Category: The Accidental CFO
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The Accidental CFO — Mentoring the Next Leader
“Stories and lessons from an unexpected journey in finance.” A few weeks ago, we talked about servant leadership in action. We discussed how the CFO’s job is often to hold the umbrella, shielding the team from the “March Madness” of market volatility and unrealistic demands. But there is a second, equally critical half to that mandate: figuring…
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The Accidental CFO — The Agentic AI Reality Check
“Stories and lessons from an unexpected journey in finance.” Now that we are firmly into 2026, the tech conversation has officially shifted. We’ve moved past the novelty of GenAI (chatting and drafting) and entered the era of Agentic AI (executing and doing). We are looking at systems that don’t just summarize a variance report, but actively execute…
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The Accidental CFO — The “March Madness” of Mid-Market Liquidity
“Stories and lessons from an unexpected journey in finance.” In the last few days, we’ve seen energy prices surge by 8.8% in a single trading session. For most mid-market companies, this isn’t a distant geopolitical headline; it’s a direct, unbudgeted hit to the COGS. When input costs spike this violently, the CFO has to stop staring at the P&L and…
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𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗙𝗢 — 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸
“𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦.” Last year, I wrote a post about why the best CFOs sometimes make people uncomfortable. It resonated because, deep down, we all know that growth doesn’t happen in the comfort zone. Our job is to hold up a mirror to the business reality, and sometimes that…
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𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗙𝗢 — 𝗕𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗲: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗨𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽𝘀? 🛑
“𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦.” In the startup world, “Burn Rate” is often whispered about with the same mix of reverence and fear as a ghost story told around a campfire. But if you’re a CFO, you know that it shouldn’t be a mystery. It’s simply the speed at which your…
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