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

The biggest line item on my P&L is also the only one that goes home at night.

We are wrapping up the “Inner Circle” series with the most critical alliance of all: Human Resources.

In finance school (or in my case, the school of hard knocks), you are taught to look at “Headcount Expense.” It’s cold. It’s a number.

But as I’ve navigated this role, I’ve realized that Headcount Planning is Culture Planning.

If Finance and HR aren’t best friends, you get:

1. Hiring freezes that burn out top performers.
2. Salaries that don’t match the market, leading to churn.
3. “Perks” that nobody wants but cost a fortune.

I used to think the foundation of the business was cash flow. I was wrong. The Foundation is People.

We now run a dynamic headcount model. We don’t just ask “Can we afford this hire?” We ask, “Can we afford not to make this hire?”

To my fellow finance leaders: Stop treating HR like the party planning committee. They are the custodians of your biggest asset.

I’m curious: In your organization, are Finance and HR friends or foes?

#TheAccidentalCFO #HR #Culture #inersec #Leadership