Russ Keefe had never worked at a cybersecurity firm before he became CFO of Corelight in 2017. To prepare, he read “a bunch of books” on the history of the industry, which helped him understand the business more deeply — something Russ believes is essential for finance leaders.

Russ learned about non-finance roles first-hand when he was given the opportunity to work in sales ops. This experience made him appreciate that financial calculations should be collaborative. 

It’s not just Russ who’s started to think about finance roles as more than just a numbers game. 

Today, the brightest finance graduates expect to exercise some entrepreneurial muscle. This puts pressure on the finance leaders who want to hire them, to create a role that allows for input into the business.

On this episode of The CFO Playbook, Russ explains why he believes transparency is key, his collaborative approach to budgets, and who the finance team's customers are (they’re nearer than you might think.)

Connect with Russ on LinkedIn.

Connect with our host Ross on LinkedIn.

If you want a better way to track and control your team’s spend, check out Soldo.com.

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