Putting professional skills to good use

Running a marathon or climbing a mountain to raise money for a worthy cause has a deep appeal for many people. It is a feeling shared by Shane O’Toole FCCA, who a few years ago decided he had come to a stage in his life when it was time to give back.

‘I undertook a number of challenges to raise money for charity, including mountain climbing in Russia and cycling the original Tour de France route,’ explains the managing partner of Part-Time CFO Solutions. ‘But in the end I felt the money raised was not having the impact I wanted.’

So he began to think about what he could do to make a real impression – and found the answer staring him in the face. ‘My biggest asset was the knowledge I’d gained in finance,’ he says.

‘I thought that if I could share that with people and help them manage their money better, it would allow them to contribute to good causes.’

Needing a plan

O’Toole’s background is a comprehensive mix of practice and industry, with experiences along the way leading to the establishment of his own niche practice, Advanced Accounting, as well as the development of Part-Time CFO Solutions, which supplies CFOs and controllers on a part-time and interim basis to business.

His experiences also led him to see a closer link between personal and company finance than many professionals might care to admit.

‘Companies, like people, sometimes have luck on their side and all goes well. If not, they need to have a good plan,’ he says. ‘Over the years, I have seen the tools to create good personal financial habits are also the cornerstone of a well-run business.’

Drawing from his work with high-net-worth individuals, but with the man and woman on the street equally in mind, he developed an eight-week course in money management that would, in turn, form the basis of his book, Fit Money: The Key to Financial Freedom.

Published under the pseudonym Martin O’Toole, it sets out to demystify money management for everyone. ‘I created a programme to help people develop positive habits, but I knew that this could only reach a small number of people. With the advent of the pandemic, I decided to document it in a book to get the message out more broadly.’

Marketing overload

While advice on money management is nothing new, O’Toole brings a fresh perspective to the challenge. ‘I did a lot of research into why people who could live within their means run into trouble,’ he says.

‘Marketing has a lot to do with it. We are all marketed to in incredibly specific and detailed ways, and the volumes are huge. In one week, we are exposed to the same level of marketing that people got in a year in the 1980s.

‘And people don’t necessarily recognise they are being marketed to. In the book, I explain how, if we could understand this better, we could make better decisions.’

This understanding of human psychology permeates O’Toole’s approach. ‘Everyone knows they shouldn’t spend more than they have, but they may also think that driving a flashier car or having a bigger house will make them happier,’ he says. ‘In the book, I look at how to address that in a positive way.’

One of the lightbulb moments for many people who do the book’s suggested exercises is, according to O’Toole, ‘the realisation that nearly half a yearly household spend can be on one-off items. That’s the same with business, and the takeaway from that is the need for better cashflow forecasting and planning.’

Community offering

In keeping with his philosophy of giving back, O’Toole is offering finance professionals the opportunity to utilise his eight-week programme free of charge, while the Kindle edition of the book is available to download from Amazon for £0.99.

‘There are a number of ways accountants could use the book,’ he says. ‘They could simply recommend it to explain key financial concepts to their clients. They could also make it the basis of a course offering in their locality.

‘From a business perspective, that could be a way to get their name out into the community. There is also the possibility that some of the participants could become clients.’

Getting the word out

Since writing the book, O’Toole has been interviewed on money management on both RTE and the BBC, garnering very positive public reactions.

‘That has helped to get the message out there and now I am hoping that my peer accountants will do the same,’ he says, adding modestly that ‘I would think that the vast majority of accountants could have written this book, but now they don’t have to.

‘I am providing the research and tools to anyone who wants to give a course to help others manage their money.’

As to the likely impact, he explains how a comment from his son put it all into perspective: ‘He said to me, “if you only change one person’s life as a result of this book, wouldn’t that be great?” Perhaps we as accountants can change a few lives together.’