How Founders Mistake Models Only for Fundraising and What They Should Do With Ilyas Anis

About this episode

Ilyas Anis discusses the importance of financial models in building stakeholder trust and making operational decisions.

Paul Barnhurst speaks with Ilyas Anis, CFO and Chartered Financial Modeler, about using financial models to build stakeholder confidence, drive operational decisions, and tell a clear business story. Ilyas shares insights on integrating AI, avoiding common modeling pitfalls, and the importance of scenario analysis and three-statement models. Ilyas Anis is Finance Lead at Turning Point Brands Canada and Founder of IMnS Associates. He has 15+ years of experience in financial modeling, valuation, and governance across multiple industries. An FCA, CPA, AFM, and FMVA®, he is also a board advisor and AI enthusiast. Expect to Learn Models build trust, not just numbers Connect finance with operations for better decisions AI is a helpful junior analyst, but human judgment matters Scenario analysis and storytelling are essential in models Here are a few quotes from the episode: “Stakeholders don’t pay you for getting the right thing. They pay for the confidence.” – Ilyas Anis “Financial models should open every Monday morning, they shouldn’t die after fundraising.” – Ilyas Anis Ilyas Anis highlights how financial models go beyond numbers to build trust, enable strategic decisions, and…

People in this episode

Host: Paul Barnhurst

Guest: Ilyas Anis

Topics covered

• financial modeling
• stakeholder confidence
• AI in finance
• scenario analysis
• business storytelling

Keywords

• financial models
• stakeholder confidence
• AI
• scenario analysis
• business story

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Turning Point Brands Canada, IMnS Associates

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