my job,
which means I need to be able toempower my team to be allowed to
do theirs. And so it's gottawork. Alright?
They have to respect that theyare being given this time, this
(09:39):
effort, you know, money to coverclasses or whatever the thing
may be. They have to want itmore than me for themselves. And
if we can do that and then youshow the value of that, it
becomes very obvious. And thennext thing you know, other
leaders are looking aroundgoing, that back office team,
(10:01):
they've got their stufftogether. Right?
They they're really making adifference. And you see it by
promotions, by careerdevelopment opportunities. Those
team members then are morewilling to reach across to other
parts of the organization toeducate, to work with, to
(10:22):
support. And now you've got acollaboration, And then that
becomes really a foundationacross the entire organization.
Yeah.
Over time, obviously, it's notgonna be quick, but I've seen
it, you know, and and I've beenable to really help establish
that expectation. I only hirein. If you're gonna meet you
(10:45):
gotta be hungry. I don't wantyou to want a job. I want you to
want a career.
Adam Larson (10:51):
Yeah.
Kimberlee Duval (10:51):
And I'm gonna do everything I can to help you
get there as long as you'redoing everything you can to help
you get there.
Announcer (10:58):
Okay. I like that. I like that philosophy because
it's a lot
Adam Larson (11:03):
of times you go into a team and you're
struggling to, oh, I I have to,like, find this little time to
upskill myself, and there's notthat culture of growing and be
to be able to establish that.That's that's I that's I commend
you for that.
Kimberlee Duval (11:15):
Well, yeah. I appreciate that, but I it it I
don't understand why it'scommendable. It should just be
the way it is.
Announcer (11:22):
I agree with you, Garrett.
Kimberlee Duval (11:24):
Right? It's like this sweet world. Right?
I've got there's 11 of us herethis week. Wow.
And it's a big investment. Butyou know what? They're really
worth it. And if I invest inthem, they're in turn gonna
invest in me, invest in theorganization. Everybody wins.
Everybody gets something out ofit. And I I don't think enough
(11:48):
companies, especially in theback office, because we are the
frugal ones and having to beconscientious of the spend, we
don't give ourselves that budgetand that opportunity. And we
need it just like any other partof the organization does. And I
think, you know, it's like,don't be a martyr. Like Mhmm.
(12:09):
Well, we've never been on a, youknow, whatever. No. That's a
shame. Yeah. Invest in yourpeople.
There's a lot of ways that youcan do it inexpensively over
time. Right? They earn it. Giveit. Share it.
Right? And and I thinkultimately, there's just not
enough people, in seniorleadership positions. When these
(12:34):
young kids, you know, these daysare asking about balance. Well,
that is a big part of how youhelp them achieve that balance.
Adam Larson (12:40):
Yeah.
Kimberlee Duval (12:41):
Because if they see that they're getting
something personal out of it,they don't think of it as work
the same way. Right? And ifthey're happy at work Yeah. The
number of hours they are workingno longer becomes a competition
about the number of hoursthey're not working because they
love it. They enjoy it.
They're getting something out ofit. So it naturally makes them,
(13:02):
you know, in a better mind spacealtogether. Mhmm. Therefore
balance is in fact achieved.
Adam Larson (13:09):
Yeah. Well, I I I think it was, yesterday or to
this morning, I was flippingthrough, LinkedIn and Simon
Sinek posted, we won't feel safewe won't grow as people unless
we feel safe at home and safe atwork.
Kimberlee Duval (13:21):
Yes. I actually just finished reading that book.
Adam Larson (13:27):
But, like, that's a that's a philosophy. If you
don't feel safe at work, thatculture you're describing, that
creates a safe environment tosay, yeah. I'm I can grow. I can
fail here and grow from that asopposed to, oh, no. If I fail,
I'm gonna get fired.
Kimberlee Duval (13:39):
You know what? That is a great point, and and
I've actually had thisconversation very explicitly
Yeah. A couple of times over thelast kind of few months,
especially because I really ampressing my team to fail. I want
you to reach. I want you to bechallenged, and it's okay to say
(14:03):
I don't know.
Adam Larson (14:04):
Yeah.
Kimberlee Duval (14:05):
It's okay to not have all the answers at the
moment that you're being asked,Whether it's my NetSuite
administrator who's got somebodybanging on his door, tell I need
you to do this for me right now.I will get to it. I need to
think about it before I can justgive you an answer. I'm, you
(14:26):
know, asking people to do tasksand have ownership over
responsibilities that thecompany's really never had to
have before. Yeah.
As we've gone into retail now,you know, the complexity of our
business is so different than itwas really even six months ago
that, you know, it's it'sdifferent skills. It's different
(14:47):
work, you know, product that'sbeing asked. And I've got this
incredible team who's just like,bring it on. That's awesome. Let
me I'm I wanna learn it.
I wanna do it. I wanna do whatit takes. And and I've been so
impressed with them. And, youknow, they are going to be part
of my legacy of future CFOs ofthe world one day, you know,
(15:10):
and, oh, I got to help them dothat. That's pretty awesome.
Announcer (15:13):
That is pretty awesome. I love that.
Adam Larson (15:15):
So we can't have this conversation without
talking about technology. Youknow, here
Kimberlee Duval (15:19):
One our favorite topics.
Adam Larson (15:20):
One of our favorite topics. You were just in the
keynote yesterday talking about,you know, how the AI and
everything is changing as you'reworking with Nestle. So maybe
you can talk a little bit abouthow is AI changing, how your
team is how it's being formedbecause I it can't look like it
did six months ago just like yousaid.
Kimberlee Duval (15:36):
No. It can't. And and that's the interesting
part. And I think I wasmentioning this, even in the
keynote, which is, you know,with this many team members, we
came with goals. While you'rehere, you need to go look at
this, and I want you to figureout that, and we then come
together and road map and that.
And after that first keynote, Ithought, oh, well, that's out
(15:58):
the window. We're gonna have torethink this entirely different
way. And and I think that it'sit's great. It's exciting. I've
got a little nervous.
There hadn't been a whole lot ofnews coming out of anything
really big and new from NetSuitefor a while. So I was like, oh,
this is game changing.
Adam Larson (16:18):
Okay.
Kimberlee Duval (16:19):
And it really goes to my philosophy, is I
don't want task people. Mhmm. Iwant critical thinkers. Yeah. By
utilizing AI, by having some ofthese workflows processes and
other things that can help spendless time keying Mhmm.
(16:40):
And more time thinking and thendoing something with the data,
with the information, less timebuilding the data, more time
actioning the data. So for myteam in particular, the timing
is excellent because this is theteam we're building. And we've
been building this team forabout a year and a half that
(17:02):
I've been with them. And we'vemoved people into different
roles. We've got some great, youknow, promotions for people.
We've added a couple of, folksin with the goal that we are
doing that. We are bringing inAI. We are putting in sweet
apps. We are putting billcapture. We're doing things that
make it so that there'sintegrations to do the key
(17:27):
punch.
There's not value in the keypunch just to get it in the
system. There's tools that canhelp you do that now. So great.
Let's invest in those tools. Andthen now I want you to take that
information, and what are yougonna do with it?
How is it valuable? What does ittell us? Right? And I think
(17:50):
that's also the expectation oftoday's, you know, young people
coming out of that first job,that second job. They they want
to think.
They really want to add value.And hopefully it makes
accounting sexy again.
Announcer (18:06):
Yeah. I hope it does. I really hope it does. And I
like
Adam Larson (18:10):
that idea of like, wanna take you're you're taking
them. You're giving them thistool kit so that they can be
strategic thinkers. Becausethere was a study out of MIT
saying that the AI is killingour our strategic thinking
because we're using it so much.Instead of using it as a tool,
we're using it as somethingelse. So that philosophy that
you have, it's really gonnachange the way it looks because
as a CFO, you've been a CFOdifferent number of times.
(18:30):
The way your team looks now iscompletely different than it's
looked in the past.
Kimberlee Duval (18:33):
Oh, one yeah. It's a complete one eighty.
Right? You you had to have thatlifelong AP person. Yeah.
Yeah. You had to have thatlifelong AR person. And, you
know, your FP and A manager hadto have certain types of skill
sets that were very differentthan what we need them to be
today. Yeah. You know?
And it so it's not just a rolethat changed. It's the entire
(18:57):
team. Mhmm. It's the constructof them. How they work together
and how they work across to theother parts of the organization.
Mhmm. Because with AIespecially, you can't be siloed.
It it forces you to break downthose siloed walls. Yeah.
Because what somebody's doing inmarketing has a direct effect on
(19:20):
and if you're not building yourAI tools to be across your
organization, you're gonna endup with bad information, bad
data.
You're gonna not make full fullyaware choices and and decisions
because you're you're toosiloed. You it has to be across.
Adam Larson (19:38):
So what would what advice would you give to CFOs
who are listening to thisconversation and saying, I want
my team to be where your teamis. What what should that first
step be to walk in thisdirection?
Kimberlee Duval (19:49):
Mean what you say and say what you mean. I
think that's the biggest thing.It's it's great to throw out
ideas and, oh, I'd love it if,and it'd be great. Why don't
you? You you have to action it.
You have to show it. You have tobe willing to not just have the
conversations and tell them thatthey should do something or put
a goal on a piece of paper atthe review time. You gotta
(20:12):
check-in with them. Are youdoing this? How are you doing
this?
How you know, what are theclasses? What are the training?
What what do you need in orderto do that? And then you need to
make sure that they it has to bea priority for both of you.
Yeah.
It is really easy to putsomething on the paper at the
review Six months later, a yearlater, well, did you do it? Oh,
(20:36):
nope. Right? And I thinkaccountants, back office team
members tend to also Yeah. Like,oh, well, I I there's so many
other things that I should havedone.
I didn't really wanna put thetime and take the time away. No.
It's it's required. Yeah. Andand and if you if you mean it
Mhmm.
Right, then they will, and thenyou you naturally start to just
(20:58):
build that culture just bymeaning what you say and saying
what you mean.
Adam Larson (21:04):
That's awesome. I really appreciate that. Well,
Kimberly, thank you so much forcoming on the Count Me In
podcast. I really appreciate yousharing your insights with our
audience.
Kimberlee Duval (21:10):
Absolutely. It was great. Thank you.
Announcer (21:14):
This has been Count Me In, IMA's podcast providing
you with the latest perspectivesof thought leaders from the
accounting and financeprofession. If you like what you
heard and you'd like to becounted in for more relevant
accounting and financeeducation, visit IMA's website
at www.imanet.org.
Hey, guys. Look where we're at here at Sweet
(00:02):
World, '20 twenty five in LasVegas. We are excited to share
some new episodes with you thatwe recorded here live in Sweet
World in Las Vegas talking aboutAI and innovation and what CFOs
can do to be better leaders inthis organization. So we're so
excited to have you here, sostay tuned for some great
episodes. I was looking at youhave a very impressive career
(00:28):
path.
Kimberlee Duval (00:29):
Oh, thank you.
Adam Larson (00:30):
And I was wondering if you could share a little bit
about what got you intoaccounting, and what what's your
passion about?
Kimberlee Duval (00:37):
So oddly enough, I started off thinking I
was gonna go to law school. ButI grew up very poor. I was
emancipated at 16, so paying forand dedicating that many years
just really weren't gonna be inthe cards. So I took my first
accounting and finance classback when you used to be able to
(00:58):
do that without declaring it asyour life mission, and I fell in
love. It was it was somethingfor me that just clicked, but it
wasn't the numbers that clickedfor me.
It was that I saw how strategicit could be. Yeah. That I could
build and and really createsomething. And I made the
(01:23):
decision to not go into at thetime, it was a big eight. Yep.
Adam Larson (01:30):
That's the four or the three.
Announcer (01:31):
Yeah. Exactly. It
Kimberlee Duval (01:32):
was a big 10 when I started. Yeah. I I wanted
to work for a smaller firm. Iwanted to learn more. And so I
had that great opportunity.
So I got to learn everythingfrom, you know, your basic
financials all the way throughto tax, sales tax, all these
things. And I just thought, wow.Like, this is bitching. I love
(01:54):
this. Yeah.
With that, you know, I got myCPA and all that good stuff and
really wanted to figure out howI was gonna make that into a
career. Mhmm. And I found myfirst startup. Wow. And that
changed the trajectory of mylife in a in a moment because I
(02:17):
really got to be a part of agrowth story from the beginning.
Okay. It was a medical devicecompany. We ended up scaling
quickly, taking the product tomarket. We bought another
company, so I got to be part ofthat process. We started, down
the path of going public.
(02:38):
And so I got to do all of that,like, amazingly hard work, but
really understood the value ofthe day to day compliance and
considerations you have to haveto enable you. Yeah. So that
that role, I think more thananything else, really taught me
the value of my mantra, measuretwice, cut once. Yeah. Right?
(03:02):
Be thoughtful as you make plans,as you do things, and not be
about just today. Mhmm. It'sgotta be about the future as
well because otherwise, you'rejust gonna rework it.
Adam Larson (03:15):
That's right. Right? Yeah.
Kimberlee Duval (03:16):
More expensive, more time, like, all those sorts
of things. But if you take amoment and think strategically
in the onset, even if you don'tknow everything that's gonna
happen, so it's impossible, atleast you build in for those
potentials, those possibilities.Because I think that that's what
(03:36):
happens for a lot of people isthey get very pigeoned because
they don't take the time toreally strategically think about
it.
Adam Larson (03:44):
Did you have any mentors as you were coming up
and to help help guide youtoward the leader that you are
today?
Kimberlee Duval (03:53):
I was brought up in from a career perspective
at a time where there were veryfew women, and the women that
were tended to either be thebarracuda or the pushover. And I
so I learned from them of what Ididn't wanna do. But I
ultimately have had a a numberof really great mentors. All
(04:19):
have oddly enough been men, asopposed to, which is a little
sad, but it's also what ignitesme to be a mentor for others.
Mentors for me were verydifferent.
Right? And and as I was saying,these men really created
opportunities for me because Iwent after them. I wanted to
(04:41):
know what doing businessdevelopment was. How do I get
more involved in that? How do Ibring my strategic finance
capabilities into that part ofthe world?
And so I had a head of BD thatworked, you know, and he
welcomed me in, and I got tostart looking at deals and
figuring out why we were a verylarge medical device company.
(05:06):
And so we had a lot ofopportunities for people wanting
to sell us their stuff. But wewere also looking at sometimes
and proactive versus reactive.And he was the first one that
really was just like showed mehow much more being an
accountant could really be.Yeah.
(05:28):
And I think then that drove tothe next, you know, opportunity.
And then I had an incredible CEOwho had been a CFO for most of
his career that, again, showedme what was possible Mhmm. And
that the the standardexpectations were just that, and
(05:50):
that doesn't mean it needs to beme. Yeah. And he was who gave me
my first CFO role.
I took the job director offinance for three months, and at
the end of the three months,they said, you're the CFO. You
we don't need to look foranybody else. You've got the
job. That's amazing. And it wasit was really great.
Yeah.
Adam Larson (06:09):
So what's what is your
Announcer (06:11):
because I as I've talked
Adam Larson (06:11):
to different accounting leaders, everybody
has their own kind of, like,leadership philosophy. You
already said cut once, you know,cut cut once, measure twice. But
how would you describe yourleadership philosophy,
especially in the accountingworld?
Kimberlee Duval (06:22):
I really think about it really from a team
perspective. Yeah. Culture fit.I want to pay it forward, and I
want if everyone loved their jobjust 50% the way I love mine,
imagine how great the worldwould be. And so I want them to
(06:47):
have that passion Mhmm.
To find it, but moreimportantly, to be willing I
have to be willing to work tohelp them find it. I can't do it
for them, but I can certainlyhelp them figure that out. And I
think a lot of times leaderstend to get caught up in this
(07:09):
path is what you're supposed totake. Right? You're you're in
accounts payable.
Therefore, you should you're incertain accounts receivable. No.
The my path was not a straightline. Mhmm. You know?
I did lots of zigs and zags ofdifferent roles and
opportunities and industries andfull time consulting. So why
(07:31):
should they have to stick to acertain path? Let's figure out
what's interesting to you. Mhmm.What does excite you?
What is it about your currentrole or different things that
maybe we are not doing todaythat we should be doing? And
then how do I help them not justmove toward to reach those
(07:52):
goals, but give them time tospend to learn. Right? It's it's
about great. It's a new skillset.
You're not gonna just know it.You've gotta learn it. Right?
And whether that's me supportingthem and teaching them, whether
that's going to classes, whetherthat's, you know, doing
(08:13):
something that's going to helpthem, and they have to have the
time to be able to do that.Yeah.
Right? It's we have to have somebalance. And, yes, this is part
of your career, and I'm notsuggesting, well, you only work
eight hours a day every day. No.So, yes, maybe you're taking two
hours out of this day, but theyneed to know that they've got
(08:33):
permission, that they'reempowered to do
Announcer (08:34):
it. Yeah.
Kimberlee Duval (08:35):
That it's an expectation to help them grow.
It helps them. It helps me. Ithelps our team. It helps the
organization.
Adam Larson (08:42):
So what's it like building that type of a culture?
Because it's not easy to havethat type of a culture because
corporate America is very muchlike, you have to do all these
things and no matter what,bottom line, that's it. And so,
like, how is it how is itbuilding that type of a culture?
Kimberlee Duval (08:58):
It really starts at the top. And and it
sounds very cliche, but, youknow, cliche is that for a
reason. The the reality is isthat when I go into an
organization, that is anexpectation I set right off with
my CEO. Okay. This is what'simportant to me.
This is how we're gonna build agreat team, a great
(09:19):
organization, right, and and tobe able to do all the things
that you want us to do. Yeah. Ineed to be allowed to do my job,
which means I need to be able toempower my team to be allowed to
do theirs. And so it's gottawork. Alright?
They have to respect that theyare being given this time, this
(09:39):
effort, you know, money to coverclasses or whatever the thing
may be. They have to want itmore than me for themselves. And
if we can do that and then youshow the value of that, it
becomes very obvious. And thennext thing you know, other
leaders are looking aroundgoing, that back office team,
(10:01):
they've got their stufftogether. Right?
They they're really making adifference. And you see it by
promotions, by careerdevelopment opportunities. Those
team members then are morewilling to reach across to other
parts of the organization toeducate, to work with, to
(10:22):
support. And now you've got acollaboration, And then that
becomes really a foundationacross the entire organization.
Yeah.
Over time, obviously, it's notgonna be quick, but I've seen
it, you know, and and I've beenable to really help establish
that expectation. I only hirein. If you're gonna meet you
(10:45):
gotta be hungry. I don't wantyou to want a job. I want you to
want a career.
Adam Larson (10:51):
Yeah.
Kimberlee Duval (10:51):
And I'm gonna do everything I can to help you
get there as long as you'redoing everything you can to help
you get there.
Announcer (10:58):
Okay. I like that. I like that philosophy because
it's a lot
Adam Larson (11:03):
of times you go into a team and you're
struggling to, oh, I I have to,like, find this little time to
upskill myself, and there's notthat culture of growing and be
to be able to establish that.That's that's I that's I commend
you for that.
Kimberlee Duval (11:15):
Well, yeah. I appreciate that, but I it it I
don't understand why it'scommendable. It should just be
the way it is.
Announcer (11:22):
I agree with you, Garrett.
Kimberlee Duval (11:24):
Right? It's like this sweet world. Right?
I've got there's 11 of us herethis week. Wow.
And it's a big investment. Butyou know what? They're really
worth it. And if I invest inthem, they're in turn gonna
invest in me, invest in theorganization. Everybody wins.
Everybody gets something out ofit. And I I don't think enough
(11:48):
companies, especially in theback office, because we are the
frugal ones and having to beconscientious of the spend, we
don't give ourselves that budgetand that opportunity. And we
need it just like any other partof the organization does. And I
think, you know, it's like,don't be a martyr. Like Mhmm.
(12:09):
Well, we've never been on a, youknow, whatever. No. That's a
shame. Yeah. Invest in yourpeople.
There's a lot of ways that youcan do it inexpensively over
time. Right? They earn it. Giveit. Share it.
Right? And and I thinkultimately, there's just not
enough people, in seniorleadership positions. When these
(12:34):
young kids, you know, these daysare asking about balance. Well,
that is a big part of how youhelp them achieve that balance.
Adam Larson (12:40):
Yeah.
Kimberlee Duval (12:41):
Because if they see that they're getting
something personal out of it,they don't think of it as work
the same way. Right? And ifthey're happy at work Yeah. The
number of hours they are workingno longer becomes a competition
about the number of hoursthey're not working because they
love it. They enjoy it.
They're getting something out ofit. So it naturally makes them,
(13:02):
you know, in a better mind spacealtogether. Mhmm. Therefore
balance is in fact achieved.
Adam Larson (13:09):
Yeah. Well, I I I think it was, yesterday or to
this morning, I was flippingthrough, LinkedIn and Simon
Sinek posted, we won't feel safewe won't grow as people unless
we feel safe at home and safe atwork.
Kimberlee Duval (13:21):
Yes. I actually just finished reading that book.
Adam Larson (13:27):
But, like, that's a that's a philosophy. If you
don't feel safe at work, thatculture you're describing, that
creates a safe environment tosay, yeah. I'm I can grow. I can
fail here and grow from that asopposed to, oh, no. If I fail,
I'm gonna get fired.
Kimberlee Duval (13:39):
You know what? That is a great point, and and
I've actually had thisconversation very explicitly
Yeah. A couple of times over thelast kind of few months,
especially because I really ampressing my team to fail. I want
you to reach. I want you to bechallenged, and it's okay to say
(14:03):
I don't know.
Adam Larson (14:04):
Yeah.
Kimberlee Duval (14:05):
It's okay to not have all the answers at the
moment that you're being asked,Whether it's my NetSuite
administrator who's got somebodybanging on his door, tell I need
you to do this for me right now.I will get to it. I need to
think about it before I can justgive you an answer. I'm, you
(14:26):
know, asking people to do tasksand have ownership over
responsibilities that thecompany's really never had to
have before. Yeah.
As we've gone into retail now,you know, the complexity of our
business is so different than itwas really even six months ago
that, you know, it's it'sdifferent skills. It's different
(14:47):
work, you know, product that'sbeing asked. And I've got this
incredible team who's just like,bring it on. That's awesome. Let
me I'm I wanna learn it.
I wanna do it. I wanna do whatit takes. And and I've been so
impressed with them. And, youknow, they are going to be part
of my legacy of future CFOs ofthe world one day, you know,
(15:10):
and, oh, I got to help them dothat. That's pretty awesome.
Announcer (15:13):
That is pretty awesome. I love that.
Adam Larson (15:15):
So we can't have this conversation without
talking about technology. Youknow, here
Kimberlee Duval (15:19):
One our favorite topics.
Adam Larson (15:20):
One of our favorite topics. You were just in the
keynote yesterday talking about,you know, how the AI and
everything is changing as you'reworking with Nestle. So maybe
you can talk a little bit abouthow is AI changing, how your
team is how it's being formedbecause I it can't look like it
did six months ago just like yousaid.
Kimberlee Duval (15:36):
No. It can't. And and that's the interesting
part. And I think I wasmentioning this, even in the
keynote, which is, you know,with this many team members, we
came with goals. While you'rehere, you need to go look at
this, and I want you to figureout that, and we then come
together and road map and that.
And after that first keynote, Ithought, oh, well, that's out
(15:58):
the window. We're gonna have torethink this entirely different
way. And and I think that it'sit's great. It's exciting. I've
got a little nervous.
There hadn't been a whole lot ofnews coming out of anything
really big and new from NetSuitefor a while. So I was like, oh,
this is game changing.
Adam Larson (16:18):
Okay.
Kimberlee Duval (16:19):
And it really goes to my philosophy, is I
don't want task people. Mhmm. Iwant critical thinkers. Yeah. By
utilizing AI, by having some ofthese workflows processes and
other things that can help spendless time keying Mhmm.
(16:40):
And more time thinking and thendoing something with the data,
with the information, less timebuilding the data, more time
actioning the data. So for myteam in particular, the timing
is excellent because this is theteam we're building. And we've
been building this team forabout a year and a half that
(17:02):
I've been with them. And we'vemoved people into different
roles. We've got some great, youknow, promotions for people.
We've added a couple of, folksin with the goal that we are
doing that. We are bringing inAI. We are putting in sweet
apps. We are putting billcapture. We're doing things that
make it so that there'sintegrations to do the key
(17:27):
punch.
There's not value in the keypunch just to get it in the
system. There's tools that canhelp you do that now. So great.
Let's invest in those tools. Andthen now I want you to take that
information, and what are yougonna do with it?
How is it valuable? What does ittell us? Right? And I think
(17:50):
that's also the expectation oftoday's, you know, young people
coming out of that first job,that second job. They they want
to think.
They really want to add value.And hopefully it makes
accounting sexy again.
Announcer (18:06):
Yeah. I hope it does. I really hope it does. And I
like
Adam Larson (18:10):
that idea of like, wanna take you're you're taking
them. You're giving them thistool kit so that they can be
strategic thinkers. Becausethere was a study out of MIT
saying that the AI is killingour our strategic thinking
because we're using it so much.Instead of using it as a tool,
we're using it as somethingelse. So that philosophy that
you have, it's really gonnachange the way it looks because
as a CFO, you've been a CFOdifferent number of times.
(18:30):
The way your team looks now iscompletely different than it's
looked in the past.
Kimberlee Duval (18:33):
Oh, one yeah. It's a complete one eighty.
Right? You you had to have thatlifelong AP person. Yeah.
Yeah. You had to have thatlifelong AR person. And, you
know, your FP and A manager hadto have certain types of skill
sets that were very differentthan what we need them to be
today. Yeah. You know?
And it so it's not just a rolethat changed. It's the entire
(18:57):
team. Mhmm. It's the constructof them. How they work together
and how they work across to theother parts of the organization.
Mhmm. Because with AIespecially, you can't be siloed.
It it forces you to break downthose siloed walls. Yeah.
Because what somebody's doing inmarketing has a direct effect on
(19:20):
and if you're not building yourAI tools to be across your
organization, you're gonna endup with bad information, bad
data.
You're gonna not make full fullyaware choices and and decisions
because you're you're toosiloed. You it has to be across.
Adam Larson (19:38):
So what would what advice would you give to CFOs
who are listening to thisconversation and saying, I want
my team to be where your teamis. What what should that first
step be to walk in thisdirection?
Kimberlee Duval (19:49):
Mean what you say and say what you mean. I
think that's the biggest thing.It's it's great to throw out
ideas and, oh, I'd love it if,and it'd be great. Why don't
you? You you have to action it.
You have to show it. You have tobe willing to not just have the
conversations and tell them thatthey should do something or put
a goal on a piece of paper atthe review time. You gotta
(20:12):
check-in with them. Are youdoing this? How are you doing
this?
How you know, what are theclasses? What are the training?
What what do you need in orderto do that? And then you need to
make sure that they it has to bea priority for both of you.
Yeah.
It is really easy to putsomething on the paper at the
review Six months later, a yearlater, well, did you do it? Oh,
(20:36):
nope. Right? And I thinkaccountants, back office team
members tend to also Yeah. Like,oh, well, I I there's so many
other things that I should havedone.
I didn't really wanna put thetime and take the time away. No.
It's it's required. Yeah. Andand and if you if you mean it
Mhmm.
Right, then they will, and thenyou you naturally start to just
(20:58):
build that culture just bymeaning what you say and saying
what you mean.
Adam Larson (21:04):
That's awesome. I really appreciate that. Well,
Kimberly, thank you so much forcoming on the Count Me In
podcast. I really appreciate yousharing your insights with our
audience.
Kimberlee Duval (21:10):
Absolutely. It was great. Thank you.
Announcer (21:14):
This has been Count Me In, IMA's podcast providing
you with the latest perspectivesof thought leaders from the
accounting and financeprofession. If you like what you
heard and you'd like to becounted in for more relevant
accounting and financeeducation, visit IMA's website
at www.imanet.org.
Popular Podcasts
Spooky Podcasts from iHeartRadio
Whether you’re a scaredy-cat or a brave bat, this collection of episodes from iHeartPodcasts will put you in the Halloween spirit. Binge stories, frights, and more that may keep you up at night!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.