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

I used to be the “Department of No.” Then I realized I was killing my own company.

This is Part 1 of my “Inner Circle” series. When I first stumbled into the CFO role, I thought my job was to guard the bank account. Sales rep wants a lower floor price? No. VP of Sales wants a weird commission accelerator? No. New T&E budget for a client dinner? No.

I was protecting our margins, but I was suffocating our growth.

The shift happened when I stopped viewing Sales as “cowboys spending money” and started viewing them as the engine.

Here is how we moved from the “Department of No” to the “Department of How”:

• Deal Desk Diplomacy: Instead of rejecting non-standard deals, we model them together. “We can’t do that discount, but if we structure the payment terms quarterly upfront, we can get close.”
• Commission Transparency: I sat down and explained why our CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) guardrails exist. When Sales understood the math, they stopped fighting it.
• Speed is Currency: Finance usually moves monthly; Sales moves hourly. I promised a 2-hour turnaround time on deal approvals.

The Result: We didn’t just close more deals; we closed better deals.

The best CFOs aren’t goalies blocking shots. We are the offensive coordinators helping design the play.

Question for the crowd: Sales leaders, what is the one thing you wish your Finance team understood about your daily reality? Let me know below. 👇

#TheAccidentalCFO #inersec #Sales #Leadership #Growth