Podcast

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In today’s finance landscape, corporate reporting is undergoing one of the most profound shifts in decades. Boards, investors, regulators, and lenders are no longer satisfied with backward‑looking financial statements alone; they expect CFOs to explain how evolving risks, regulation, and stakeholder expectations will shape business models, capital allocation, and long-term resilience. For finance leaders, this is no longer a peripheral compliance task but a core strategic responsibility that will increasingly determine market credibility and access to capital.

In this GrowCFO Show episode, host Kevin Appleby speaks with returning guest Paula Kensington, GrowCFO Mentor, about what she describes as a “once in 100‑year change” in corporate reporting and why CFOs must act now rather than treat it as a box‑ticking exercise. The conversation explores the new International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) climate and sustainability standards (S1 and S2), their adoption in markets such as Australia and across Asia, and the phased implementation by entity size that is rapidly pulling mid‑market businesses into scope.

The episode reframes so‑called “climate reporting” as a strategic exercise in business resilience, not a peripheral ESG disclosure. Paula explains how climate‑related risks and opportunities will increasingly drive strategy, governance, risk management, and metrics—and why these new disclosures may, over time, become more important to investors than traditional backward‑looking financial statements. She highlights the emerging regulatory expectations, the evolving role of assurance and audit, and the personal liability implications for directors and CFOs who underinvest or delay, emphasizing that the apparent savings from aiming for “minimum compliance” today may be dwarfed by future costs once standards, regulator expectations, and market scrutiny have fully matured.

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Key topics covered:

• Paula positions the new ISSB climate standards (S1 and S2) as a once-in-a-century shift in corporate reporting that many CFOs are still underestimating.
• She explains the phased roll-out by company size, showing how mid‑market organizations (Group 2 and Group 3) are quickly becoming subject to these requirements and cannot rely on being “too small” to be affected.
• The discussion reframes climate reporting as forward‑looking resilience analysis, where climate scenarios and risks inform strategy and may ultimately become more critical to stakeholders than traditional P&L and balance sheet statements.
• Paula distinguishes between physical risks (e.g., assets and warehouses threatened by climate events) and transition risks (e.g., changing policies, markets, and customer expectations making existing products or models obsolete).
• She outlines how governance, risk registers, and board oversight must evolve so climate risks and opportunities actively drive decision‑making rather than sit as a static compliance document.
• The episode stresses that aiming for minimum viable compliance is a high‑risk strategy in light of director liability, potential fines, and increasing regulator and investor focus on the quality and consistency of climate disclosures.

Links

• Paula Kensington on LinkedIn
• Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn
• GrowCFO Mentoring

Timestamps: 

• 00:00–02:30 – Introduction to Paula and framing of the topic as a major, under-appreciated change in corporate reporting.
• 02:30–04:30 – Explanation of Group 1, Group 2, and Group 3 entities and why mid‑market CFOs are now “on the hook.”
• 04:30–07:30 – Reframing climate reporting as business resilience rather than ESG box‑ticking; climate disclosures as potential primary statements.
• 09:17–11:19 – Deep dive into physical vs transition risks with practical examples (warehouses, energy, low‑cost apparel).
• 15:19–18:38 – How assurance and audit standards are evolving, and why investors will focus on climate‑driven risks and opportunities more than last year’s earnings.
• 19:47–21:25 – The four pillars of ISSB (governance, risks and opportunities, metrics and targets, strategy) and their implications for how strategy is set.
• 22:11–23:33 – Discussion on the risk register as a living, strategic tool rather than a periodic governance formality.
• 28:22–31:40 – Why only ~20% of CFOs are taking this seriously; dangers of focusing solely on AI and cyber while underplaying climate risk.
• 33:28–34:51 – Regulator expectations, linkage between prior risk disclosures and current climate scenarios, and potential fines and director liability.
• 35:09–36:54 – Global implications, including differences in US regulation and why international supply chains will still force adoption.

Find out more about GrowCFO

If you enjoyed this podcast, you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favorite podcast app. The GrowCFO show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Spotify and many others. Why not subscribe there today? That way, you never miss an episode.

GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. Join GrowCFO as a free member today and participate in our regular networking events and webinars. Premium members can also access our extensive training center and CFO Digital Toolkit. You can enroll in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programs here.

You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net

Abel Prieto joins The Next 100 Days podcast to discuss InCruises as a side gig opportunity and its business model.

Summary of the Podcast

Key Takeaways

• Unique Membership Model: InCruises doubles members’ monthly contributions (e.g., $100 → $200) into “Reward Points” for travel, forcing savings and guaranteeing a minimum 25% discount on bookings.
• Strategic Growth Engine: The affiliate model is a key driver for cruise lines, as 75% of InCruises’ travelers are first-time cruisers—a market segment the lines struggle to reach directly.
• Significant Income Potential: The UK market is largely untapped. A mid-level goal of building a team generating ~$250k/month in sales yields a personal income of ~$50k/month (~£38k).
• Watertight Affiliate Tracking: The referral-link-only sign-up process prevents commission loss, a common problem with cookie-based affiliate programs.

The InCruises Business Model

• InCruises (corp. name: InGroup) is a travel club founded in 2016 by Frank Codina. Abel was onboarded as a Communications expert.
• Membership Tiers:
• Member: Pays a monthly fee (e.g., $100 or $250) which the company matches 100% in “Reward Points.”
• Example: A $2,000 cruise costs the member $1,000 in cash and $1,000 in company-matched points, representing a 50% total value.
• Guaranteed Savings:
• Using Points: 25% minimum discount.
• Using Cash (Insider Pricing): 17% minimum discount.
• Key Rule: Points are for travel only and are non-refundable, ensuring members use them for vacations. They are transferable upon death.
• Partner: An affiliate who sells memberships.
• Partner Member: Both a paying member and an active affiliate.
• Company Profitability:
• Wholesale Pricing: InCruises buys travel inventory at wholesale rates.
• Commissions: Earns commissions from cruise lines on bookings.
• Unused Points: Profits from points that are never redeemed.

Market & Opportunity

• Growth:
• Sales: $350M in 2023.
• Customers: 750k+ travelers.
• Inventory: 21k+ cruises, 430k+ hotels, 350k+ tours.
• Untapped Markets: The UK and Europe are largely unpenetrated, offering significant growth potential.
• Demographic Shift: Cruising is attracting a younger audience with more diverse offerings (e.g., Virgin Cruises, onboard activities), expanding the market beyond traditional demographics.

Building a Business with InCruises

• Affiliate Model: Partners sell memberships, not individual travel bookings.
• Income Potential (UK Context):
• Mid-Level Goal: Generate ~$250k/month in team sales.
• Required Team: ~500–1,000 paying members.
• Resulting Personal Income: ~$50k/month (~£38k).
• Graham’s Initial Strategy:
• Initial Test: A careers fair booth with a costumed “stewardess” (Karina) and leaflets to gauge interest.
• Target Audience: Affluent individuals (45+) who can afford the monthly membership.
• Leverage Existing Assets: Use the “finelyfettled” database of 278k cruise-takers for targeted outreach.
• Future Innovation: Develop an AI-powered “core agent” to provide personalised travel recommendations, adding value beyond the standard platform. 

The Next 100 Days Podcast Co-Hosts

Graham Arrowsmith

Graham founded Finely Fettled in 2014 to provide data from The UK High Net Worth Database to marketers targeting affluent and high-net-worth customers. He’s the founder of MicroYES, a Partner for MeclabsAI, creating lead generation AI Agents & Workflows and introducing the MeclabsAI Platform. Graham also provides an Answer Engine Optimisation solution to get your website in shape to be found by LLMs. Through his https://upperdeck.cruises website, Graham introduces people to inCruises. Become a member today by clicking here

Kevin Appleby

Kevin specialises in finance transformation and implementing business change. He’s the COO of GrowCFO, which provides both community and CPD-accredited training designed to grow the next generation of finance leaders. You can find Kevin on LinkedIn and at kevinappleby.com