The CFO Owns AI Now: Chad Gold's Playbook for Leading AI in Finance
FullStory CFO Chad Gold shares his playbook for leading AI in finance: where to start, how to build data infrastructure, and how his team cut close time 50%.
The Diary of a CFO Blog
12 Questions Every CFO Should Ask Before Investing in AI Tools
Executive Summary Most AI tool purchases fail because the decision is made before anyone asks the right questions. When there is pressure to move quickly on AI, it's easy to adopt somet...
How to Design Your Early Finance Career to Become a Group CFO
Executive Summary The fastest path to a Group CFO seat is rarely a straight line up one discipline. The professionals who get there earliest are the ones who built the broadest perspect...
How to Build a Finance Function That Actually Drives Growth
Executive Summary Most finance functions are built to report what happened. The ones that drive growth are built around a different question: where are we going, and how do we get there...
How to Build a Forecasting Process Your Executives Actually Trust
Executive Summary Most FP&A teams rely on a single forecasting method and wonder why their numbers keep missing. The fix is not working harder. It is thinking differently about meth...
Your First 90 Days as a First-Time CFO: A Practical Playbook
Executive Summary Almost every first-time CFO steps into the role carrying imposter syndrome, a calendar full of expectations, and a skill gap no training program fully closes. This art...
Supporting a Strategic CFO: Why CFO Direct Reports Matter More Than Ever
Executive Summary Many CFOs are hired to be strategic, but their direct reports spend most of their time on transactions and compliance. This article explains how controllers, FP&A,...
The Strategic CFO vs. the Transactional Finance Function: How to Close the Gap
Executive Summary Many CFOs are hired to be strategic, but their finance function remains transactional. This article explains the “evolution gap” between a strategic CFO role and finan...
How to Prepare for a Difficult Board Conversation as a CFO
Executive Summary Difficult board conversations become manageable when preparation removes surprise and clarifies the decision. Strong preparation includes defining the issue, writing a...
3 Board Conversations Every New CFO Pre-Game (With a Reusable Script)
No matter the industry, and no matter how healthy the business looks today, three board conversations show up sooner or later. A number gets missed. Cash stops feeling comfortable. Or s...
What Do CEOs Really Look For When Hiring a CFO?
Hiring the wrong CFO rarely blows up in public. It fails quietly, then expensively. The damage shows up over time: missed opportunities, loss of trust, and decisions that drift because ...
The First 90 Days as CFO: How to Quickly Build Credibility and Take Charge
Executive Summary A new CFO’s first 90 days should leave the company feeling, “We can finally trust the numbers and the finance leader behind them,” because you’ve spent that time learn...
How to Do Strategic Work When You're Swamped
3 Simple Ways You Can Do More Strategic Work in Finance, Despite a Packed Schedule Practical methods to add value without adding hours If you're like most finance professionals, your da...
Controller vs Head of FP&A: Which Path Leads to CFO Faster?
Controllers are seen as the safe hands. FP&A professionals, the strategic business partners. But which path actually gets you closer to the CFO chair? Both paths can get you to CFO, but...
How to Become a CFO: What Research and CFOs Say Works
The complete guide about the career paths most CFOs take, the myths to ignore, and the skills that set future CFOs apart, whether they come from FP&A, Treasury or Controller roles.
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