“Stories and lessons from an unexpected journey in finance.”

Early in my career, I thought a great CFO knew every detail down to the penny. I buried myself in variance reports and reconciliations. It felt important. But over time — and through a few tough lessons — I realized much of that activity was noise. The truth: only a handful of things really move the needle. That’s the 80/20 rule at work — 20% of focus drives 80% of results.

So, what’s in the 20% that really matters?

1. Cash Flow and Gross Margins
You can have the sleekest dashboard, but if you don’t know your cash position and margin trajectory, you’re flying blind. In every boardroom, cash flow keeps investors awake, and margins reveal if the model is scaling or eroding. Everything else is commentary.

2. Forward-Looking Visibility
CFOs earn their seat not by explaining the past, but by anticipating the future. Scenario models — sales slip 15%, churn rises, prices increase 5% — are more valuable than explaining why last month’s expenses were 3% high. A great CFO is a planner, not a rearview reporter.

3. Relationships That Drive Alignment
Numbers only matter if they change behavior. The most valuable hours I’ve spent weren’t in Excel but in conversations with CEOs, sponsors, and leaders. When finance builds trust, numbers guide real decisions. Alignment beats accuracy to the third decimal place.

4. Integration, Not Just Transaction
In M&A, models get the spotlight. But 80% of value (or destruction) comes from integration: culture, systems, and how fast teams work as one. Perfect models collapse if no one asks, “How do we bring people and processes together?”

5. Leadership and Clarity
A CFO’s greatest contribution is clarity — highlighting the two or three levers that change the trajectory and empowering teams to act. Finance can be a bottleneck or a force multiplier. The difference is leadership.

A Personal Lesson
At one company, metrics abounded but clarity was missing. We zeroed in on cash runway, ARR growth, and retention. Within months, we restructured costs by 30% and improved cash flow dramatically. The 80/20 wasn’t theory — it was the difference between surviving and thriving.

The lesson? If you only had 20% of your week, spend it where it delivers 80% of the impact: visibility into the future, alignment on what matters, and clarity that fuels decisions. The rest is noise.

Question for readers: Where do you see CFOs wasting time on the “trivial many,” and what belongs in the “vital few”?

#TheAccidentalCFO #Leadership #CFOInsights #8020Rule #inersec