The Diary of a CFO with Wassia Kamon
The Diary of a CFO is the podcast where finance leaders share the lessons, challenges, and wins that shaped their careers.
I’m your host, Wassia Kamon, and I’m excited to take you with me on my journey as a newly appointed CFO as I share insights to help you grow and lead any organization with confidence.
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About me (The Host)
I am Wassia [Pronounced Wa-see-Ya].
I'm a CFO, Keynote Speaker, and Content Creator, who has been featured in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Accounting Today, CFO Brew, and Strategic Finance Magazine.
- My mission is to help organizations upgrade their internal leadership development efforts to make life easier for their finance leaders and teams.
- My 'Why' stems from learning many things the hard way on my journey to the C-suite, and realizing it was the norm.
- My 'How' is through delivering insights, keynotes, and learning resources to simplify change and leadership transitions for finance and accounting professionals.
Here is the link to my latest guide on executive leadership:
https://www.wassiakamon.com/email-guide
If that resonates with you, let's connect
https://www.wassiakamon.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/wassiakamon
Cheers,
Wassia Kamon, CPA, CMA, MBA
CarMax Auto Finance CFO: Why Every Finance Leader Should Try Operations Before CFO - Donna Cohen
She spent her entire career in accounting and finance. Then she walked away from it and went into operations. And it made her a completely different CFO. In this episode of The Diary of a CFO: Live in Atlanta, I sat down in person with Donna Cohen, Chief Financial Officer at CarMax Auto Finance. Don...
3x Private Equity CFO: What Nobody Tells You Before You Take the Job - Chris Voudouris
Most finance leaders think about making the jump to a PE-backed company at some point. Very few know what they are actually walking into. In this episode of The Diary of a CFO, I sat down with Chris Voudouris, a 3x private equity CFO who has been on every side of the table. He started at KPMG in aud...
Why the Smartest Person in the Room Rarely Gets Promoted - James White
He grew up on a 100-acre farm in Alabama with 30 to 50 head of cattle. His father was one of the first Black CPAs in the state and started a CPA firm that is still in operation today. His great-grandfather built the first park for African Americans in their county because they were not allowed in pu...
From 6x National Champion to Fortune 500 Chief Audit Officer - Lori Kaczynski
She won six Canadian national championships in speed skating. She was training for the Olympics. Then, had a car accident at 18. Four knee surgeries. A cane for two years. Three years of rehabilitation. She pivoted. She moved from a town of 5,000 people in Northwest Canada to Atlanta. She started co...
He Took SalesLoft From Startup to $2.3 Billion - Chad Gold
He started at Ernst & Young, went to Home Depot where Carol Tomei (now CEO of UPS) was CFO, then jumped into startups and never looked back. He drove 10x growth in enterprise value at SalesLoft to over $2.3 billion, was the first CFO at G2, and now leads finance at Fullstory, an AI and behavioral da...
Former Starbucks SVP: How a Homeless Teenager Ended Up Managing $130 Billion on Wall Street
She was pregnant at 14. She dropped out in the 9th grade. She was homeless. She kept her baby's milk on a windowsill because she had no refrigerator. She went on to become Senior Vice President of Investor Relations at Starbucks, managing nearly $130 billion in market capitalization. She sat in boar...
From a High School Dropout to a $3 Billion CFO: The Story of William Washington III
He dropped out of high school. He was a single father. He started his career at a cottonseed company. And now he oversees $3 billion in annual revenue across 76 offices in 45 countries as the Global CFO of Baker McKenzie, one of the largest law firms in the world. In this episode, I sat down with Wi...
How to Cut Your Board Reporting Process From Weeks to Days (with Fabian Ferrada)
In this episode, I sat down with Fabian Ferrada, Senior Solutions Engineer at Insight Software. Before moving to tech, Fabian spent over a decade in financial and operational leadership for a publicly traded infrastructure services company, carrying P&L responsibility on major pipeline projects acro...
Excel vs FP&A Software: When to Make the Switch (with Paul Barnhurst)
Most finance teams stay on Excel longer than they should. The hard part is knowing when it is actually time to switch. In this episode, I sat down with Paul Barnhurst, also known as The FP&A Guy. Paul is one of the most trusted independent voices in financial planning and analysis. He has trained th...
9 Mistakes Founders Make During Fundraising (From a CFO with 50+ Deals)
Most founders make the same fundraising mistakes and do not realize it until the cash is gone. In this episode, I sat down with Julianne Averill, a healthcare AI CFO, board director, and fractional CFO who has been through over 50 transactions on both the buy and sell side. She has helped companies ...
How AI is Changing the CFO Role in 2026
Take the CFO Readiness Assessment: https://thecfo.scoreapp.com/ Thank you to our sponsor, Insightsoftware. With Spreadsheet Server, you can spot trends in your data before they become problems and make faster, smarter decisions. Visit http://insightsoftware.com/reporting to see how it works. In this...
Former Caterpillar Group CFO: Leadership Skills to Reach the Top
Take the CFO Readiness Assessment: https://thecfo.scoreapp.com/ In this video, we're joined by former Caterpillar Group CFO David DeFreitas, who shares how finance leaders can build long, successful careers through situational leadership, operational experience, change leadership, and leveraging AI ...
How to Use AI for Finance The RIGHT Way (With Tariq Munir)
Take the CFO Readiness Assessment: https://thecfo.scoreapp.com/ In this video, I'm joined by Tariq Munir to discuss why Fortune 500 companies are struggling with AI implementation and what finance leaders can learn from their mistakes. Tariq shares real-world insights on AI transformation in large o...
How to Build a Great Finance Team (Explained by a CFO Mentor)
Take the CFO Readiness Assessment: https://thecfo.scoreapp.com/ In this video, I’m joined by Kevin Appleby to talk about all things building a great finance team. Kevin is a former CFO and current CFO mentor, so this is a must-watch for all first-time CFOs out there! Get My Free AI Prompts for Finan...
What Every Nonprofit CFO Wishes You Knew About Leadership and Impact with Teri Kozub
In this episode of The Diary of a CFO, host Wassia Kamon, CPA, CMA, MBA, speaks with Teri Kozub, a seasoned finance expert with extensive experience in nonprofit leadership. Currently serving as Chief Financial Officer at Community Legal Services since January 2021, Teri shares her journey through v...
The Executive Presence Skills for Professionals to Be Seen and Promoted Authentically with Jill Avey
In this episode of The Diary of a CFO, host Wassia Kamon, CPA, CMA, MBA, welcomes Jill Avey, Founder of SisterSmart® and a Professional Certified Coach (PCC). Jill is an Ivy League MBA graduate and Leadership Mentor, specializing in helping ambitious women navigate the path to the C-suite. With over...
Real Fraud Stories and How to Protect a Fractional CFO Firm, with Attorney Natalia Greene
In this episode of The Diary of a CFO, host Wassia Kamon, CPA, CMA, MBA, sits down with Natalia M. Greene, Principal at Lemme, a division of EPIC. With over two decades as a litigation partner defending accounting firms and a Certified Fraud Examiner, Natalia shares eye-opening stories from her lega...
How Executive Recruiters and CEOs Choose CFOs with EQ, AQ, and Strategic Thinking with Mark Johnson
In this episode of The Diary of a CFO, host Wassia Kamon explores the evolving world of CFO recruitment and career progression with Mark Johnson, CFO/CEO Executive Recruiter at EGM Partners. With two decades of experience across Australia and the UK, Mark shares how the CFO role has transformed from...
80/20 Rule for FP&A Experts to Transform Decision-Making Through Analytics with Andrew Hull
Note: This episode is a pod swap from FP&A Unlocked. We’re sharing it here to help you discover another excellent show in the finance leadership space. All content belongs to the original podcast and host Paul Barnhurst. In this episode of FP&A Unlocked, host Paul Barnhurst talks with Andrew Hull, a...
The Future of Work Is 70% Leadership & 30% AI Tools with Salesforce's Agentforce COO – Vivienne Wei
In this episode of The Diary of a CFO, host Wassia Kamon, CPA, CMA, MBA, welcomes Vivienne Wei, COO of Salesforce’s Unified Agentforce Platform, an architect of the Agentic Enterprise, and a driving force behind AI transformation at a global scale. With a remarkable career that spans leadership in t...
The Transformation Framework for CFOs to Lead Strategy, Culture & Execution at Scale with Paul Young
In this episode of The Diary of a CFO, host Wassia Kamon, CPA, CMA, MBA, sits down with Paul S. Young, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Liberty Bank, the nation’s oldest and largest independent mutual bank. Paul brings over 25 years of experience leading finance, strate...
Why Every CFO Feels Stretched and What to Do About It, with Tom Hood
In this episode of The Diary of a CFO, host Wassia Kamon, CPA, CMA, MBA, is joined by Tom Hood, Executive Vice President, Business Engagement & Growth at the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA & CIMA), the global organization formed by the merger of the American I...
The Best ERP Reporting Tools for CFOs to Maximize Excel Efficiency and ROI with Anna Sagan
Transform Your Finance Function Today! Register for the upcoming webinar now and learn how finance leaders are breaking the reporting rut and driving strategic impact: https://insightsoftware.com/resources/get-out-of-the-reporting-rut-how-finance-leaders-drive-strategic-impact/ _____________________...
Leading Through Market Cycles, with Real Estate and Construction CFO, Bona Allen
Transform Your Finance Function Today! Register for the upcoming webinar now and learn how finance leaders are breaking the reporting rut and driving strategic impact: https://insightsoftware.com/resources/get-out-of-the-reporting-rut-how-finance-leaders-drive-strategic-impact/ _____________________...
Non-Traditional Pathways to the CFO Seat, with Axile Talout
Transform Your Finance Function Today! Register for the upcoming webinar now and learn how finance leaders are breaking the reporting rut and driving strategic impact: https://insightsoftware.com/resources/get-out-of-the-reporting-rut-how-finance-leaders-drive-strategic-impact/ _____________________...
Stop assigning strategy to the busiest people.
In this episode of The Diary of a CFO Podcast, host Wassia Kamon welcomes guest Michael High, VP Administration and CFO at NAIT, to unpack how leaders can sustain long-term strategy, especially when short-term crises keep getting louder. You can't expect your team to build the future and fight fires...
Still calling it “reporting”? You’re behind.
In this episode of The Diary of a CFO Podcast, host Wassia Kamon invites guest Michael High, VP Administration and CFO at NAIT, to explore what most organisations and CFOs still get wrong about FP&A. If your company still treats FP&A like a glorified reporting team, you're already behind. The future...
Leadership is not a solo mission.
In this episode of The Diary of a CFO Podcast, host Wassia Kamon invites guest Michael High, VP Administration and CFO at NAIT, to explore how military leadership principles shape executive decision-making in corporate finance. There’s a reason your team has structure and trying to bypass it only we...
The CFO Playbook for Handling Crises and Building FP&A Functions, with Mike High
Transform Your Finance Function Today! Register for the webinar now and learn how finance leaders are breaking the reporting rut and driving strategic impact: https://insightsoftware.com/resources/get-out-of-the-reporting-rut-how-finance-leaders-drive-strategic-impact/ ______________________________...
Not every GenAI project is worth doing.
In this episode of The Diary of a CFO, host Wassia Kamon sits down with Andrea Hecht to discuss leadership shifts, strategic thinking, and how AI is reshaping the future of work. AI isn’t here to replace you. It’s here to give you back time. Time to focus on the work that matters. Time to lean into ...