Mailbag | CFO Secrets

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Teams & Hiring

📬 Come together: To centralize FP&A (or not)?

Aug 4, 2026

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8 min read

📬 Come together: To centralize FP&A (or not)?

And when benchmarking is useful, and when it's hopeless

Mailbag

📬 Self Dealing: When founders pay themselves too much

Jul 28, 2026

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9 min read

📬 Self Dealing: When founders pay themselves too much

And separating costing from pricing...

Mailbag

📬 Eton mess: When your CEO can't cashflow...

Jul 21, 2026

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10 min read

📬 Eton mess: When your CEO can't cashflow...

And what to do when your PE sponsor's forecast is a work of fiction

Mailbag

🃏 Cashing out: The career risk of stepping back as CFO

Jul 14, 2026

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8 min read

🃏 Cashing out: The career risk of stepping back as CFO

Plus, why R&D is more poker and less chess.

Mailbag

📬 Margin cosplay: Who's touching your BOMs?

Jul 7, 2026

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9 min read

📬 Margin cosplay: Who's touching your BOMs?

And what to do when your controller quits before you start

Mailbag

📬 Solid ground: Hiring a CFO to build the machine

Jun 30, 2026

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9 min read

📬 Solid ground: Hiring a CFO to build the machine

And what to do when your CEO doesn't trust you

Mailbag

📬 False Financialization: How to stop fake news infecting your decisions

Jun 23, 2026

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9 min read

📬 False Financialization: How to stop fake news infecting your decisions

How to use AI to write slop-free memos

Mailbag

📬 Jumping ship: Explaining why you left a bad PE sponsor

Jun 16, 2026

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9 min read

📬 Jumping ship: Explaining why you left a bad PE sponsor

And teaching your CEO to think like a CFO.

Mailbag

📬 Bootstrapping: Grow fast, pay yourself, or sleep well?

Jun 9, 2026

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9 min read

📬 Bootstrapping: Grow fast, pay yourself, or sleep well?

And is micro-PE as fun as it sounds?

Mailbag

📬 Ready fire aim: kickstarting finance transformation

Jun 2, 2026

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9 min read

📬 Ready fire aim: kickstarting finance transformation

And how to talk about bad numbers...

Career Management

📬 Gone in sixty seconds: Speed-reading financial statements

May 26, 2026

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9 min read

📬 Gone in sixty seconds: Speed-reading financial statements

And dealing with controlling founders...

Mailbag

📬 Too big to fail: How to manage increasing responsibilities as CFO

May 19, 2026

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7 min read

📬 Too big to fail: How to manage increasing responsibilities as CFO

And how to let future employers know why you're leaving a bad job

Mailbag

📬 Work of art: Designing working capital for growth

May 12, 2026

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8 min read

📬 Work of art: Designing working capital for growth

And how to get friendly with your board

Mailbag

📬 Equal pay: Getting global comp policies right

May 5, 2026

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7 min read

📬 Equal pay: Getting global comp policies right

And reading the news like the Secret CFO

Mailbag

📬 Building blocks: The future tech stack

Apr 28, 2026

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9 min read

📬 Building blocks: The future tech stack

And using the internet to grow your career, Secret CFO-style

Mailbag

📬 Running on empty: What to do when burnout catches up with you

Apr 21, 2026

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11 min read

📬 Running on empty: What to do when burnout catches up with you

And putting storytelling tactics into action

Mailbag

📬 First steps: Folding-in AI without breaking what works

Apr 14, 2026

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19 min read

📬 First steps: Folding-in AI without breaking what works

And can wartime and peacetime leaders coexist?

Career Management

📬 Sticker shock: Repricing without blowing customer relationships

Apr 7, 2026

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17 min read

📬 Sticker shock: Repricing without blowing customer relationships

And what to do when your CEO breaks a promise

Mailbag

📬 CEO or CFO: Who's responsible for startup fundraising?

Mar 31, 2026

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17 min read

📬 CEO or CFO: Who's responsible for startup fundraising?

And how to manage budget transparency

Mailbag

📬 Feeling anxious: is it time to refinance your debt?

Mar 24, 2026

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18 min read

📬 Feeling anxious: is it time to refinance your debt?

And sticking it out vs abandoning ship in a struggling business

Career Management

Mar 17, 2026

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18 min read

📬 Balance of power: weighing centralized vs. decentralized finance functions

And how to deal with a CEO hellbent on paying themself first

Mailbag

📬 Treading water: How tech CFOs can survive the AI squeeze

Mar 10, 2026

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16 min read

📬 Treading water: How tech CFOs can survive the AI squeeze

And protecting your sweat equity

The Board Room

📬 Tone at the top: Dealing with a CEO who fiddles their expenses

Mar 3, 2026

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18 min read

📬 Tone at the top: Dealing with a CEO who fiddles their expenses

And how to move beyond the "nice but s**t" coworker

Treasury

📬 Marginal Impact: Contribution Margin vs. Absorption Costs

Feb 17, 2026

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18 min read

📬 Marginal Impact: Contribution Margin vs. Absorption Costs

And making the most of FX strategy

Career Management

📬 One Helluva Drug: The Invoice Financing Trap

Feb 10, 2026

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15 min read

📬 One Helluva Drug: The Invoice Financing Trap

And what SMB CFOs can learn from PE

📬 Come together: To centralize FP&A (or not)?

📬 Self Dealing: When founders pay themselves too much

📬 Eton mess: When your CEO can't cashflow...

🃏 Cashing out: The career risk of stepping back as CFO

📬 Margin cosplay: Who's touching your BOMs?

📬 Solid ground: Hiring a CFO to build the machine

📬 False Financialization: How to stop fake news infecting your decisions

📬 Jumping ship: Explaining why you left a bad PE sponsor

📬 Bootstrapping: Grow fast, pay yourself, or sleep well?

📬 Ready fire aim: kickstarting finance transformation

📬 Gone in sixty seconds: Speed-reading financial statements

📬 Too big to fail: How to manage increasing responsibilities as CFO

📬 Work of art: Designing working capital for growth

📬 Equal pay: Getting global comp policies right

📬 Building blocks: The future tech stack

📬 Running on empty: What to do when burnout catches up with you

📬 First steps: Folding-in AI without breaking what works

📬 Sticker shock: Repricing without blowing customer relationships

📬 CEO or CFO: Who's responsible for startup fundraising?

📬 Feeling anxious: is it time to refinance your debt?

📬 Balance of power: weighing centralized vs. decentralized finance functions

📬 Treading water: How tech CFOs can survive the AI squeeze

📬 Tone at the top: Dealing with a CEO who fiddles their expenses

📬 Marginal Impact: Contribution Margin vs. Absorption Costs

📬 One Helluva Drug: The Invoice Financing Trap

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