Secret CFO on LinkedIn: What is the best path to CFO? This is the question I get asked more than… | 10 comments (2024)

Hi 👋 I’m The Secret CFO. I just crossed 10k followers on here, so it’s a good time to re-introduce myself.Here’s my story👇I’m a career corporate CFO (10 figure + revenue biz).I’ve been in the finance profession (starting in the Big 4) for over 2 decades. With almost half of that time as CFO, in big multinational businesses.Through a combination of luck and hard work I got up the ladder quickly. I had a few mentors along the way, but I mostly worked it out myself. The path to CFO felt a bit like a mystery. Even after I’d walked it.Being one of the lucky ones, I feel a responsibility to make it simpler and clearer for others to climb the ladder.In August 2022 I started sharing my thoughts on Twitter about how you might do that. I assumed no-one would read it.I was wrong. Very wrong.It blew up.I grew to over 100k followers in less than 12 months.My goal is to get real life insights to as many current and future CFOs as possible.And where better than LinkedIn?Most content written on the CFO role is sh*t. Based on textbook theory, written by people who have never done the job. Often by those with something to sell (Big 4, technology companies, etc).I promise to be different to that.I bring my decade of experience in the top finance job, and a willingness to share. Writing is a hobby for me, and this is my way of sharing it.I have specialized in complex situations; turnarounds, refinances, exits, M&A, transformations, etc.I’ve been lucky to work with super-entrepreneurs, outstanding public company CEOs, and experienced boards. Not to mention all of the accounting and finance pros I’ve worked with and for along the way.I enjoy documenting my ever changing views on what I’ve learnt. And by remaining anonymous, I can be more interesting and helpful to more people.You can expect content on:- simple summaries of finance concepts- insight into the CFO mindsight- skills leading large teams- broader business skills relevant for CFO- how to make great finance career decisions- hot takes on hot finance topics.- silly jokes and memesMake sure you follow my page, so you never miss a beat.Please say “hi” below and introduce yourself👇🏼

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There are lots of ways to get fired as CFO…Getting your ‘Elon’ on with colleagues comes to mind. As does making a fool of yourself at the holiday party.But the most reliable way to get yourself fired is through a serious mistake in your financial reporting.If you deliver poor insights to the board, you will probably get fired… eventually.But if there is a hole in your balance sheet or a restatement to profit, you will get fired tomorrow.As CFO, financial control is your first foundation.

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You have our attention, meme stock investors…You live rent-free in CFO’s (and CEO’s and board’s) brains. Just like you wanted.As if running investor relations for a public company wasn’t hard enough, now investors have to contend with becoming a memestock and firing up the Reddit mob.Investor relations have always focused on institutional shareholders. These guys do have the power individually or collectively to move your stock price and cause a whole lot of pain.But the memestock phenomenon changed how the investment community looked at retail investors.In this morning’s edition of the CFO Secrets newsletter, I tackle how to keep the different types of shareholders happy.Subscribe for free now---> www.cfosecrets.io

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I asked Anduril Industries's CFO Babak Siavoshy about AI applications in finance and accounting.Here's what he had to say..."The main challenge with finance use cases is that current AI language models don’t promise precision – in fact, they promise that some percentage of their interactions will be hallucinations.And in CFO-land, precision matters. If you had an analyst who said, “Here’s everything with a big asterisk, I may have hallucinated 5% of the data,” you’d probably discount that person’s work significantly."Check out the full interview to find out where he DOES think AI is useful. Read it for free now ---> https://lnkd.in/eX-qTJptPS - thank you to Ramp for making this series possible

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Last week I shared my conversation with Ramp CEO Eric Glyman about what AI means for finance and accounting.This week, we're talking to a CFO.But not just any CFO. Babak Siavoshy is CFO at Anduril, one of the fastest growing (and most interesting) businesses on the planet.Subscribe to CFO Secrets for free to get the interview in your inbox today.PS - if you missed the piece with Eric, you can read it here --> https://lnkd.in/eEWb6ZeX

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Time for another question from my audienceLandon from Michigan asked:"For a first-time SMB buyer/acquisition entrepreneur, what should I be on the lookout for when evaluating SMBs? (<$1M in EBITDA/SDE)"Here's my answer.Any other advice for Landon? Drop it below in the comments

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It's Tuesday. Grab a coffee. Sound On 📣Budgets are upon us. Let's recap FP&A

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In case you missed it, this month's newsletter series covers Investor Relations:Week 1 - How to win investors and influence them- What is Investor Relations- Who is in scope?- Private vs capital markets- Communication plansWeek 2 - Keeping shareholders happy- Types of equity investors- Earnings reports- Managing guidance- Defending shortsWeek 3 - Winning the banks' heart and mind- Types of debt- Building a bank group- Non-lending creditThis is just a flavor, it will be a jam packed series. The first piece was released on Saturday.If you missed it you can get it here ---> https://lnkd.in/euySaZdD

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What started as a silly hobby has fast become much more.I’m hell bent on writing the blueprint for CFOs and how to scale finance from 0 to IPO.It’ll take me a few years to finish but once I do, it’ll be the benchmark.Thanks for all the support.More to come.

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