THE JOURNAL

Insights & Strategies.

Executive career positioning, mindset shifts, and recruitment secrets from 25+ years on the inside.

Retention Bonuses in a Sale or Restructure: What Senior Finance Leaders Should Ask

Belinda Paris

Published on: 20/10/2026

A retention bonus in a sale or restructure is worth reading closely. Common structures, conditions that can cost you, negotiating terms and your career after.

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When You and the CEO No Longer Agree: Options for a CFO

Belinda Paris

Published on: 20/10/2026

A CFO and CEO relationship breakdown is hard to come back from. Early signs, talking to the CEO, involving the chair and planning an exit on your terms.

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Second-Time CFO: Choosing Your Next CFO Role Better Than the First

Belinda Paris

Published on: 20/10/2026

Choosing your second CFO role well. What changes after your first seat, how to judge the CEO, board and owner, and the questions to ask before you say yes.

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Should Your Employer Pay for Your Career Coaching?

Belinda Paris

Published on: 19/10/2026

When employers pay for career coaching, development budgets versus outplacement, how to ask, confidentiality and a short business case example.

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Executive Career Coaching Cost in Australia and NZ: What You Get at Each Level

Belinda Paris

Published on: 19/10/2026

What executive career coaching costs in Australia and NZ, the common pricing models, what you get at each level, questions to ask and red flags to avoid.

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Mentors, Coaches and Sponsors: Which One Senior Leaders Need

Belinda Paris

Published on: 19/10/2026

Sponsor vs mentor vs coach for senior leaders. The difference between the three, why sponsors matter most, how to find one and when a coach makes sense.

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What Shows Up When a Recruiter Searches Your Name

Belinda Paris

Published on: 14/10/2026

Recruiters google candidates for every senior role. What they check, how to search yourself, fix old results, build good ones and a simple checklist.

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Media Comments: Should Senior Finance Leaders Say Yes?

Belinda Paris

Published on: 14/10/2026

Media interview tips for executives and senior finance leaders. When to say yes, employer approval, preparing three messages and what can go wrong.

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Speaking at Conferences and Industry Events: Building a Reputation Recruiters Notice

Belinda Paris

Published on: 14/10/2026

How speaking engagements build an executive career. Getting your first slot, choosing topics, panels vs keynotes, employer approval and using it on LinkedIn.

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When Your Employer Is in the News for the Wrong Reasons: Protecting Your Career

Belinda Paris

Published on: 14/10/2026

When your employer's reputation takes a hit, senior careers can suffer too. How recruiters read it, staying or leaving, LinkedIn and interview answers.

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Executive Exit Interviews: What to Say and What to Keep to Yourself

Belinda Paris

Published on: 14/10/2026

Exit interview tips for senior leaders. Who reads it, how to give useful feedback without venting, what to say about your manager and example answers.

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Asked to Resign: What to Do in the First 48 Hours

Belinda Paris

Published on: 14/10/2026

Asked to resign as a senior leader? What to do in the first 48 hours to protect your money, reputation and references, and why to call a lawyer early.

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Probation at Senior Level: Why Executives Fail in the First Six Months

Belinda Paris

Published on: 14/10/2026

Why senior hires struggle in an executive probation period, and how to avoid it. A first six months plan, early wins, key relationships and warning signs.

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When Should a CFO Move On? Signs Your Time Is Up

Belinda Paris

Published on: 09/10/2026

How CFOs know when it is time to leave a role. Signs the role has run its course, signs you are leaving too early, and how to plan a quiet, well-timed exit.

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Stuck at Group Financial Controller: Why It Happens and What to Change

Belinda Paris

Published on: 09/10/2026

Why strong Group Financial Controllers get stuck below CFO, how your CFO and CEO may see you, and a 12-month plan to change how you are seen or move on.

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Passed Over for the Top Job: What to Do in the Next 90 Days

Belinda Paris

Published on: 09/10/2026

What to do when you are passed over for a senior promotion. The first week, getting feedback, working for the new leader and deciding to stay or go.

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CEO Succession: How to Be the Internal Candidate the Board Picks

Belinda Paris

Published on: 09/10/2026

How internal candidates win CEO succession. How boards run the process, why insiders often lose, and how to show you can change what you helped build.

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Planning Your Last Executive Role: What to Get Right Before You Step Back

Belinda Paris

Published on: 09/10/2026

How to plan your last full-time executive role. What it should set up, choosing for learning, money or reputation, timing, and planning the exit early.

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Leading Leaders for the First Time: From Running a Team to Running a Function

Belinda Paris

Published on: 09/10/2026

What changes when you start leading managers instead of staff. Letting go of detail, setting direction, building a leadership team and showing it on paper.

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Taking a Smaller Title at a Bigger Company: When It Is the Smart Move

Belinda Paris

Published on: 09/10/2026

When a smaller title at a bigger company is the smart move. How to test the real scope, what to ask about pay and progression, and when to say no.

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Back to a Permanent CFO Role After Fractional or Consulting Work

Belinda Paris

Published on: 09/10/2026

How to move back into a permanent CFO role after fractional or consulting work. The doubts hiring teams have and how to write your recent work as one story.

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From CFO to Private Equity Operating Partner

Belinda Paris

Published on: 09/10/2026

How CFOs move into private equity operating partner roles. What the role involves, what PE firms look for, how to build the record and how roles are found.

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COO to CEO: Showing You Can Own the Whole Business

Belinda Paris

Published on: 09/10/2026

How a COO moves into a CEO role. The doubts boards have about COOs, how to show strategy and outward leadership, and internal succession versus external search.

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CFO to COO: When It Works and How to Make the Case

Belinda Paris

Published on: 09/10/2026

How a CFO moves into a COO role. Why some CFOs make the switch, what operations leaders will doubt, how to build proof first and how to position it on paper.

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Senior Manager vs Director: What Is the Difference?

Belinda Paris

Published on: 06/10/2026

Senior Manager vs Director: how the roles differ in scope, decisions and expectations, and what you need to show on your resume and in interviews to make the step.

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Leaving Accounting: Careers That Use Your Finance Skills

Belinda Paris

Published on: 06/10/2026

Thinking about leaving accounting? Careers that use your finance skills, from commercial and operations roles to consulting, and how to reposition yourself.

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Career Change Into Accounting: What Employers Will Accept

Belinda Paris

Published on: 06/10/2026

Thinking about a career change into accounting? What study you need, what employers accept and how to use your past experience to get your first role.

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Garden Leave: What It Means and How to Use the Time Well

Belinda Paris

Published on: 06/10/2026

What garden leave means in Australia and New Zealand, why employers use it, what you can and cannot do, and how to use the time to set up your next move.

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Performance Review Self-Assessment: Examples That Show Your Value

Belinda Paris

Published on: 06/10/2026

How to write a performance review self-assessment that shows your value. A simple structure, examples by career stage and the mistakes that undersell your year.

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Finance Managers in a Restructure or Turnaround: Protecting the Business and Your Career

Belinda Paris

Published on: 02/10/2026

The Finance Manager's role in a restructure or turnaround, from cash and lenders to the team, and how to protect your career.

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