Why Working Harder Won’t Get You to CFO
GrowCFO highlights a common frustration with generic career advice that encourages aspiring CFOs to “shift their time allocation and just be more strategic.” Knowing you
The latest from the blog
How should finance teams be trained on AI?
How should finance teams be trained on AI to drive real business value?Finance and AI training should be practical, role-specific, andembedded into day-to-day workflows rather
Why Most Finance Leaders Stall Before CFO
Finance often gets labeled as a blocker, but the best leaders shift this perception by becoming the bridge that turns friction into forward motion. Discover how to improve cross-functional collaboration, enhance trust, and increase strategic influence in your organization with these practical steps. Join the Future CFO Preview Event for actionable frameworks and leadership tools to transform your role.
The GrowCFO Show
#279 Is AI Making CFOs Less Strategic? Susana Serrano-Davey, GrowCFO Mentor
In episode 279, Kevin Appleby and GrowCFO mentor Susana Serrano‑Davey explore a critical question for modern finance leaders: whether the...
Guides
Contribute More Towards Strategy: The Essential Guide for Finance Leaders
Contributing towards strategy is one of the most important roles of a finance leader. This involves looking at the long-term goals of an organization and understanding how those goals can be achieved through financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, and other analytical methods. As a finance leader, you have the power to shape the direction of your organization by providing valuable insights that help inform strategic decisions across both financial and non-financial aspects. In this guide, you will learn how to deliver this responsibility effectively to differentiate yourself as an impactful value-enhancing CFO, rather than a back office finance leader.
How Can CFOs Make a Bigger Impact in Board Meetings?
A finance leader has two key objectives during a board meeting: to deliver a compelling CFO board report and to make an impactful contribution to the wider business conversation. But with so many voices in the room, it can be difficult to stand out from the crowd, especially when you don’t have much experience as a leader. Board meetings provide the ultimate opportunity for finance leaders to make their mark, and it’s important that these meetings are leveraged for maximum impact. In this essential guide, you will learn the secrets that successful finance leaders use to maximize their presence at board meetings, how to prepare efficiently, and how to communicate effectively with other board members.
Research
AI Native and Agentic Solutions
Many fast-growing businesses reach a point where Xero or QuickBooks can no longer keep up. As finance operations expand, manual workarounds, disconnected data, and slow reporting cycles start holding teams back. This GrowCFO Innovation Report explores how CFOs can scale beyond entry-level systems using automation, AI, and mid-market platforms like AccountsIQ, Sage Intacct, and NetSuite to achieve faster closes, greater visibility, and smarter financial control.
Beyond Xero and QuickBooks: Scaling Your Finance Systems for Growth and Faster Close
Many fast-growing businesses reach a point where Xero or QuickBooks can no longer keep up. As finance operations expand, manual workarounds, disconnected data, and slow reporting cycles start holding teams back. This GrowCFO Innovation Report explores how CFOs can scale beyond entry-level systems using automation, AI, and mid-market platforms like AccountsIQ, Sage Intacct, and NetSuite to achieve faster closes, greater visibility, and smarter financial control.
Predictions
The Impact of Tough Market Conditions on Businesses and Their Finance Teams
The current market conditions are putting a lot of pressure on businesses. Inflation is causing prices to rise, interest rates are increasing, the economy is in a downturn, and salaries are growing. This is making it difficult for businesses to maintain profitability, and finance teams are having to work harder than ever to keep things afloat.
Why Finance Leaders Need to Spend More Time on Non-Finance Activities
The role of the CFO is rapidly evolving and now requires huge focus on value creation and other impactful activities. Finance leaders are increasingly spending more time on non-finance tasks, and are contributing more towards strategy, acting as a catalyst for change and delivering the business plan.
The Right Team: Why Finance Leaders Must Focus on People
It is no secret that the finance sector is under a lot of pressure. With the global economy in a challenging state, it is more important than ever for leaders in this field to have a strong team in place. However, many finance leaders struggle to find and keep the right people on their team. This can be due to many factors, including lack of motivation, high stress levels and long working hours.
Industry Insights
What Are the Most Valuable LinkedIn Posts for Finance Leaders?
Here are 10 essential LInkedIn posts for finance leaders, which will save you lots of time and help in your role as an existing or aspiring CFO.
Explore Our Finance Team Training Courses
Operational Excellence
Benefit from streamlined best-in-class automated processes leveraging integrated cutting-edge technology, overseen by a team of highly-skilled experienced experts.
Ideal for: Empowering and enabling each team member to develop the mindset, skills, and proactivity to optimize their activities.
EXPLORE OPERATIONAL EXCELLENCE
Leadership Progression
Imagine a fully engaged and motivated team with a high-performance culture, low staff turnover, and focus on growing the next generation of leaders from within.
Ideal for: Teams that need help with developing fantastic people leaders, nurturing top talent, and retaining staff.
EXPLORE LEADERSHIP PROGRESSION
Skills Development
Develop a finance team famous for delivering real-time AI-driven data insights, ongoing strategic decision-support, and shareholder value enhancement.
Ideal for: Upskilling teams to become highly valued business partners and strategic contributors across the organization.
EXPLORE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
