Mai-Linh Bui

In Squid Game and in Business, Survival is a Strategy Yes, it’s a fictional show. But the intensity, decisions, and survival mindset in Squid Game offer surprising lessons for the real business world especially for Finance Directors or CFOs. In both Squid Game and business: > Every move matters. > Resources are limited. > Emotions can cloud judgment. > Strategy wins over speed. I’m often in situations where: We must prioritize survival over growth Hard calls must be made with limited data and high risk Financial health is not about who grows fastest, but who endures the long game. Just like the players, companies that ignore the rules of finance cash flow, risk, discipline are eliminated first. CFOs don’t just manage money. We manage survival. And in today’s competitive markets, that’s not a luxury it’s a necessity.

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Budget Mistakes Even the Best CFOs Can Miss Budgets are not just numbers they’re strategic predictions of how the business will behave. Yet even strong finance teams fall into these silent traps: > Assuming stability in volatile markets: Last year’s trends rarely repeat. > Ignoring the cash flow impact: A “profitable” plan can still run out of cash. > Over-optimistic revenue targets: Hope is not a strategy. > Underestimating execution costs: Growth always costs more than it looks. > Not linking KPIs to strategy: Metrics without context mislead decisions. > Treating the budget as fixed: The best plans evolve with the business. The smartest CFOs know: A budget isn’t a forecast, it’s a commitment that must flex with reality. Plan with discipline. Adapt with speed. That’s how financial leadership turns numbers into results.

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The CFO has essential role in Company strategy formulation and execution, in this article from Harfard Business School explain How to Formulate a Successful Business Strategy.

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Budgeting vs. Forecasting Many companies use budget and forecast interchangeably but in reality, they serve two very different purposes. The Budget is your financial promise: It sets your target, defines limits, and establishes accountability for the year ahead. It says: “This is where we plan to go.” The Forecast is your financial reality check. It updates your expectations based on performance and market shifts. It says: “This is where we’re actually heading and what we must adjust.” The best-performing organizations use both effectively: The budget keeps them disciplined. The forecast keeps them adaptive. Together, they form the balance between control and agility the two pillars of financial leadership.

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How did Serko transform their global travel support? By leveraging #ZendeskAI, they reduced full resolution time by 67 percent and ticket handling time by 38 percent. With the introduction of Zendesk AI Agents and Copilot, they automated 33 percent of resolutions in the first month and now offer 24/7 multilingual customer support, turning customer experience into a worldwide competitive edge. Discover the details: https://lnkd.in/gyGP7-ZX

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In truest sense, CFOs have evolved into Chief Value Architects (Officers). Finance leaders across South East Asia are taking the helm on innovation - harnessing power of Agentic AI to drive outcomes. Rohit Goyal, CFA Ayelet Rotblat #sapbusinessai #saptaulia

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Getting your budget rates right is about far more than accuracy. Protecting margins, enabling confident decision-making and building resilience against volatility are all front of mind for financial leaders.​ ​ Our new guide outlines the five essential elements behind a disciplined, defensible FX budgeting framework. ​ ​ It’s the same approach that’s helped more than 2,500 businesses turn uncertainty into structure and control ⬇️

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In finance and business strategy, we relentlessly optimize core resources: capital 💰, time ⏰, and talent. Yet, many leaders neglect their most critical asset: Cognitive Energy. As a CFO/CEO, I treat my early morning hours as sacred time for high-leverage, low-distraction work—tasks requiring deep thought, not reactive firefighting. By tackling the toughest strategic decisions when my brain is at its clearest, I significantly reduce the risk of costly errors later in the day when mental fatigue sets in. The morning isn't a race; it's an investment 📈. It’s about front-loading focus to maximize the Return on Investment (ROI) of every subsequent decision. How do you strategically protect your peak decision-making windows? #Strategy #CFO #BusinessLeadership #TimeManagement #ExecutiveMindset

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This is the moment finance gets harder: When you stop managing one business. Moving into a group role, most things still look familiar. Same principles. Same objectives. Same numbers, “just” more of them. At 7 Management, when we started moving toward more automation and standardized reporting across the group, the goal was: better visibility, faster closes, and a group view you can actually rely on. What changes at group level is how much exposure you’re at right now. Things that work perfectly well at entity level start to behave differently once you look across multiple countries/ verticals. Slight differences in timing. In interpretation. In how teams naturally optimize their own operations. At group level, those variations add noise and finance transformation becomes less about systems and more about alignment. Making sure the same principles, definitions, and timelines hold across brands, especially when performance is strong and everyone is busy. Once that alignment is set and in place, the impact is tangible. Reporting becomes more predictable. Close cycles stabilize. And finance spends less time reconciling views and more time supporting decisions. This is the reality of working at group scale, and it's definitely more demanding in how consistently you lead it. If you’ve made that shift, or are about to, this is the part of the job that keeps the numbers honest and allows leadership to rely on them.

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I've been really excited to see the CFO-COO hybrid role picking up momentum. The need for integrated financial and operational leadership is becoming essential. But the truth is, many strategic CFOs have already been operating this way (especially in smaller and growing companies) even before the title caught up. In environments where agility and alignment matter most, finance can’t sit on the sidelines. It's not enough to manage the budget; we’re expected to shape the strategy, guide execution, and make sure every decision supports the long-term vision while still making sense in the short term. My approach has always been holistic—aligning finance, strategy, operations, leadership, and culture to make sure growth isn’t just fast, but sustainable. It’s about turning vision into actionable, financially sound plans, then making sure the operational structure can support them. The future “COFO” is part strategist, part operator—and all about making businesses stronger from the inside out. Whether the title is official or not, this kind of integrated leadership is what drives smart, scalable growth. If you're navigating change or feeling the strain of disconnected planning and execution, let’s talk. This is where I do my best work.

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Meet the game-changing solution for food.​ How can one package offer benefits for every part of the value chain? Watch the film to find out. ​ Learn more: https://bit.ly/3SMTLjK #TetraRecart #GameChangingSolution #ShelfStableFood #TetraPak #SouthAfrica​

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The role of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) has evolved significantly in today’s dynamic and fast-changing corporate world. Here are key insights into the expanded role of today’s CFO: 1. Strategic Leadership • Beyond the Numbers: CFOs are now deeply involved in shaping and executing corporate strategy. • Capital Allocation: They play a critical role in deciding where and how to deploy capital—balancing growth initiatives, M&A, innovation, and shareholder returns. • Business Partnering: CFOs support operational leaders with data-driven insights, influencing decisions across marketing, HR, IT, and supply chain functions. 2. Digital Transformation and Technology Adoption • Data & Analytics: Modern CFOs harness advanced analytics, AI, and machine learning to provide predictive insights and drive smarter decision-making. • Finance Automation: They lead automation of routine finance functions like reporting, compliance, and transaction processing to improve efficiency and reduce errors. • ERP and Cloud Solutions: CFOs are key sponsors of technology upgrades that enhance scalability, agility, and real-time visibility. 3. Risk and Compliance Oversight • Cybersecurity and ESG Risks: The CFO is increasingly responsible for identifying and managing emerging risks, including cybersecurity threats and climate-related financial disclosures. • Regulatory Compliance: With global operations and complex tax regimes, CFOs must ensure the organization stays compliant with evolving regulations. • Scenario Planning: They develop stress-testing and scenario models to prepare for geopolitical, economic, and supply chain disruptions. 4. Sustainability and ESG Stewardship • Integrated Reporting: CFOs now oversee sustainability reporting, ensuring alignment between financial and non-financial metrics (e.g., carbon emissions, DEI). • Investor Expectations: With increasing investor focus on ESG, the CFO plays a role in demonstrating the long-term value and impact of sustainability initiatives. 5. Leadership and Talent Management • Talent Development: The CFO shapes the future of the finance function by attracting, developing, and retaining talent with digital, analytical, and strategic skills. • Culture Champion: Modern CFOs promote a culture of accountability, innovation, and ethical governance within the finance team and broader organization. 6. M&A and Growth Strategy • Deal Execution: From valuation and due diligence to post-merger integration, CFOs are pivotal in executing successful mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures. • Growth Metrics: They track and optimize KPIs that reflect customer value, retention, and lifetime value—not just short-term financial metrics. Final Thought: The modern CFO is not just the steward of the balance sheet but a key architect of enterprise value. Their ability to connect financial acumen with strategic vision and digital innovation makes them indispensable in today’s boardroom. #cfo #corporate #leardership

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RECAP | The New Leaders × ACCA From Logic to Influence – When Numbers Are Not Enough Finance professionals are trained to think in logic. But leadership doesn’t begin with logic. It begins with presence. With emotion. With connection. In our recent workshop with ACCA Vietnam, we gathered a room full of brilliant finance minds — and invited them into a different kind of conversation: What makes someone worth following? Not credentials. Not the sharpest Excel model. But the way we make people feel when we speak, lead, and show up. Because at the end of the day: Data doesn’t drive behavior. Emotion does. People don’t remember the numbers. They remember the way you helped them see meaning in those numbers. Influence isn’t a title. It’s how well you understand what others truly need — and respond to it with both clarity and compassion. We explored how: EQ changes the brain’s decision-making Stress hijacks logical thinking Presence and emotional regulation shape how people listen to you Even the most complex message can land more powerfully when it's delivered with emotional awareness And one insight stood out: Rationality gets work done. But only emotional intelligence can move people forward. Thank you ACCA for co-creating this space. Thank you to every finance leader who joined us not just to learn — but to rethink how they lead. Leadership is no longer about being the smartest person in the room. It’s about being the person who creates clarity, calm, and trust — even in uncertainty. We’re proud to be part of this shift in the finance world. And we’ll keep showing up to bridge the gap between intellect and impact. #FinanceLeadership #EQLeadership #TheNewLeaders #ACCAxTheNewLeaders #FromLogicToInfluence #EmotionalIntelligence #LeadershipInFinance #HumanCenteredLeadership

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Proud to share Sweef Capital’s partnership with Avisena Healthcare Group, a regional hospital platform serving Greater Bandung and the wider West Java region. With more than 50 million residents and rapidly growing industrial corridors across the province, access to specialist-led secondary care in West Java remains structurally undersupplied. The opportunity to expand quality healthcare services across the region is significant. I was fortunate to be closely involved in sourcing and evaluating this investment. I first met dr. Lia Yuliana Elsis Yunda and dr. Antiono Hajji Ishak two years ago during their initial fundraising. Through multiple discussions, I learned that they were already operating two hospitals and were in the process of expanding the business into a larger hospital network. What impressed me most about Avisena was its disciplined growth under Dr. Lia’s leadership — evolving from a single clinic into a four-hospital network built on strong clinical leadership and patient trust. On a lighter note, this was also my first time representing Sweef in an official launch video — a fun experience sharing our investment thesis and vision for the partnership. Excited to continue working alongside the Avisena team as we support the next phase of healthcare growth across West Java and beyond. #SweefCapital #PrivateEquity #ImpactInvesting #HealthcareInvestment #HospitalDevelopment #IndonesiaHealthcare #WestJava #Bandung #SoutheastAsia

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Year-end leave isn’t equal for everyone. Especially for global employees. As leaders, we often encourage our teams to “use up their remaining leave” before year-end. That’s healthy and necessary. But there’s a blind spot we rarely talk about: for many colleagues, especially those working far from their families, 2–3 days of that “holiday” are simply spent in transit. A door-to-door trip home can easily reach 20–24 hours each way when you add: - Getting to the airport - Check-in, security, and long waiting times - One or two connections (often because direct flights are too expensive – or don’t exist) - Delays and missed connections - Travel from the arrival airport to their actual home - Time zone changes and jet lag that leave them exhausted, not rested From a policy point of view, all of this is usually counted as annual leave. On paper, they took 10 days. In reality, maybe they only had 6–7 days of real quality time with their families. I’m not suggesting we can rewrite every HR rule overnight. But as leaders, we can start small and be more intentional: Ask: “How long does your trip home actually take, door to door?” For very long journeys (e.g. >12–15 hours total), consider: - Allowing remote work at the start or end of the leave - A limited “travel day” policy or one extra day for critical or hard-to-replace roles - Encourage HR to explore targeted pilots, not blanket promises Some organisations globally already offer “journey days” or recovery days after long trips, recognising the impact of travel and jet lag on health, performance, and safety. We can learn from that thinking, even if our policies start small. As we approve year-end leave, let’s not only look at the balance on the HR system. Let’s also look at the journey behind it – and design policies that are both humane and sustainable for the business.

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Behind every resilient business lies one invisible but powerful asset: Reputation. In this episode of Be In Front, Sze Yeng Lee, Managing Partner at KPMG Singapore, shares why reputation is one of the most critical assets in business. With insights from over 30 years of guiding companies through transformation and disruption, she explains how organisations can earn trust, protect credibility, and sustain reputation in an era of constant change. Listen to the full podcast: bit.ly/4mn7gE1 #BeInFront #moneyfm893 #SPHMedia

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