Finance Leadership Blog

Here you'll find insights, trends and tools to help you excel as a finance leader.

What to Include in a 90-Day Plan if You’re Starting a New Finance Role finance career finance leadership start-ups & fast growth businesses Jan 15, 2026

Starting a new finance role is one of the highest risk points in your career. Not because you are incapable, but because expectations are often unclear, timeframes are unrealistic, and you are expecte...

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Starting 2026 With Intention: How Finance Leaders Create a Real Career Step Change finance career Jan 08, 2026

The start of a new year has a strange effect on people working in fast-growth businesses. On one hand, there is pressure to move quickly, pick things up, and deliver. On the other, there is often a qu...

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What 2025 Told Us: The Finance Themes and Topics You Cared About Most finance career start-ups & fast growth businesses Jan 01, 2026

Welcome to 2026. Before we get stuck into another fast paced year, I wanted to look back at what actually mattered to finance professionals (and founders) in 2025. The topics you read, watched, search...

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The Best Month End Reporting Process for Leaders That Actually Saves Your Week management accounts reporting Dec 25, 2025

This article breaks down the best month end reporting process for leaders using ten practical steps. Each point includes why it matters, how much time it wastes when it goes wrong, and how to implemen...

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How to Run a Killer Finance Update Without a 50-Page Pack management accounts reporting Dec 11, 2025

If you're in a startup or scale-up and responsible for finance updates, before you start building any slides, remember that nobody has time for 50-page finance decks full of screenshots, tiny tables, ...

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Stop Drowning in Slack Messages: Communication Skills for Finance Leaders finance leadership time management Nov 27, 2025

If you’re constantly responding to pings, Slack messages, Looms, and “Can you just…” messages, you’re in good company. Finance leaders in startups are bombarded daily but better

...
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'We Need a Budget’ Doesn’t Mean You Start with Excel budgeting Nov 13, 2025

You’re in a leadership meeting.
The Founder/CEO looks around and says,
“We need a budget for next year.”
Everyone nods.
Then someone turns to you, the finance lead, and says,
“Can you get started?”

Your b...

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Finance Team KPIs That Actually Matter (And How to Track Them) finance leadership hr Oct 30, 2025

If you’re leading finance in a startup or scale-up, chances are you’ve been asked to set quarterly KPIs for your team.

But let’s be honest, this isn’t easy when you’re not driving revenue or churning...

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Updated Finance Tech Stack Recommendations: Oct 2025 tech Oct 16, 2025

A few weeks ago, a couple members of my Fractional CFO team and I attended the Accountex Expo in Manchester - so you didn't have to!

It was largely for accounting firms (rather than Startup CFOs), ho...

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The Real Role of Finance in Q4 Planning (It’s Not Just Forecasting) budgeting kpis strategy Oct 02, 2025

Q4 planning is here and if you're treating it as just another forecasting exercise, you're missing the opportunity to show your strategic value.

This time of year is where finance professionals eithe...

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How to Regain Momentum After Summer (A Finance September reset) finance leadership management accounts relationships time management Sep 18, 2025

The startup world doesn’t pause for summer holidays, but your energy probably did.

September always feels like a reset. The kids are back at school, inboxes are overflowing, and you’re staring down a...

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What is a Fractional CFO? (And What They Actually Do All Day) finance career founders start-ups & fast growth businesses Sep 04, 2025

There’s been a quiet shift in how startups approach finance. Gone are the days when hiring a full-time CFO was the only way to get strategic finance support.

Today, many early-stage founders are turn...

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DISCLAIMER: All information included in these blog posts are Alysha Randall's opinion.  She is not the reader's accountant, tax advisor, lawyer, CFO or director and therefore should not be considered advice.

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