CFO PROGRAM

FOR FINANCE LEADERS

Aspiring CFO? See the 

Download the CFO Program Course Brochure:

CFO Program Overview

The CFO Program is an extensive, interactive course designed to cover the ever-changing role of the CFO and focus on creating even more value across your business.

The program teaches you how to:
  • Effectively challenge and influence business strategy
  • Become a critical voice and catalyst for change
  • Allow time for clear thinking to drive key decision-making
  • Deliver greater data-driven insights to impact outcomes
  • Embed finance across the business
Each module in the program is followed by a discussion with peers, providing a platform for engaging and useful sharing of unique perspectives and collaborative learning. The guidance and support from the course leaders offer invaluable insights and real-world examples that enhance the learning experience.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of the CFO Program, you will be equipped to transform your finance team into a value-driven business function. You will become a strategic partner, providing data-driven insights to influence key decisions, and an inspirational leader, ready to support your CEO and Board while upholding your core values.

The next Cohort starts on:

Thursday 23rd Jan 2025

3:30 pm GMT / 10:30 am EST / 4:30 pm CET

Thursday 29th May 2025

3:30 pm GMT / 10:30 am EST / 4:30 pm CET

The CFO Program offers the following activities
during a 12-month period:

Live Training

On-Demand Bonus Material

1. Competency Framework: Rank yourself against the 45 CFO skills within The GrowCFO Competency Framework.

2. CFO Program On-demand Video Course: Complete the nine CFO Program online modules. 

3. Competency Workshops: Access on-demand workshops to address your biggest skills gaps.

4. Competency Modules: Complete a selection of 45 online courses to address priority areas identified in your Competency Framework.

5.  Simulators: Access a comprehensive suite of dynamic simulators crafted to empower yourself  at every stage of the business life cycle. 

6. Learning Plan: Document your quarterly progress against your GrowCFO learning plan for at least 12 months.

Graduating participants will receive a signed GrowCFO certificate to showcase within your CV and LinkedIn profile. This clearly demonstrates your commitment towards developing your skills and growing your network, making you a successful CFO.

The Benefits of a Cohort Group

CFO course live online workshop

Peer Learning: Participating in a cohort group allows finance leaders to learn from and interact with their peers, who may have different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. This collaborative learning environment fosters a sense of community that enables participants to expand their knowledge and skills in a supportive and engaging setting.

Networking: The cohort group environment provides finance leaders with an opportunity to network and build relationships with other professionals who share similar career goals and aspirations. These connections can be valuable in terms of knowledge-sharing, job referrals, and future collaborations.

Enhanced Accountability: Being part of a cohort group also enhances accountability for finance leaders. The group provides a level of support and motivation to help participants stay on track with their development goals and commitments. Peer accountability can also be an effective way to ensure that participants are making progress towards their career objectives.

1:1 Professional Mentoring

The CFO Program includes 1:1 mentoring. We will work with you to create a tailored CFO mentoring program.

Decide on your priorities for discussion

Agree on what you want to achieve from each session.

Progress on your action plan

Start your sessions and move forward on your goals.

Structure your sessions

Choose the best format for you. We recommend 60 or 90 minute sessions once a month.

How will I benefit from regular CFO mentoring sessions with an experienced CFO?

Knowledge and Experience

We will maximize the value you deliver to your business and help you overcome the key challenges within your role. We bring to you our wealth of financial, strategic and life experience to make your life easier.

Accelerated Development

We will motivate you to identify and deliver your career development plan, holding you accountable for your actions. We will help you to explore your mindset, to achieve your potential using proven tools and techniques to support this process.

Independent Support

We provide an independent point of contact and listen actively and objectively to enable you to talk through sensitive matters in private. We will act as a sounding board, and provide someone to think through problems, issues and challenges.

Meet the CFO Program Mentors

Each program cohort group is delivered by our experienced CFOs and professional mentors:

Catherine Clark

GrowCFO UK & Europe Lead Mentor | Experienced CFO | Executive Coach

Oliver Deacon

Former Microsoft FD | Coach | Mentor

Ian Simpkin

Fractional CFO | Portfolio FD | Mentor

Ashley Vukovits

CFO | Executive Mentor

Susana Serrano-Davey

Experienced CFO | Executive Coach & Mentor

Paul McKoen

Experienced CFO | Finance Director | Advisor | Coach & Mentor

Helene Brichet Herbinet

CFO I Strategic & Change Leader I Executive Coach & Mentor

Three Key Areas: Our Tailored Approach to Propel You Towards CFO Success

Catalyst for Change

You will transform your team into an essential business function that creates value and transforms operations.

Strategic Business Partner

You will deliver data-driven strategic insights to challenge the Board, influence strategy and drive key decision-making.

Inspirational Leader

You will develop into an externally-facing leader, a vital Board member and become the co-pilot to your CEO.

Join one of our online preview events to learn more about this exciting program

Modules Overview

Our nine modules, plus mentoring and peer group support will help transform you from a back office function leader into the co-pilot to your CEO.

Module
01

Embed finance across the company

During this Module, participants will learn to build a financial culture that aligns your employees with the financial objectives of your company; implement policies, procedures and controls across the business; and capture the appropriate data to analyse performance drivers. This will help to transform your finance team from being regarded as a back office function to being seen as an essential business function.

Fields of Study: 
Finance 1 CPE Credit (1 CPD Hour)
Management Services 1 CPE Credit (1 CPD Hour)

Module
02

Identify profit and cash initiatives

Within Module 2, participants will learn to build up strong relationships across the business; identify cost drivers and determine opportunities to create value. These will support a range of activities including embedding cost reduction initiatives, optimising cash flows and driving business transformation. This Module will help your finance team to change from being regarded as a results provider to being seen as a business value creator.

Fields of Study:
Finance 1 CPE Credit (1 CPD Hour)
Management Services 1 CPE Credit (1 CPD Hour)

Module
03

Oversee and drive business change

During this Module, participants will learn to oversee business operations outside of your finance function, drive efficiencies across your organisation and implement change management initiatives including finance transformations. This will support the alignment of financial and commercial strategies. This Module will help to transform you from being seen as an internal contributor to becoming an operational transformer.

Field of Study: 
Management Services 2 CPE Credits (2 CPD Hours)

Module
04

Deliver data-driven strategic insights

Within Module 4, participants will understand how to create relevant insights from data, how to quantify the impact of different scenarios and how to write high quality board papers. This will allow you to communicate your analysis effectively, tell the financial story and determine the questions to be answered at Board level. This Module will help to transform you from a transactions processor into a forward-looking innovator.

Field of Study: 
Management Services 2 CPE Credits (2 CPD Hours)

Module
05

Challenge your Board and influence strategy

During this Module, participants will learn how to challenge your Board during difficult conversations, deal with Board room dynamics and conflicts of interest, plus provide your unique financial and risk management perspective. You will also learn how to influence strategy by identifying significant business opportunities and determining funding options. This will help to transform you into a Strategic Business Partner.

Field of Study: 
Management Services 2 CPE Credits (2 CPD Hours)

 

Module
06

Drive key decision-making

Within Module 6, participants will learn how to build trusted relationships across your business, provide the necessary information to help people make decisions and generate strong evidence to support your opinions. You will also learn strategies for chasing people to make decisions. This Module will help you to transform from somebody with a unique financial perspective into a truly valued Strategic Business Partner.

Field of Study: 
Management Services 2 CPE Credits (2 CPD Hours)

Module
07

Represent your business externally

During this Module, participants will learn how to improve your gravitas, present your story effectively and generate confidence towards your business. This will help you with a range of external responsibilities including fundraising, investor relations, customer and supplier negotiations, dealing with authorities and becoming a leading voice in your marketplace. Participants will transform a department head into an external-facing leader.

Fields of Study: 
Management Services 1 CPE Credit (1 CPD Hour)
Communications and Marketing 1 CPE Credit (1 CPD Hour)

Module
08

Become a critical and influential voice

Within Module 8, participants will learn how to provide support to your colleagues, build strong relationships with each board member and impress your executives or NEDs during challenges situations. This will help to elevate your personal brand, add value during your Board interactions and consistently produce high quality output. This Module will support you towards becoming a vital board member.

Field of Study: 
Personal Development 2 CPE Credits (2 CPD Hours)

Module
09

Create value across the business

During this Module, participants will learn how to build a strong working relationship with your CEO, determine your complementary skill sets and work out the best way to support one another. You will also learn how to communicate effectively to your workforce and deliver the business plan across your organisation. This will help make you the first person that people will turn to for support and to become the co-pilot to your CEO.

Field of Study: 
Management Services 2 CPE Credits (2 CPD Hours)

Cohort Workshop 1

Mentoring and peer group support

Fields of Study:
Management Services 1 CPE Credit (1 CPD Hour)
Personal Development 1 CPE Credit (1 CPD Hour)

Cohort Workshop 2

Mentoring and peer group support

Fields of Study:
Management Services 1 CPE Credit (1 CPD Hour)
Personal Development 1 CPE Credit (1 CPD Hour)

Join a CFO Program Preview Event

Find out more about the CFO Program in one of our upcoming informational sessions.

Testimonials

CFO Program Members Share Their Success Stories and Insights!

CFO Cohort & Payment Options

Choose a
payment option

Choose which Cohort
you want to join

The next Cohort starts on:

Thursday 21st Nov 2024
3:30 pm GMT / 10:30 am EST / 4:30 pm CET
Thursday 29th May 2025
3:30 pm GMT / 10:30 am EST / 4:30 pm CET
Need to change the currency? Select your location:
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Frequently Asked Questions

All program payments must be made directly to GrowCFO through our company website growcfo.net/cfo-programme or through GrowCFO company invoices. GrowCFO accepts no liability for any payments made to any other parties, including regional leaders and program facilitators.

While attending live sessions is recommended for optimal training experience, we understand that sometimes unexpected situations may arise. If you are unable to attend a live session, a recording of the session will be made available to you wherever possible upon request.

The live online workshops run approximately every three weeks lasting two hours each. The program is designed to fit alongside your full-time finance leader role and there is typically no preparatory work required for each session.

At GrowCFO, we pride ourselves on building strong and supportive cohorts for each intake. Once a participant has committed to a cohort, we do not offer a refund. This ensures the consistency of people within each cohort group so that each participant benefits from a strong community of like-minded individuals who will serve as a valuable support network throughout the training journey.
There is no expected knowledge or preparation in advance of the program, although most people find it beneficial to register for a Preview Event in advance, (this is not compulsory). There is a bonus one-hour introductory group session prior to the Module 1 workshop for people to meet the program delivery team and start building relationships with their cohort group members.

Need more information about the CFO Program?
Download a brochure