In a meeting, Kevin Wall realized finance was too bogged down in non-strategic tasks to support commercial growth. He reorganized billing and ops functions into other departments, freeing finance to focus on pricing, commercialization, and decision support—ultimately redefining the team’s role as a true business partner driving scale and strategic impact. Now Play the complete […]
1114: Building a Smarter Funnel at Speed | Kevin Wall, CFO, Stax Payments
When Kevin Wall first stepped into industry from public accounting, it wasn’t by accident—it was through a client he already knew well. The company, in the midst of an ERP conversion and preparing to go public, saw in Wall someone who understood both their numbers and their needs. “They were familiar with me. I was…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:44:55)
From Anomalies To Financial Advantage | Matthias Steinberg, CFO, MindBridge
A Finance Strategic Moment Seeing poor collaboration with shared‑service finance teams, Steinberg realized relational capital drives strategic finance. He set up an office at the remote site, spent two days weekly with tax, accounting and compliance leads, listening and co‑solving issues. The strengthened partnerships lifted quality and helped to ready IONOS for a smooth IPO. Now […]
1103: Turning Anomalies into Advantage | Matthias Steinberg, CFO, MindBridge
When Matthias Steinberg entered the CFO office at MindBridge in 2022, the audit files displayed on his laptop were already being processed by the company’s own AI. KPMG, he adds, was using the same platform to automate journal‑entry testing—work “traditionally done manual.” That shift marked “a big step toward continuous audit,” Steinberg tells us. CFOTL: Tell us…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:58:26)
1099: Turning Back‑of‑House Data into Front‑of‑House Wins | Emma Whelan, CFO, MarginEdge
When a restaurant’s weekly salmon order suddenly spikes in price, Emma Whelan wants chefs adjusting menus the next morning—not tallying losses a month later. “The system will alert them if the price of salmon (has) gone up unexpectedly,” she tells us, describing MarginEdge’s real‑time cost engine. It is a small but telling vignette from Whelan’s first…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:53:33)
Debt Down, Opportunity Curve Upward | Jerome Upton, CFO, Genworth Financial
A Finance Strategic Moment Facing a liquidity crunch, Upton convened a cross‑functional team, ran downside‑focused scenario models on every business, and pinpointed one unit for divestiture. A swift minority IPO abroad raised capital at a premium valuation, cut leverage, strengthened Genworth’s balance sheet—and put Upton’s strategic acumen squarely on the CEO’s radar. Now Watch our […]
1090: Broadening the Field: Turning Risk into Reach | Jerome Upton, CFO, Genworth
Jerome Upton still remembers the silence that descends just before a game begins. As captain of a college team, he’d scan the huddle, gauge nerves, and ask, “What does winning look like today?” “That’s where I learned the power of shared goals,” Upton tells us. Years later, the Genworth Financial CFO opens staff meetings similarly—then gives…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:46:32)
1,031: Unlocking Operational Scale in Health Insurance Through AI and Data | Scott Blackley, CFO, Oscar Health
When Scott Blackley was asked in kindergarten what he wanted to be when he grew up, his answer was surprisingly clear: "I want to be an auditor." This early ambition was no coincidence; his father was a partner at KPMG, and young Blackley grew up around the firm’s offices, imagining himself one day sitting at…
Listen to the Episode Below (0:48:05)
900: A Dose of Professional Fulfillment | Alison Staloch, CFO, Fundrise
While chief accountant for the SEC’s investment management division, Alison Staloch reports, she found herself being greeted by a degree of inclusive enthusiasm that she had seldom encountered before. “People would say, ‘Great, the accountants are here!,’” recalls Staloch, who tells us that accountants at divisional meetings were sometimes sparse in comparison to the number…
Listen to the Episode Below (00:43:11)