Executive Leadership in Finance

What does the 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 actually look like? Most people still imagine finance as a single function focused on accounting and reporting. In reality, the finance organization today is a 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀, each responsible for a critical part of the company’s financial performance. At the center sits the 𝗖𝗙𝗢, responsible for financial oversight, strategic planning, resource allocation, risk management, and compliance. Supporting the CFO is a leadership team typically covering areas such as: • 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 – financial reporting, policies, internal controls, and cost management • 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 – general ledger oversight, financial close, and regulatory compliance • 𝗙𝗣&𝗔 – forecasting, scenario analysis, and strategic decision support • 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘆 – cash management, funding, investments, and financial risk • 𝗧𝗮𝘅 – tax compliance, strategy, and advisory • 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 – communication with investors and financial markets • 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 – efficient delivery of finance operations • 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 – partnering with the business on performance and decisions Each of these areas plays a different role. But the real impact comes when they work 𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Treasury secures financial resilience. FP&A provides forward-looking insight. Accounting ensures trust in the numbers. Business finance helps leaders make better decisions. Together, they enable the CFO to focus on what matters most: 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴-𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲. How is your finance leadership team structured today?

Finance teams don't fail because they can't do maths. They fail because leaders don't know how to build them. I've inherited underperforming finance functions multiple times. Smart people. Good technical skills. Yet the team was fractured, slow, and invisible to the business. The assumption was always the same: "We need better talent." We rarely needed better talent. We needed better leadership. Here's what I discovered: the difference between a finance team that drives value and one that just processes transactions comes down to how the leader structures the work, develops the people, and connects finance to the business. I took over a team of eight where people were siloed. Accountant on payroll. Another on accounts payable. Another on reporting. Nobody talked to each other. Knowledge was trapped in individuals. When someone left, institutional knowledge walked out the door. Within six months, we reorganised around business outcomes instead of functions. Same people. Same technical skills. Completely different energy and impact. Why? Because suddenly they understood how their work connected to decisions that mattered. That's leadership, not hiring. Elite finance leaders build teams around three things most miss: First: Clarity of purpose. Your team needs to understand how their work drives business outcomes, not just compliance or process. When a junior accountant sees how their work feeds a decision that impacts growth or cash, their engagement shifts. Second: Capability development. You're not just managing current performance. You're building people for the next level. That requires deliberate investment in skill development, exposure to different work, and coaching on judgement, not just execution. Third: Cross-functional integration. Your team doesn't exist in isolation. Finance teams fail when they're disconnected from operations, strategy, and decision-making. Elite leaders embed finance in the business, not besides it. The maths never changes. But how do you structure the team, develop the people, and connect finance to strategy? That's everything. What's one area where your finance team has untapped potential because of how they're currently structured or led?

After 15 years in the C-suite and 4 board seats, I’ve noticed the same mistakes that quietly stop talented finance leaders from becoming CFO: 1) They think like controllers, not operators. CFOs don’t just report numbers - they shape decisions. If you never talk about customers, product, competitive pressure, or revenue levers, you’re signaling you’re a functional expert… not an enterprise leader. 2) They build relationships up, not across. Great CFOs aren’t just trusted by the CEO and board. They’re trusted by GTM, Product, Ops, and People because they show up early, listen, and help solve real problems. 3) They can model a forecast but not tell the story. The CFOs who earn board confidence connect everything in one clean thread: what’s happening, why it matters, what options exist, and the trade-offs behind each path. Boards remember the narrative - not the spreadsheet. 4) They wait to be invited in. Future CFOs don’t sit back. They initiate scenario plans, pressure-test strategy, and surface risks before anyone asks. 5) They stay stuck in precision mode. Perfect accuracy slows companies down. Standout CFOs set decision thresholds, embrace scenario ranges, and call out the unknowns so the business can move faster. 6) They solve today’s problem, not the next stage. Boards choose the leader who can scale the company from $20M → $50M, $50M → $200M, or pre-IPO → public. Your mindset must shift with the stage. 7) They underestimate how much the CFO role is leadership. Most misses aren’t technical - they’re about influence. CFOs lead rooms, drive alignment, and bring clarity in moments where ambiguity is high. The difference between a great finance leader and a CFO isn’t technical skill. It’s how you think, how you lead, and how you show up. PS: I coach finance leaders on strategic storytelling, board communication, and executive presence. If you’d like to explore working together, send me a DM.

Recently I've been thinking about what truly defines a 10x finance leader. After spending 775 hours on customer calls the past year, I think I have an answer. It's easy to say they understand numbers, provide analysis, manage risk, and align with investors. But the path to becoming one? Far more challenging. And working closely with so many CFOs and leaders, I've realized there are seven key steps the best finance leaders take: 1. Master the numbers first → Close 95% of accounting by the first of the month → Deliver consistent reporting on the second of the month → Build a data dashboard that pulls data from across systems 2. Prioritize what moves the needle → Run scenarios to understand what factors matter most → Assess whether resources are producing outcomes that justify their expense → Study key levers and historical trends 3. Drive results, don't just report them → Implement rolling reforecasts with clearly defined, live targets → Hold people accountable when targets are missed → Explore the actual actions that lead to each key target 4. Transform the finance team into a leading example → Follow through on commitments by always meeting deadlines and providing accurate results → Use a streamlined process that minimizes the need for manual adjustments → Create and follow checklists for close process, data checks, and end-of-month reporting 5. Lean into project management → Manage internal infrastructure upgrades → Oversee financial due diligence and post-acquisition integrations → Lead AI rollouts 6. Stay ahead of market trends → Create and monitor a spreadsheet of all competitors → Benchmark against top performers to identify gaps and opportunities → Keep an eye on emerging software and processes that could be beneficial 7. Leave the ego at the door → Communicate that the role of finance is to support and guide → Reserve outright refusals for critical situations → Base all recommendations on objective evidence While it won't be easy, executing on these seven steps will put you on a strong path to becoming a 10x finance leader. I know because they've worked for me and dozens of others.

Nobody talks about this enough in finance. We surveyed 100,000 finance leaders and asked them their biggest challenges. The #1 answer wasn't technical skills. It wasn't AI. It wasn't board pressure. It was imposter syndrome. Here are the top 10 challenges finance leaders actually face (vs. what they pretend to): 1. Imposter syndrome — 60% 60-80% of finance leaders experience it. For some it shows up occasionally. For others it's a constant battle that holds them back from their full potential. 2. Feeling overwhelmed with tasks — 45% This came up a lot in our community. The volume of work isn't just the issue. It's the feeling that you're never fully on top of it. 3. Contributing more to strategy — 29% Most CFOs struggle to make a meaningful strategic impact — especially in their first few roles. They have the data. They don't always have the seat. 4. Changing perceptions of finance — 27% Finance functions are undervalued by almost every other department. Leaders know it. Most have stopped trying to fight it. That's the real problem. 5. Making more impact in board meetings — 24% The skill set that gets you to the boardroom isn't the same one that makes you effective inside it. Most finance leaders were never taught the difference. 6. Influencing people and getting buy-in — 23% Finance leaders sit on better data than anyone else in the business. But data alone doesn't move people. This is the gap most never close. 7. Improving gravitas — 23% The majority of finance leaders have been in rooms where they felt invisible. Where their voice didn't land. Where they knew they were right but couldn't make it stick. 8. Maximising team performance — 20% Finance teams are chronically underinvested in. Most have significant skills gaps and leaders who were never trained to develop people — only numbers. 9. Enhancing communication — 15% The ability to translate complex financial insight into something a non-finance audience actually understands. Rarer than it should be. More important than most admit. 10. Building stronger relationships — 13% Underdeveloped relationships inside the business lead to poor decision making and teams that don't trust their own leader. It compounds quietly until it doesn't. The higher you rise, the less you're allowed to admit any of these. That's the real problem. Which one is yours? Drop the number below.

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞, 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬. Most finance leaders are not positioning themselves that way. I recently spoke with a finance director frustrated after missing out on a CFO role to an external candidate. He had managed costs well, led a strong function, and delivered through a difficult year. On paper, he looked prepared. But the board wanted something different. In the debrief, they spoke about strategic judgment, scenario planning, board communication under uncertainty, and the ability to bring confidence when conditions were noisy. The reality? He had done all of those things. But neither his resume nor interview answers made that case clearly enough. This is a gap I’m seeing more often, and the current global environment is making it more costly to ignore. The OECD and IMF continue to flag uncertainty around growth and business confidence, driven by geopolitical instability and energy pressures. In Australia and New Zealand, that uncertainty is showing up as cautious capital allocation, slower hiring, and greater pressure on boards to ensure they have the right leaders in place. In that environment, technical competence is only the baseline. Boards want finance leaders who can operate credibly under pressure, translate complexity into clear decisions, and guide businesses when risk is elevated and the data is noisy. Finance leaders who can do this are more valuable than ever. But many are still positioning themselves as technical operators rather than strategic leaders. Most senior finance resumes and LinkedIn profiles still focus on functional responsibilities: • Budget management • Financial reporting • Compliance • Stakeholder management That describes capability, but not strategic contribution. The finance leaders gaining traction right now are the ones who can clearly articulate: • How they advised executives during uncertainty • A scenario-driven decision that shifted business direction • How they helped boards reach clarity faster under pressure This does not require a different career. It requires a different lens on the career you already have. Most finance professionals I work with have already done genuinely strategic work. They’ve influenced major decisions and operated in high-level discussions. The problem is that none of it comes through in how they present themselves. In a stable market, that gap is often overlooked. In a pressured market, it becomes obvious. The candidate who presents as a strong technical operator competes very differently from the candidate who presents as a commercially strategic finance leader. The work itself may not need to change. The story you tell about it does. If you want to close that positioning gap and strengthen how you present your strategic value, book a complimentary Clarity Session.

Leadership in finance isn't what most people think. It's not your corner office or your impressive title. I discovered this truth climbing from individual contributor to Senior Manager in financial services. Real leadership starts before anyone calls you "boss." I led by quietly mentoring new hires. By staying late to verify reports. By supporting teammates through crushing deadlines. People began seeking my guidance not because of authority, but because of trust. And when I officially became a leader? I stumbled. I thought leaders needed all the answers. I was wrong. What my team actually needed was: • Someone who listened more than spoke • A leader who admitted uncertainty • A person who valued being authentic over being right The transformation in my leadership came when I shifted from control to empowerment. Instead of directing everything, I asked: "What's your solution to this?" "How would you approach this differently?" "What support can I provide you?" The results were remarkable. Team members took ownership. They innovated. They exceeded expectations. Culture became our foundation. We built an environment where: • Feedback flowed freely and safely • Recognition happened consistently, not occasionally • Personal growth remained a priority Even in finance's metrics-driven world, I learned the power of empathy. When a top performer faced burnout, I adjusted workloads and provided support rather than demanding more. She returned stronger and more committed than before. This approach hasn't always been easy. I've made difficult decisions. Navigated complex politics. Stood firm when unpopular but right. One of my proudest moments? Advocating for a junior team member being overlooked. That single action changed his career trajectory and reinforced our team's bond. My leadership philosophy now rests on five principles: • Authenticity - even when uncomfortable • Empowerment - developing people, not just hitting targets • Clarity - providing direction when paths seem unclear • Empathy - understanding before responding • Resilience - maintaining composure during chaos The truth I want to share with you? You can lead powerfully from wherever you stand today. Leadership isn't bestowed. It's practiced daily through intention and presence. Whether you're starting your career or midway through, your leadership journey begins with how you show up for others right now. Lead with purpose. Lead by lifting others. The financial world doesn't just need more leaders. It needs more leaders like you - authentic, empowering, and focused on what truly matters. #leadership #authentic #empower I'm Emily. Are you already leading in ways you haven't recognized?

When I first stepped into finance leadership, I assumed authority came with the title. I quickly learned… it doesn’t. In fact, some of the most influential finance leaders I’ve seen had zero formal authority over the people they influenced. So how did they do it? They understood that influence in finance comes from trust, clarity, and timing — not hierarchy. Here’s what works when you don’t have a “seat at the head of the table”: 1️⃣ Start with credibility, not control. When stakeholders know your numbers are reliable and your analysis is airtight, they’ll start asking for your input — even if they don’t have to. 2️⃣ Frame trade-offs, not totals. No one gets excited about variance explanations. But when you show how today’s decision affects next quarter’s margin or cash runway, people listen. 3️⃣ Listen before you advise. Ops, Sales, Marketing — they each have scars from “finance swooping in.” Influence grows when you listen first and frame finance as a partner, not a referee. 4️⃣ Tell the story of risk and opportunity. The best finance leaders don’t just deliver numbers. They turn those numbers into a narrative leaders can act on. That’s where trust builds. The irony? When you stop chasing “authority” and start building influence through trust and clarity, the authority follows. Because leadership isn’t about the org chart. It’s about who people turn to when the stakes are high.

Finance: More Than Numbers As CFOs, we’re often seen as the number crunchers, focusing on reports, balance sheets, and financial models. But true financial leadership is about transformation—driving change across the business by aligning strategic vision with empowered people. Transformation starts with collaboration. Working with a great CEO and an aligned C-suite is crucial to make sure the shared vision becomes a unifying force throughout the organisation. Initiatives like DNA workshops have shown me how important it is to align purpose, strategy, and execution—embedding cultural values that spread throughout the business. But, above all, transformation is powered by people. Finance isn’t just about the numbers; it’s about connecting with the heart of the business, understanding its challenges, and being ready to provide real solutions. True business partnering means stepping outside the finance function to foster collaboration and build trust across departments. I’ve always believed in a collaborative environment—one where my finance teams feel confident stepping into the wider business and are welcomed as trusted partners. This isn’t just about sharing financial insights; it’s about listening, understanding, and contributing to the broader agenda. Seeing my teams thrive and make an impact beyond their role is one of the most rewarding parts of my career. Because at its core, transformation is about people—aligning them with strategy, empowering them, and creating a culture where every individual can drive success. How do you empower your teams to bridge gaps and create lasting impact? #CFOInsights #BusinessTransformation #LeadershipPartnership #TrueBusinessPartnering #FinanceLeadership #PeopleCentricFinance

A business can hit its numbers and still lose strength. Many leadership teams notice that too late. Revenue may rise while margins quietly weaken. Sales may accelerate while forecast credibility starts slipping. Expansion may look successful while capital is being deployed without enough discipline. That is why finance cannot remain a reporting layer. It has to function as an early decision system. The value of FP&A does not come from explaining last month’s performance. It comes from spotting when commercial momentum is no longer supported by economic quality. It arises from identifying profitable markets, challenging optimistic assumptions, and exposing pressure in pricing, mix, cost, or working capital before performance suffers. That shifts the role of finance leadership. Finance becomes part of strategy. Section of operating decisions. Part of the choices that shape margin quality, forecast accuracy, and the company’s ability to scale without losing control. When this discipline is embedded across the business, leadership does not wait for surprises in the numbers. Pressure is identified earlier. Resources are reallocated faster. Planning becomes sharper and more credible. The companies that scale successfully over the next decade will not stand out only for growth. They will stand out for the financial discipline behind that growth and for the speed at which finance helps leadership make smarter decisions. #FPandA #FinanceLeadership #BusinessStrategy #FinancialPlanning #GrowthStrategy