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Insights from top finance leaders: For the Love of Finance Recap (Part 2) 👇 Last week, we shared 4 key takeaways from finance experts. Here are 4 more valuable insights from Season 1: • Control your procurement. Manisha Chana, CFO (Lyst, MyTutor.co.uk), warns that when it comes to software "people procure left, right, and center." By gaining visibility and control over this process finance leaders can manage costs effectively. • Iterate and measure for success. Laurent Saurel - Startup CFO, finance leader (Smule, Inc., Ubisoft), emphasizes the importance of constant iteration in startups. Finance can be a strategic partner by using technology to measure success and guide testing efforts. • Build a foundation for growth. Tanja Fischer, Head of Finance at Lindus Health, advises that scaling starts with fundamental processes. Implementing simple payment or expense solutions early on can enable significant growth later, especially with limited team resources. • Understand your cloud costs. Eldar Tuvey, CEO of Vertice, addresses the challenge of rising cloud spend. Having a single point of reference for cloud costs helps teams collaborate, allows for easier conversations, and creates a cost-aware culture throughout the organization. Watch the full season using the link in comments to dive deeper into these insights. Don't forget: Our new and improved Season 2 launches this September 👀

Is chasing revenue goals becoming outdated? While everyone’s focused on top-line growth, here’s the reality: What truly matters is what you keep after covering your variable costs—your contribution margin dollars. So why aren't we setting goals based on that? It’s contribution margin dollars that fuel your business’s growth and sustainability, not revenue alone. I think it’s time to shift our focus. What about you—are you setting contribution margin dollar goals yet? -- Hi, I'm Jon Blair founder of the DTC Finance and Accounting firm Free to Grow CFO. Want more tips on growing a profit-focused DTC brand? Give me a follow. Want to learn more about how Free to Grow's Accountants and CFO's can help you increase profit and cash flow as you scale? Shoot me a DM. Until next time, scale on! 

🔸 How can finance specialists become more well-rounded and complete professionals? 🔸 What are the key strategies for achieving team success in fast-paced environments? 🔸 How do finance professionals drive market expansion and revenue growth? 🔸 What are the challenges and opportunities facing finance leaders in consumer goods? Learn all the answers in the latest episode of CFO Weekly with Gabriel Teixeira, Finance Director at Diageo. 👇 🧐 Check out the full episode now: https://hubs.la/Q02H5V2Z0 #CFOweekly #FinanceLeaders #WellRoundedFinanceProfessional

In this episode of FP&A Today, Paul meets Jon Allen, Managing Partner, Finance, and Duke Heninger, CPA, finance partner at Amplēo. They provide a masterclass on the value of FP&A at fast-growing companies. Jon and Duke have brought their finance game to fast-growing companies, which are between $5m and $50m in revenue. They are “fractional CFOs” – experienced finance professionals advising these companies on a part-time basis. For instance, one business they work with, the Korean barbeque restaurant Cupbop, appeared on ABC’s Shark Tank and got $ 1 million from Mark Cuban in 2022. Other companies they advised include Burt Brothers (a tire and services company). Collectively, Amplēo helped more than 3000 companies. Link in the comments👇 #fpna #finance #businesspartnering

If being a CFO were easy, everyone would do it. But it’s not. It's a balancing act. It's a game of strategy. It’s being a semiprofessional mind reader. And it's all about numbers. The CFO is at the top of the finance food chain. They must balance financial stability and organizational growth, juggle compliance with regulations, and communicate clearly with stakeholders. They’re tasked with protecting the company's bottom line while also making sure that its financial practices are above board. It's no simple feat. And yet, those who master it find it to be one of the most rewarding positions in business. So to all the CFOs out there: hats off to you. And to those aspiring to be one: strap in and get ready for the ride.

This might upset some people, but it has to be said... Q4 is NOT the time to experiment. Launching new SKUs and ad channels could set your DTC brand up for financial disaster. Instead, double down on what's already working. Focus on the SKUs and channels that you’ve tested and proven. Otherwise, you risk wasting serious money on launches that flop at scale. Don't gamble with your margins when every dollar counts. -- Hi, I'm Jon Blair founder of the DTC Finance and Accounting firm Free to Grow CFO. Want more tips on growing a profit-focused DTC brand? Give me a follow. Want to learn more about how Free to Grow's Accountants and CFO's can help you increase profit and cash flow as you scale? Shoot me a DM. Until next time, scale on!

This is why I love what I do. Every month, we choose a client to receive a special gift as a token of our gratitude for their trust and partnership. And sometimes we get notes back that remind us exactly why we do what we do. Free to Grow CFO exists to help profit-focused, stressed-out brand founders scale with confidence, and it’s moments like these that reinforce our purpose. Partnering with the incredible clients we do is such an honor, and we’re truly grateful to be on this journey together. It's not just about numbers or financial strategies—it’s about the relationships we build and the impact we make in helping brands grow profitably. Thank you to all our amazing clients for your continued support and partnership. We look forward to many more milestones together! 🚀 -- Hi, I'm Jon Blair founder of the DTC Finance and Accounting firm Free to Grow CFO. Want more tips on growing a profit-focused DTC brand? Give me a follow. Want to learn more about how Free to Grow's Accountants and CFO's can help you increase profit and cash flow as you scale? Shoot me a DM. Until next time, scale on! 

🙅 "Avoid rocking the boat... is the worst advice you can follow as a CFO" 🙅 Quote from Ex-CFO of IBM and Automobile Bavaria (BMW). Very interesting scoop from the esteemed Bogdan Năforniţă at CFO Connect's "High low with a CFO" series. Bogdan, with a large-scale enterprise background being the ex CFO at Automobile Bavaria (BMW) and IBM. Stated that "modern CFO's simply cannot afford to accept the status quo, particularly in this economy" 🌐. He acknowledges that finance can be the engine room for operational excellence ✨ and business growth 🚀, so long as the right tools are in place to facilitate. ❗Finance professionals & business leaders ❗ Let Spendesk be your "boat rocker". Send me a message to understand how Spendesk drives operational excellence and business growth, through visibility and control of company spend... Promise I won't let you capsize 🛶🫨 Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/giBi8mW9

💡 CFO Playbook to master key metrics and manage Board of directors. 💡 As a CFO, managing a Board effectively is key to driving growth and long-term success. In this article Bessemer Venture Partners shows the top strategies to elevate a CFO game especially in a SaaS company: Key takeaways: 1. Focus on core KPIs: Identify 5-6 metrics that truly matter and evolve them as your company scales. 2. Own the source of truth: Centralize data and metrics within finance, be the go-to source for accurate insights. 3. Build financial hypotheses: Drive conversations around the key metrics that determine success or failure. 4. Effective Board presentations: Use visual tools like red/yellow/green indicators and focus on forward-looking strategies. 5. Strategic Board meetings: Prioritize time on future decisions rather than past performance. 6. Cultivate strong relationships with board members: Build trust through regular communication and transparency. 7. Be a strategic partner in the C-suite: Lead data-driven decisions across the organization. 8. Don't overlook the importance of usage metrics especially for B2B companies. 9. Proactive transparency: Share both successes and challenges, trust is built on honesty. 10. Evolve your role: Balance traditional financial management with strategic leadership. 11. Foster a culture of continuous improvement within your finance team and the broader organization. #SaaS #CFO

🗞️ Another giant piece of coverage! Our client partner YouLend in Raconteur | B Corp™! Read Sam Birchall's piece on how finance leaders build their teams, with Anders Torpe Christoffersen, CFO at YouLend, explaining why communication between departments is the key driver of success. 👇