Where there is will, there is wAI
There’s a massive, hidden advantage to the fact that Finance has been the "under-invested child" of the fintech world for the last decade.
Insights / Topic
CFO
36 essays on this topic.
Every CFO is greedy. Just what they're greedy for, is the real question
I've been thinking about this a lot lately, and I've come to believe there are really only two types of financial leadership — and the difference between them isn't talent or in…
- #leadership
- #cfo
- #risk
Leadership lessons I wish I knew earlier
A 10-part series — 8 parts on this topic
Over the last 25 years in finance - more recently as CFO - one thing has become clear to me:
- Part 1Leadership is the sum of your trade-offs
- Part 2The most expensive decision? “let’s wait.”
- Part 3Culture is incentives, not posters
- Part 4Cross-functional trust is a superpower
- Part 5When KPIs become the strategy, the strategy dies
- Part 7Crisis reveals people clearly
- Part 8The biases sitting in every boardroom
- Part 9Resilience is optionality, not toughness
Having a view vs having a way
Example: A CFO saying, “I believe our company should diversify into crypto trading.” That’s a view.
- #leadership
- #strategy
- #cfo
The 10 commandments of FP&A storytelling - part 2
Two months ago, I posted an article, on what I thought were the 10 commandments of FP&A story telling. It was born out of the some of my past frustrations of working with FP&A p…
The 10 commandments of FP&A storytelling
In November 2023, I had posted an article about a storytelling cheat sheet for CFOs. This artcile is a continuation of that post, but targetted towards juniour FP&A professional…
What keeps a Fintech CFO up at night (hint: it's not just burn rate)
Being a CFO in fintech sounds cool—until it’s 2:47am and you're wide awake, wondering if your fraud controls holds, your Series C runway will stretch, or your compliance stack i…
Winning in chaos
Ill thought tariffs, and unthought taxes are squeezing margins. Populist political agendas are resulting in unwanted (and shall I say unnecessary) challenges to the fragile busi…
Should CFOs build strategic flexibility as opposed to strategic plans?
Strategic planning and strategic preparation, while closely related, offer distinct approaches to achieving organizational success. For a CFO, understanding the nuances between…
Reflecting on a year of insights: Final thoughts for 2024
As we approach the close of 2024, I find myself revisiting the series of articles I’ve shared here on LinkedIn over the past twelve months. When I began posting about a year ago…
Output, outcome, and systems approach: Friday focus from a CFO
I often find myself reflecting on how companies, teams, and even individuals measure success. In my opinion there are three distinct approaches : output focus, outcome focus, an…
How CFOs should think about M&A : balancing risk and opportunity
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are often seen as a fast track to growth, innovation, and market expansion. With what is possibly the beginning of interest rate cuts on both side…
Enhancing financial data storytelling: A CFO's cheat sheet
In November 2023, I had written a post explaining why storytelling is a CFO’s secret superpower. Having seen firsthand how compelling narratives can transform dry numbers into i…
Using LLMs: A cheat sheet for CFOs
The role of a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is evolving and leveraging technology has become even more important to create value. After all, how good can a CFO be if they can't…
Crowdsourcing financial decisions: When more cooks may not spoil the broth
Today, I'm writing about a topic that marries the ancient wisdom of collective decision-making with the cutting-edge challenges faced by modern CFOs. Inspired by the recent re-r…
How to plan for the best and prep for the rest: The CFO’s survival guide to (almost) anything
In the heart of Vietnam War history lies a powerful lesson on resilience and faith, known today as the Stockdale Paradox. This concept was named after Admiral James Stockdale, w…
The importance of treasurers in finance
This week , I am departing from writing about something topical, but rather expressing a \strong\ point of view on why Treasurers should be considered as top candidates for CFO…
Cashing in on cheers: A CFO’s guide to making sports sponsorships pay off
The allocation of funds towards brand investments, especially in sports sponsorship, stands out as a significant decision, especially for small companies. For CFOs, the challeng…
The bottomline of customer happiness: 3 CX stories and a CFO
In today's fiercely competitive business landscape, customer experience can significantly influence a company's reputation and, ultimately, its financial health. While often ove…
Freud, finance & folly: A CFO's perspective
Generally, finance is a world of numbers, graphs, and cold, hard data. Nevertheless, behind the world of spreadsheets and financial models, there is a very human sea of emotions…
Time ticks on: Why we can’t embezzle hours from Father Time
As we stand on the brink of another year-end, I find myself musing humorously over a question that's more philosophical than financial: Why do we move forwards in time and not b…
- #cfo
- #risk
- #reflections
The power of precision: Focus for success
As a CFO, my perspective on business strategy has always been grounded in the principle of focus. In a competitive marketplace, companies often face the temptation to diversify…
"Once upon a balance sheet": 10 reasons why storytelling is a CFO's secret superpower
In the world of finance, numbers reign supreme. But what happens when the CFO decides to take a page out of a storyteller's book? Magic. Here are ten compelling reasons why the…
Checkmate in the boardroom ballet: How execution pirouettes past strategy and culture
In the grand symphony of corporate management, the perennial debate between strategy and culture often takes center stage. As CFOs, while we may be inclined to lean towards stra…
High-wire acts in high finance: The CFO’s circus of growth vs. cash flow
As CFOs, we are often likened to navigators steering through the treacherous waters of corporate finance, where the twin beacons of growth and cash flow guide our journey. The p…
From bean counting to bots
CFOs can harness the capabilities of large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) to create value in several distinct ways. In essence, the com…
10 commandments for the experienced CFO
It’s more than a year since I posted on LinkedIn about the 10 commandments for the newbie CFO. It got over 4,000 impressions (number of times the post was displayed on a screen)…
The 10 commandments for a newbie CFO
1. Thou shalt help the Board in setting (& execution of) of corporate strategy.