Connecting the Dots: Finance, Supply Chain & Cybersecurity with David Williams

What happens when you combine accounting, supply chain experience, risk management, and cybersecurity?

In this episode of The Flex Forward Podcast, Nic Espanet talks with governance, risk, and compliance consultant David Williams about the career path that brought all of those areas together.

David started his career in accounting after studying economics and becoming a CPA. His move into accounts payable introduced him to procurement, operations, and supply chain management. That experience eventually led to a consulting career focused on supply chain systems, implementation, optimization, and training.

More recently, David has expanded his work into governance, risk, compliance, and cybersecurity. He explains why organizations need to think beyond their own systems when protecting their assets. Vendors and suppliers can introduce risks of their own, making third-party risk management an important part of today's business environment.

Nic and David also discuss inventory management and why small errors can become much larger problems over time. David shares how cycle counting can help companies identify inventory issues earlier rather than waiting for one large annual count.

The conversation then turns to careers and personal growth. David encourages people to understand what they are naturally good at instead of simply following the path other people expect them to take. He discusses aptitude, personality, career changes, and why being great at one job does not automatically mean someone will thrive in management.

David is also a strong believer in lifelong learning. He shares how books, podcasts, Udemy, Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, YouTube, and even resources available through local libraries can help people continue building useful skills throughout their careers.

David also discusses his current work developing e-learning content around security awareness, human risk management, and AI governance, as well as his plans to continue advancing his GRC knowledge and credentials.

David brings together finance, supply chain, security, and risk in a way that shows how seemingly different skills can become powerful when combined.

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