Chris Sands’ defining moment came when he realized success as CFO depended less on accounting or FP&A expertise and more on influencing the organization. He restructured his team to gain leverage, freeing time to build relationships and drive cross-functional change. By prioritizing collaboration and clarity over control, he amplified finance’s strategic voice across the organization—a focus that, as he explains, has become even more essential in the AI era.
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Now Watch the Complete Interview featuring CFO Chris Sands of InvoiceCloud
InvoiceCloud CFO Chris Sands frames finance as influence, not mere expertise. He explains InvoiceCloud’s EBPP platform, where success means customers moving from paper invoices and mailed checks to digital. Near-term growth combines expansion within utilities and insurance with upmarket moves and adjacent verticals. Sands built a Strategic Finance lane for special projects and AI. Rather than chasing tools, he formed an AI Ops team—an internal partner that helps functions turn use cases into value. Finance applies a discerning lens to AI ROI and payment-mix economics, grounding growth expectations while accelerating adoption. The aim: systems that scale behavior change, not buzzwords.
| CFO’s Strategy Playbook |
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| • Influence over expertise drives finance impact |
| • Measure success by real digital adoption |
| • Structure AI with ROI-first, cross-functional partnership |