🦸 The Secret CFO Origin Story

And 13 tweets you can learn from

A word
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Origin story

Starting this newsletter is, without question, one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

I get enormous satisfaction from writing it. And the process forces me to clarify my thinking, which is making me a better CFO.

35,000 CFOs and senior finance pros now read every week, which blows my mind.

But it didn’t start with a newsletter.

It started three summers ago on Twitter. By then I had been a Twitter user for well over a decade. And had noticed more and more good quality business content in my feed.

Not news, not editorial pieces, just smart people sharing their thoughts about business online.

And I thought, “I could do this.” I had been p*ssed off at the lack of good quality content aimed at CFOs and senior finance pros. Just endless ‘white papers’, webinars, and presentations written by people who had been near the CFO job, but never actually done it.

Nothing I would ever actually read.

I felt I had a point of view, and would like to share it. I decided I wanted to share anonymously, as it would allow me to be more candid and interesting.

I downloaded an iOS app called ‘Bitface’ to create an early 90s style video game avatar. And, in July 2021, The Secret CFO was born.

I was on a family vacation at the time (where I have all my best ideas) and planned out a couple of weeks worth of tweets.

Before I posted one, one of my children asked to play catch. And I got distracted.

Long story short… I almost immediately forgot about the idea. 13 months passed until August ‘22, when I was on vacation again with my family.

On August 13th 2022, I was in a long line at an amusement park with my family. I started doing what I always did when I was bored: doom-scrolling on Twitter.

Out of ideas, I suddenly remembered I had set up The Secret CFO account a year earlier, and logged in. I had 3 followers (all bots).

Instead of planning any tweets, this time I just posted based on the first thing I saw:

First Ever Secret CFO Post

A flurry of posts followed, including a couple of tweet threads about earnings calls, M&A, and EBITDA. I assumed no one would read them. I was the only person who really cared about this stuff, right?

Well... by the end of that family vacation, I had over 20,000 Twitter followers and had been contacted by hundreds of interesting people.

Before September was over a major book publisher had reached out to discuss a book deal. Before you ask… no not yet, but definitely one day.

By now, this thing had become a snowball that I couldn’t have stopped even if I wanted to. Fortunately, I didn’t want to. I was having the time of my life. It became my favorite hobby. I found time to write while traveling. (and started played a bit less PS5 on my weekend).

By Christmas of 2022, I had 60,000 Twitter followers and hundreds of messages per week. Most asking the same question: “Where can I get more?”

I figured I could add much more value in a long form post format… and this newsletter was born in January 2023.

LAST CALL: Find out how your comp stacks up

We’re in the final stages of data collection for the first-ever Secret CFO Compensation Survey. We have already had 2,000+ responses. And it’s not too late to have your say.

Deep Dive

Today’s special edition is all about cutting through the bullsh*t and finding value in social media.

Social Currency

One question I get asked a lot… why Twitter? Why not LinkedIn?

Both platforms have their merits and drawbacks, of course. But the best content on Twitter is far better than the best content on LinkedIn. Sure, it’s buried amongst sports results, silly memes, and unwelcome political opinions.

But the best content there is smart, funny, and original.

Here are 13 posts on Twitter that are as good as anything you’ll learn in your MBA:

1) Andrew Lynch is a smart young finance professional with a huge future. He’s also a pioneer in sharing his finance thinking online. My favorite post is his ‘what’, ‘so what’, ‘now what’ framework.

I have heard different frameworks for turning analysis, into insight, into action in the past. But this is the best one I’ve seen. I immediately stole it and started using it in my day job.

2) My favorite posts on Twitter are the long threads that go DEEP. The very best at this is 10-K Diver. It was a huge inspiration for my original Twitter thread formats. In this post, they break down a flaw in the ROE calculation beautifully. Sadly, 10-K Diver dropped off the map 18 months ago. But the archive is well worth an afternoon of your time.

3) Soren Iverson posts a new tongue-in-cheek technology product idea daily. Normally poking fun at corporate culture.

This is my favorite. A fining system for late attendees to virtual meetings. I’d definitely like to roll this out at my company …

4) It’s hard to find great turnaround case studies. Not because they don’t exist, but because they are hard to share. They are full of sensitivities. Oftentimes creditors and/or shareholders have been compromised. And, the unfortunate reality is that normally there are job losses.

That’s what makes this post from Jeff Sands special. It’s a real life case study, sharing numbers candidly, and full of rich takeaways.

Jeff is a turnaround specialist. And has written a great book on the subject.

5) We are all wondering what the hell AI means for finance. Is it just a hype cycle laid on top of software evolution? Or is it a revolution that is going to boot 50% of us out of a job in the next 3 years?

I have no idea. It’s hard to stay up-to-date on the latest developments. But Ashley the CPA is right at the cutting edge of Microsoft Copilot and how it can be used.

PS - I have some special content on AI coming after the summer, so keep your eyes peeled.

6) Great execution in a PE deal is hard, but the thesis for value creation is simple. This post by Padraic McConville sets it out beautifully.

7) Did you know you can get access to some of the most important pitch decks in history on Twitter? It’s a great way to see how some of the biggest businesses in the world are telling their story to investors. Check out this pitch deck from the center of the FTX/Sam Bankman Fried fraud.

8) Carried No Interest is one of my favorite Twitter follows. From the perspective of an in-house data scientist at a PE firm, they tell the stories of some of the most successful private equity deals in history. I love the stories. And I love the passion that comes through in the writing.

9) In any M&A, refi, or recapitalization the ‘sources and uses of funds’ analysis is the critical document that makes crystal clear what money is being raised and how it is going to be used. This is a great primer on how it works.

10) Bucco Capital is another personal favorite. Funny, razor-sharp commentary on business affairs. This breakdown of a Spotify layoff email is a lesson in business communication and leadership.

11) A frequent question I get from people looking to get into entrepreneurship through acquisition (ETA) is “How do I find a business to buy?”

I don’t find this to be a good question (sorry!). It’s like asking ‘How do I start a business?’ Finding the business IS the business if you are into ETA. That’s what you have to figure out. If it were easy, or something you can template, it wouldn’t be an opportunity. But … here is a post to help you get started.

12) My guilty pleasure. I could lose hours reading internal emails from big tech founders. They offer fascinating insight into how they work behind the scenes, for better or worse.

This Twitter account publishes internal tech emails that have been made public by court records. And in doing so captures important pieces of business history. I love this one between Steve Jobs and Jony Ive brainstorming the first iPhone design.

13) Bond math is the sort of thing you don’t need to know as a CFO. Until you do. I got caught by this. I had studied bond math back in business school. Then didn’t use it at all for the next 15 years in my career. Until I took a new CFO role and inherited a short-duration bond trading below par. Suddenly I needed to know this stuff again.

If only this post had been available at the time.

14) And finally, it would be wrong if I didn’t include one of my own. My favorite Twitter threads to write were those that were a mix of silly and educational. This is my personal favorite (one for fans of HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm).

Beyond Twitter, you will be seeing much more of me on LinkedIn in the near future. There is very little content for real finance leaders over there. Too many cheat sheets, and not enough practical experience.

If you want something different on your LinkedIn feed click here and hit follow.

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Office

AW from NYC asked:

I'm currently the Director of FP&A for a $250M independent subsidiary of a publicly held company. Our Controller is leaving in a few weeks, and I've been asked to step in as interim Controller to bridge the gap until a replacement is identified.

I don't personally find the Controller role particularly exciting from a subject matter perspective but understand how critical the position is and view this as a unique opportunity to fill out some more horizontal experience on my T-shaped skill graph.

Any tips for someone with little technical accounting experience to excel, provide value, and gain the most from being in this unique position as I work towards a long-term goal of CFO?

Thanks for the question AW. Sounds like a great opportunity. Even if you are building your skill stack around your FP&A skills, there is a minimum level of capability you need in a number of areas to become a viable CFO.

Controlling is one of those areas. I believe it's harder to be a top-class, versatile CFO, without at least some hands-on controlling experience. So getting some experience here can only be a good thing.

So, to ‘fill out your T’ in a relatively safe environment, in a company you know, is a great opportunity. And as an interim role, it has a well-defined endpoint if it doesn’t work.

One question I would have is the caliber of the financial accounting and reporting function underneath the outgoing controller. You will be dependent on them if you do not have a controlling background. Probably more dependent than your predecessor.

You also need to make sure your seniors understand what you will and will not bring to the role, and where you need help. Manage their expectations.

If the function is strong, then the opportunity you have is to bring more of a ‘business facing’ edge to the way you approach controllership. Done right, this could leave a positive legacy effect on the team and help them better understand the business, and how they support it.

Even if it’s just helping them understand the business a little better. I’ve seen this have positive impacts on financial accounting teams in the past.

Sounds like you have little to lose by rolling the dice here. Best of luck.

If you would like to submit a question, please fill out this form.

Footnotes

And Finally

Next week we start a new series on unit economics.

If you enjoyed today’s content, don’t forget to check out this week’s sponsor Leapfin.

Stay crispy,

The Secret CFO

Disclaimer: I am not your accountant, investment advisor, tax advisor, lawyer, CFO, director, or friend. Well, maybe I’m your friend, but I am not any of those other things. Everything I publish represents my opinions only, not advice. And certainly is not investment advice. Running the finances for a company is serious business, and you should take the proper advice you need.

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