Finance Leadership Blog

Startup forecasts are usually wrong.

This is not a groundbreaking idea. Most finance leaders know it the moment the budget is signed off.

The issue is not that forecasts are wrong.

The issue is whe...

One of the biggest misconceptions in startups is, “If revenue is growing, we’re fine.”

Not necessarily.

I’ve worked with startups that were growing quickly and still came dangerously close to runnin...

A lot of finance professionals want to become a CFO.

But very few actually understand what the role looks like day to day.  I know I certainly didn't earlier in my career.

It’s easy to assume it’s:

Most finance professionals think they’re doing the right things to get promoted.

• They work hard. 
• They improve reporting. 
• They fix processes.
• They keep everything running.

And then they get ...

A lot of finance professionals assume that becoming a CFO is the natural next step in their career.

You move from Finance Manager to Financial Controller, then Finance Director… and then CFO.

But in...

If you’re working in finance at a startup and aiming for a CFO role, the gap isn’t technical.

Most people already have the accounting, reporting, and modelling skills.

The real shift is how you thin...

A lot of finance professionals have the same long-term goal: becoming a CFO.

But the path to becoming a CFO in a startup or scaleup looks very different to the traditional corporate route. In large c...

I’ve had quite a few people ask me the same question recently:

Why did you go fractional in 2019, build a successful company, and then decide to go back into a full-time role this month?

This post i...

One of the most common and least talked about problems new CFOs or finance leaders face in startups and scaleups is this:

You arrive too late.

Not late in your career. Late in the company’s journey....

One of the biggest shocks for new CFOs in startups and scaleups is not the workload, the pressure, or even the pace.

It’s being hired to “fix finance” without anyone agreeing what that actually invol...

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...

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...