Mailbag | CFO Secrets

Mailbag

Nov 3, 2026

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9 min read

📬 Fixing finance... when it ain’t broke

And when accounting rewards the wrong behavior

Mailbag

Oct 27, 2026

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8 min read

📬 The difficult salary conversation...

And how to thrive under new PE ownership

Mailbag

📬 Nice AI dashboard... where’s the payback?

Oct 20, 2026

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9 min read

📬 Nice AI dashboard... where’s the payback?

And four accountants on one ExCo is (at least) three too many

Mailbag

Oct 13, 2026

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10 min read

📬 When blanket cuts destroy value

And why your margin % is lying to you...

Mailbag

Oct 6, 2026

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7 min read

📬 Exponential growth in a 3% market...

Plus, a Premier League CFO with 115 problems.

Mailbag

Sep 29, 2026

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8 min read

📬 Too good for your own PE fund?

And why I didn't become CEO...

Mailbag

Sep 22, 2026

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10 min read

📬 CEO with a secret salary...

And how much you should *actually* spend on cyber security.

Mailbag

Sep 15, 2026

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10 min read

📬 The other F-word (fraud)

And how much you should crap should you put up with while waiting for a payout

Mailbag

📬 Your AI product has a fake mustache...

Sep 8, 2026

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9 min read

📬 Your AI product has a fake mustache...

And how to govern a standard cost properly.

Career Management

Sep 1, 2026

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9 min read

📬 Mom and dad fight sometimes...

Plus, what to do when a title gets walked back.

Mailbag

Aug 25, 2026

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9 min read

📬 The 3am cash flow stare

And what to do when your CEO calls your numbers ‘fake’

Mailbag

Aug 18, 2026

•

9 min read

📬 Nobody bid... but whose fault is it?

Plus: what to do about a CFO who fiddles the numbers

Mailbag

Aug 11, 2026

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8 min read

📬 Quiet quitting (but you're the CFO?!)

And how to grab that bag on the way out...

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

•

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

📬 Fixing finance... when it ain’t broke

📬 The difficult salary conversation...

📬 Nice AI dashboard... where’s the payback?

📬 When blanket cuts destroy value

📬 Exponential growth in a 3% market...

📬 Too good for your own PE fund?

📬 CEO with a secret salary...

📬 The other F-word (fraud)

📬 Your AI product has a fake mustache...

📬 Mom and dad fight sometimes...

📬 The 3am cash flow stare

📬 Nobody bid... but whose fault is it?

📬 Quiet quitting (but you're the CFO?!)

📬 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

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