GrowCFO Show

By Kevin ApplebyBusiness Investing Careers Management

GrowCFO Show episodes

October 13#305 What CFOs Need to Know Before Scaling AI Bruce Mullan Managing Partner, AI Governance Partners
 
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6kI5GE0gJB2IBBoEGtAWJm
As organizations scale AI, CFOs must balance faster, more efficient finance operations with cost control, reliable decision-making, data protection, and accountability. In this episode, the discussion frames AI governance not simply as a compliance checkpoint, but as a performance system—one that can help organizations adopt AI with confidence while supporting business value and innovation.
Bruce Mullan, Managing Partner, AI Governance Partners describes how AI adoption in finance can progress from administrative assistance, to process automation, and eventually to automated decisions. Using invoice processing as an example, he explains how governance can be matched to risk: straightforward use cases can receive lighter review, while higher-risk applications warrant more scrutiny. He also emphasizes evaluating whether AI is the right solution in the first place.
For CFOs, scaling AI also means understanding where employees are already using it, choosing tools appropriate to the task, protecting confidential information, and weighing the cost of AI against its value. The conversation highlights AI literacy, human oversight, and post-launch feedback as practical ways to monitor reliability, errors, cost, and unintended consequences – without rushing simply to catch up.
Key topics covered:
AI governance can be designed to enable performance and innovation, rather than operate only as a compliance gate.
Finance teams can progress from AI-assisted administration to automated processes and, in some cases, automated decisions.
Governance can be proportionate to risk, with lighter review for low-risk use cases and fuller assessment for higher-risk ones.
CFOs need visibility into “shadow AI”- tools employees may already be using outside formal processes.
AI literacy, human review, and feedback after deployment help teams assess accuracy, reliability, cost, and unintended effects.
A measured, steady approach can be more effective than rushing into AI adoption out of fear of falling behind.
Links
Bruce Mullan on LinkedIn
Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn
GrowCFO Mentoring
Timestamps:
00:00 — Kevin Appleby introduces Bruce and frames AI governance as a performance system, not just a compliance system.
12:16 — The discussion turns to AI governance as a way to support value and innovation while avoiding organizational bottlenecks.
18:22 — Bruce outlines stages of AI use in finance, illustrated through invoice processing.
23:43 — Risk-based review and asking whether AI is actually needed for a use case.
27:00–30:20 — AI literacy, human oversight, feedback loops, and monitoring performance after deployment.
34:35 — Advice for CFOs who feel behind: avoid panic and take a measured approach.
37:06 — Shadow AI, employee use of public tools, and the challenge of protecting sensitive information.
45:14–49:21 — AI costs, tool accuracy, and why confidential information should be handled cautiously.
Find out more about GrowCFO
If you enjoyed this podcast, you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favorite podcast app. The GrowCFO show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Spotify and many others. Why not subscribe there today? That way, you never miss an episode.
GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. Join GrowCFO as a free member today and participate in our regular networking events and webinars. Premium members can also access our extensive training center and CFO Digital Toolkit. You can enroll in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programs here.
You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net
45 min
October 06#304 Why Your Most Profitable Product Might Be Losing You Money Pauline Healey Founder, Logical BI
 
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2TUU4Nmtl7w7NGfAz2nzdf
A product’s strong gross margin does not always translate into strong profit. When support, sales, customer service, and other indirect costs are left out of product-level analysis, a high-margin product can consume more resources than it generates. In this episode, Pauline Healey explains why businesses need to look beyond headline margins to understand the true cost of serving each product and customer.
Pauline Healey, founder of Logical BI, discusses how her fractional CFO work combines finance with operational, supply-chain, and inventory expertise, particularly for manufacturing and engineering businesses. She explains that reliable cash-flow forecasting must account for the full operating cycle—from purchasing stock and managing production to delivery and customer payment.
The conversation explores how businesses can improve profitability by investigating operational waste, checking that completed work is invoiced, and examining product costs more closely. Pauline and Kevin discuss how a product with an apparently attractive margin may still reduce overall profit if it drives unallocated costs such as customer support and additional sales effort. They also cover business systems, data consistency, and Pauline’s use of AI and her Profit Harmony Hub membership platform.
Key topics covered:
Pauline’s background in corporate finance and operations led her to build Logical BI around fractional CFO support for manufacturing and engineering businesses.
Supply-chain complexity affects cash flow: forecasts need to account for inventory, supplier payments, production, delivery, and customer payment timing.
Businesses should assess whether existing systems and plug-ins can meet their needs before making a costly move to an ERP system.
A single source of truth helps teams avoid conflicting figures and focus on business decisions rather than reconciling inconsistent data.
Looking for shop-floor waste and process gaps can uncover profit improvements; Pauline described a process loophole that left around £30,000 of completed work uninvoiced.
Product profitability analysis should include indirect costs: a high-margin product may reduce overall profit if it requires substantial support, customer service, or sales resources.
Links
Pauline Healey on LinkedIn
Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn
GrowCFO Mentoring
Timestamps:
00:01 — Kevin introduces Pauline Healey and Logical BI.
04:07 — Pauline describes Logical BI’s focus on manufacturing and engineering, and its broader operational support.
06:13 — The discussion turns to supply-chain complexity and its effects on cash flow.
16:29 — Pauline discusses evaluating existing systems and reducing reliance on disconnected spreadsheets.
24:14 — Kevin and Pauline discuss finding waste and improving processes rather than defaulting to overhead cuts.
25:00–26:42 — Pauline describes a missed-invoicing process gap and explains the revenue impact of unbilled work.
28:15–30:42 — They explore how hidden support costs can make a seemingly high-margin product less profitable overall.
31:00 — Pauline shares her perspective on AI use in business and finance.
35:11 — Pauline introduces Profit Harmony Hub, her membership platform for business and finance insights.
Find out more about GrowCFO
If you enjoyed this podcast, you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favorite podcast app. The GrowCFO show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Spotify and many others. Why not subscribe there today? That way, you never miss an episode.
GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. Join GrowCFO as a free member today and participate in our regular networking events and webinars. Premium members can also access our extensive training center and CFO Digital Toolkit. You can enroll in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programs here.
You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net
36 min
September 29#303 The True Cost of AI: What CFOs Need to Know Ed Barrow Founder & CEO, Cloud Capital
 
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3ZNZMVgTlQPe0bhhozHSRb
For fifteen years the software P&L was a settled question: hosting was a rounding error, gross margins held above 80%, and investors underwrote growth against a predictable annuity stream. That assumption is breaking. AI and cloud infrastructure has become one of the largest and least predictable costs on the P&L, moving faster than most finance teams have built the vocabulary or forecasting discipline to handle it. Ed Barrow, Founder and CEO of Cloud Capital, joins Kevin Appleby to unpack research with 100 growth-stage CFOs: 96% blew through their AI budget last year, with overruns driven more by compute and storage than by model costs, and the average software company now spends 15–20% of revenue on compute and AI, a fourfold jump, while over half of AI-native companies exceed 30%.
Barrow draws a distinction many finance teams miss: workforce AI scales with headcount and belongs in OPEX, while product AI scales with customer usage and belongs in COGS. Getting that split wrong distorts unit economics badly — he has seen entire cloud bills dumped into gross margin, and entire model bills buried in R&D.
He also warns against betting on falling token prices: consumption has outrun per-unit declines, and providers will pivot to profitability much as Uber did. With roughly $800 billion of debt-financed data centre buildout this year, the market will shift from pay-as-you-go to committed multi-year contracts. His prescription: befriend engineering, learn the language of tokens and model selection, and act as a chief investment officer who sets guardrails before the bill arrives.
Key topics covered:
96% of CFOs exceeded their AI budget last year, and the overruns were driven more by compute and data storage than by model and token costs, a blind spot for teams focused solely on token spend
AI spend has reached 15–20% of revenue for the average software company, up fourfold in months, with over half of AI-native companies above 30%, a fundamentally different business model from the 80%-margin SaaS playbook investors built their assumptions on
Workforce AI belongs in OPEX and product AI belongs in COGS, and misallocating between them distorts gross margin in either direction, particularly when tokens arrive through three or four billing routes at once, including hosted models inside AWS, Google Cloud and Azure invoices
Seat-based pricing breaks when costs scale with customer usage, creating the “token treadmill”, loyal, highly engaged customers accumulate data and context and become the least profitable cohort over time unless pricing is aligned to value and outcomes
Betting on falling token prices is a dangerous gamble, consumption growth has outrun per-unit price declines, and heavily funded model providers heading toward IPO will move from subsidised customer acquisition to profitable pricing, following the Uber trajectory
Debt-financed data centre buildouts will push the market from pay-as-you-go to committed contracts, handing CFOs material long-term liabilities to underwrite, with commitments often carrying 30–40% discounts but real balance sheet risk if utilisation falls short
Links
Ed Barrow on LinkedIn
Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn
GrowCFO Mentoring
Timestamps:
00:32 — From rounding error to runaway bill: how the cloud line item changed
03:32 — Workforce AI vs. product AI: the OPEX/COGS split that changes everything
13:15 — 96% of CFOs blew their AI budget — and compute, not tokens, was the culprit
18:18 — The token treadmill: why your most loyal customers become your least profitable
20:55 — The end of the 80% gross margin playbook, and the Uber analogy for token pricing
26:41 — $800bn of debt-financed data centres and the coming shift to committed contracts
30:53 — What to do tomorrow: befriend engineering and think like a chief investment officer
36:11 — Paying for tokens through four different channels, and the allocation trap
Find out more about GrowCFO
If you enjoyed this podcast, you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favorite podcast app. The GrowCFO show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Spotify and many others. Why not subscribe there today? That way, you never miss an episode.
GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. Join GrowCFO as a free member today and participate in our regular networking events and webinars. Premium members can also access our extensive training center and CFO Digital Toolkit. You can enroll in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programs here.
You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net
45 min
September 22#302 Is AI Creating a Finance Jobs Crisis? Ademola Odewade CEO, K-Dems Consulting Ltd.
 
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3iVbLkvEWH7j8zxvRzOsK6
Rapid advances in AI are transforming how finance teams forecast cash flow, detect fraud, and automate routine reporting, raising difficult questions about what happens to traditional roles when machines can achieve in minutes what once took analysts days. At the same time, many economies are grappling with skills shortages in some areas and structural unemployment in others, especially among younger professionals trying to break into the industry. Understanding whether new technologies are eliminating jobs, reshaping them, or creating entirely new categories of work has become a strategic imperative for anyone leading—or aspiring to lead—in the finance function.
Amid these shifts, Kevin Appleby is joined by Ademola Odewade, CEO of K-Dems Consulting Ltd., to examine the real impact of AI on employment in finance and whether the industry is drifting toward a full-blown jobs crisis. Drawing on Ademola’s background as a former Big 4 chartered accountant and CFO, and his new book Human Led AI Powered Finance, the discussion reframes AI from a perceived threat into a powerful enabler whose effects depend on how leaders choose to design teams, workflows, and controls.
Ademola introduces his ACCOUNT framework—Aim, Capability, Controls, Operating Workflows, Underlying Data, Numbers, and Trust—as a practical blueprint for adopting AI without losing the human judgment that underpins sound financial stewardship [episode302]. Rather than focusing solely on job losses, the conversation challenges finance leaders to rethink skills, data foundations, and governance so that automation handles the heavy lifting while people move into higher-value analytical, strategic, and advisory roles.
About Ademola Odewade
Ademola Odewade, MBA, ACA, BSc (Economics), is a finance leader, entrepreneur, author and podcast host with a background in Big Four advisory at PwC and KPMG. He is the Founder and CEO of K-Dems Consulting Ltd and CAIO at CreatrHub, where he contributes to the intersection of AI, innovation and the creator economy.
He is also the host of Diary Of A CFO and The King Dems Podcast, where he explores finance, leadership, AI and business growth with global executives and thought leaders.
A Chartered Accountant and MBA, Ademola’s work focuses on helping finance leaders and organisations move beyond traditional reporting towards more strategic, human-led and AI-powered decision-making. He is also the author of Human-Led, AI-Powered Finance, which examines how finance professionals can combine human judgement, leadership and emerging technology to create greater business impact.
Key topics covered:
Ademola explains the vision behind Human Led AI Powered Finance and why finance leaders must take a proactive stance on AI rather than wait for disruption to hit their teams.
The conversation tackles fears about a “jobs crisis” head-on, contrasting rising youth unemployment with the capacity of AI to automate routine work and free humans for higher-value activities.
Ademola lays out his ACCOUNT framework (Aim, Capability, Controls, Operating Workflows, Underlying Data, Numbers, Trust) as a practical blueprint for implementing AI responsibly in finance.
Kevin and Ademola explore how AI can enhance cash flow forecasting, anomaly detection, and decision support—while still requiring human oversight of assumptions and data quality.
They discuss AI’s role in strengthening fraud detection and controls, highlighting how AI can surface unusual transactions and support better segregation of duties.
The episode closes with clear guidance on measuring AI success through efficiency, accuracy, risk reduction, and, crucially, the level of trust business leaders place in AI outputs over time.
Links
Ademola Odewade on LinkedIn
Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn
GrowCFO Mentoring
Timestamps:
0:00:01 – Introduction to Ademola Odewade, his background in finance and digital technology, and the premise of Human Led AI Powered Finance
0:05:22 – Why early adopters in finance can gain a structural advantage from AI, and why the “AI will take all our jobs” narrative is overly simplistic
[0:15:33–0:15:56] – Direct discussion of whether AI is driving a jobs crisis in finance, with reference to UK youth unemployment and the need for re-skilling and training
0:16:18 – Deep dive into the ACCOUNT framework for structuring AI initiatives in finance teams
0:18:59 – Practical examples of AI in cash flow forecasting, including the importance of understanding assumptions, data quality, and anomaly detection
0:26:31 – How AI can enhance fraud detection and internal controls, and where human judgment must remain non-negotiable
0:32:54 – The critical role of documented processes and high-quality data in making AI implementations reliable and auditable
0:37:53 – Metrics and KPIs for AI success in finance—time savings, accuracy, variance reduction, and risk impacts—plus how to build executive trust in AI
0:41:45 – Wrap-up and details on the book’s availability, reinforcing why staying current on AI is now a core responsibility for finance leaders
Find out more about GrowCFO
If you enjoyed this podcast, you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favorite podcast app. The GrowCFO show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Spotify and many others. Why not subscribe there today? That way, you never miss an episode.
GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. Join GrowCFO as a free member today and participate in our regular networking events and webinars. Premium members can also access our extensive training center and CFO Digital Toolkit. You can enroll in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programs here.
You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net
37 min
September 15#301 Could Your High Standards Be Hurting Your Team? Jeanné Els GrowCFO Mentor
 
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2VMHWSc8joPjk5plFwizjr
High-achieving leaders often pride themselves on attention to detail, relentless drive, and demanding the best—from themselves and everyone around them. Yet the very qualities that fuel success can quietly erode team confidence, autonomy, and performance. When expectations become uncompromising, people stop taking initiative, avoid risks, and operate in fear of making mistakes. A critical leadership challenge is learning how to maintain excellence without creating pressure that stifles creativity, burns people out, or drives the best talent away—and how a few intentional shifts can turn high standards into a force for sustainable growth rather than harm.
In this GrowCFO Show episode, host Kevin Appleby is joined by Jeanné Els, GrowCFO Mentor and founder of coaching and facilitation practice Selah, to explore how high standards play out in real teams and real careers. Drawing on more than a decade in corporate finance and her work with high-performing professionals, Jeanné shares candid reflections on times when her own drive and perfectionism unintentionally created pressure and reduced ownership in her teams, and contrasts that with a more sustainable approach built on psychological safety, trust, and clear expectations. Together, Kevin and Jeanné connect these leadership lessons back to finance business partnering, showing how insight, storytelling, and curiosity can raise the bar while keeping both leaders and teams out of burnout.
Key topics covered:
Jeanné shares her journey from aspiring musician to chartered accountant and ultimately to coach and facilitator, illustrating how high performers often reinvent themselves when their old success patterns stop working
The discussion reframes finance business partnering as a storytelling and insight function, not just a reporting role, emphasizing the importance of communicating what really matters to stakeholders
Jeanné unpacks the concept of sustainable ambition, explaining how unchecked high standards can push leaders into overdrive, creating disconnects between who they are and how they show up at work
She explains how her own high standards once created pressure for her team, and how focusing on psychological safety, questions, and trust led to stronger, more autonomous performance
The episode explores imposter syndrome and the transition from technical expert to leader, highlighting why leaders must let go of needing all the answers and instead create space for their teams to learn and experiment
Jeanné outlines her vision for Selah as a community and support system for high-performing professionals who want to maintain ambition without sacrificing wellbeing or team health
Links
Jeanné Els on LinkedIn
Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn
GrowCFO Mentoring
Timestamps:
00:00 – Kevin introduces Jeanné Els, her background in corporate finance, and sets up the importance of examining how high standards shape leadership and team dynamics
03:20 – Discussion of finance business partnering as moving beyond historic reporting into insights, communication, and influencing decisions—not just “being right” with the numbers
13:11 – Jeanné reflects on lessons she wishes she’d known earlier, including how relentless standards and over-responsibility can backfire on both career and team
13:27 – Jeanné explains the story behind Selah, her focus on sustainable ambition, and the need for safe spaces to step back and reflect on how you’re leading and living
20:47 – Deep dive into psychological safety, trusting your team, and treating mistakes as learning opportunities instead of evidence of falling below impossible standards
32:06 – Jeanné shares her vision for expanding Selah and building communities where driven professionals can maintain high standards without burning themselves or their teams out
Find out more about GrowCFO
If you enjoyed this podcast, you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favorite podcast app. The GrowCFO show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Spotify and many others. Why not subscribe there today? That way, you never miss an episode.
GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. Join GrowCFO as a free member today and participate in our regular networking events and webinars. Premium members can also access our extensive training center and CFO Digital Toolkit. You can enroll in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programs here.
You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net
36 min
September 08#300 Will AI Reduce Finance Team Headcount? Dan Wells Founder & CEO, GrowCFO
 
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1fQvZ06RhWiGAaCPATzx08
In today’s finance function, the question is no longer whether AI will have an impact, but whether it will fundamentally change team size and structure. This landmark 300th episode of The GrowCFO Show asks directly: will AI actually reduce finance team headcount, and how should CFOs prepare? Dan Wells, Founder & CEO of GrowCFO, examines how automation, machine learning, and generative AI are reshaping core finance activities—from reporting and month-end close to forecasting and transactional processing—and what that means for resource planning, role design, and long-term capability building.
Dan sets out a pragmatic framework for separating hype from reality. He considers which finance activities are most automatable, where AI is likely to create capacity rather than eliminate roles, and how leading CFOs are using that capacity—whether to cut cost, reinvest in analysis and business partnering, or build new capabilities altogether. Listeners come away with a structured way to think about headcount, role design, and capability building in an AI-enabled finance function, along with practical next steps they can apply in their own teams.
Key topics covered:
Why the question “Will AI Reduce Finance Team Headcount?” is now a strategic issue for CFOs, not just a technology debate
A clear distinction between automating high-volume tasks and making decisions about structural headcount
Specific areas where AI can meaningfully reduce manual effort in reporting, month-end close, and forecasting workflows
Which finance roles and skill sets are most exposed to automation, and which will become more valuable in an AI-enabled team
How progressive CFOs are redeploying capacity towards partnering, scenario analysis, and decision support instead of pure cost-cutting
Key governance, risk, and change-management considerations when using AI to reshape the finance operating model
Links
Dan Wells on LinkedIn
Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn
GrowCFO Mentoring
Timestamps:
00:00 – 03:30 – Introduction: why AI and finance headcount is now a board-level topic
03:30 – 10:00 – Mapping the current finance operating model and identifying automation hotspots
10:00 – 18:00 – Tasks vs. roles: what AI can automate today versus what still needs human judgement
18:00 – 28:00 – Example scenarios: where AI could change team size and structure in reporting, close, and forecasting
28:00 – 38:00 – Future skills and profiles: what CFOs should hire, retain, and develop in an AI-driven finance function
38:00 – 45:00 – Strategic implications: balancing cost savings with capability, culture, and stakeholder expectations
Find out more about GrowCFO
If you enjoyed this podcast, you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favorite podcast app. The GrowCFO show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Spotify and many others. Why not subscribe there today? That way, you never miss an episode.
GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. Join GrowCFO as a free member today and participate in our regular networking events and webinars. Premium members can also access our extensive training center and CFO Digital Toolkit. You can enroll in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programs here.
You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net
32 min
September 01#299 What It Takes to Become CFO by 33 Audrey Lagresle CFO, Automobile En Direct
 
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6btUL4oyp02GAFIzpP2kja
Becoming a CFO by 33 takes far more than technical finance skills; it demands strategic breadth, deep business exposure, and the confidence to operate at board level. In this GrowCFO Show episode, Kevin Appleby talks with Audrey Lagresle, CFO of Automobile On Direct, about how she reached the CFO seat so early in her career and why today’s CFO must be a value creator and change leader, not just a chief accountant.
Audrey shares her journey from growing up in an entrepreneurial family in France, to driving global finance transformation at Bombardier, and then building the FP&A and finance business partnering function from scratch in a fast‑growing Canadian automotive business. She explains how she now leads a 19‑person finance team, focuses on strategy and decision support, shapes the company’s AI agenda, and applies lessons from ERP transformation and a volatile used‑car market. Along the way, she reflects on imposter syndrome, the role of the GrowCFO program, and how non‑traditional routes can successfully lead to the modern CFO role.
About Audrey Lagresle
Audrey Lagresle is the Chief Financial Officer of Automobile en Direct, Quebec’s leading used‑car retailer. At 35, she oversees strategy, governance, and major transformation initiatives for a fast‑growing, 400‑employee organization. Audrey joined the company six years ago to build its FP&A function and was promoted to CFO in 2024.
Born into a family of entrepreneurs in France, she developed an early understanding of how businesses operate and a lasting affinity for small and medium‑sized companies. She immigrated to Montreal at 18 to study at HEC Montréal, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Corporate Finance, a Master’s degree in Strategy, and competing as an elite student‑athlete.
Audrey built a non‑traditional CFO path through eight years at Bombardier, gaining experience in accounting, financial modeling, finance transformation, corporate strategy, and M&A. She later joined Automobile en Direct, where she led FP&A, strategic planning, corporate governance, a multi‑bank loan syndication, a divestment plan, and major innovation projects including ERP replacement and the launch of an internal AI Committee.
Key topics covered:
Audrey’s journey from growing up in an entrepreneurial family in France to becoming CFO of a leading Canadian used‑car retailer by age 33.
How global finance transformation work at Bombardier—shared services, FP&A systems, and post‑merger integration—equipped her with change, people, and risk management skills vital for the CFO seat.
Why she left a multinational for a fast‑growing medium‑sized business and how she built FP&A, budgeting, cash flow planning, and monthly performance reviews from the ground up.
Audrey’s view of the modern CFO as a value creator and strategic partner to the CEO and COO, rather than a traditional “chief accountant,” and how the GrowCFO program reinforced her readiness for the role.
Lessons from navigating the post‑COVID used‑car downturn, executing a divestment plan, and still opening new branches while maintaining financial discipline .
How she is leading the company’s AI and technology agenda—creating an internal AI committee, adding a Director of Technology and Innovation, and using AI to enhance decisions without cutting headcount.
Links
Audrey Lagresle on LinkedIn
Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn
GrowCFO Mentoring
Timestamps:
0:00:01 – Introduction to Audrey Lagrell and Automobile On Direct; overview of the used‑car business model and scale (14,000+ cars per year, #1 used‑car retailer in Canada focused solely on used cars)
0:02:04 – Audrey’s early exposure to entrepreneurship in her family’s furniture business and how living “inside the business” shaped her holistic understanding of how companies operate
0:04:20 – Bombardier finance transformation: building shared service centers in Costa Rica, Romania, and the Philippines; project management, process mapping, and large‑scale change management in a 60,000‑employee multinational.
0:09:18 – Standardizing finance across multiple plants and learning from major divestments and post‑merger integrations, including work with Airbus on carve‑outs and integration activities.
0:14:10 – Transition from multinational to a growing medium‑sized automotive business; building FP&A, budgets, cash flow, treasury policies, and monthly financial reviews from scratch.
0:16:46 – The GrowCFO program, evolving expectations of the CFO role by 2030, and why Audrey believes the CFO’s primary mission is to create value and help the CEO make better decisions—not just close the books.
0:21:01 – Imposter syndrome, stepping into the CFO role at 33, and realizing she was already operating as a strategic influencer before the title formally changed.
0:25:25 – Audrey’s finance team structure: strong corporate controller, dedicated FP&A, and treasury support that free her to focus on growth, strategy, and partnerships with the CEO and COO.
0:28:40 – How she is leading AI in the business: internal AI committee, evaluating use cases across marketing, finance, and reconditioning, and insisting on clear ROI and risk management.
0:33:39 – Lessons from a major ERP replacement to Microsoft Business Central and why the CFO must stay close to tech projects to ensure they genuinely create business value.
Find out more about GrowCFO
If you enjoyed this podcast, you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favorite podcast app. The GrowCFO show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Spotify and many others. Why not subscribe there today? That way, you never miss an episode.
GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. Join GrowCFO as a free member today and participate in our regular networking events and webinars. Premium members can also access our extensive training center and CFO Digital Toolkit. You can enroll in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programs here.
You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net
32 min
August 25#298 How Can You Fast-Track Your Career to CFO? Becky Glover Chief Financial Officer, Mazuma
 
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4dDqz9crVX05wHlwbFskwN
A CFO role is no longer just about reporting the numbers; it’s about driving strategy, shaping growth, and leading with commercial insight. For ambitious finance professionals, understanding how to deliberately design a career that accelerates you into that top seat has never been more important. From gaining the right breadth of experience to leveraging technology, networks, and non‑traditional opportunities, there are practical ways to intentionally fast‑track your journey to CFO.
In this episode, Kevin Appleby interviews Becky Glover, Chief Financial Officer at Mazuma, about her unconventional and accelerated journey to the CFO seat. Becky outlines how she progressed from leaving school at 17 to qualifying through the AAT and ACCA routes, building a portfolio of varied roles, and eventually stepping into the CFO role without a traditional university background. The conversation positions her story as a practical blueprint for finance professionals who want to fast‑track their careers by focusing on the right experiences, networks, and skills rather than just job titles and salary progression.
The episode also explores how running her own e‑commerce business, engaging with professional bodies such as AAT and ACCA, and contributing to initiatives like Connection Career Collective all accelerated Becky’s development as a modern, technology-enabled CFO. Listeners gain insight into how exposure to technology, automation, marketing, and SME operations can significantly increase a finance leader’s impact and readiness for the top finance role. The discussion highlights that the path to CFO is becoming more diverse and that intentional career design, continuous learning, and meaningful connections can dramatically shorten the journey.
Key topics covered:
Becky’s non‑traditional path: from AAT apprenticeship to ACCA-qualified CFO without a university degree
How diverse roles, board work, and “saying yes” to opportunities helped fast‑track her career
Lessons from running an e‑commerce wine business and how it sharpened her technology and commercial skills
How Mazuma combines fintech and accountancy to serve small SMEs with proprietary automation (MazApp)
Why future CFOs must leverage technology and automation to focus on advisory and value creation
Becky’s work with AAT, ACCA, and Connection Career Collective to build networks in male‑dominated fields
Links
Becky Glover on LinkedIn
Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn
GrowCFO Mentoring
Timestamps:
0:00 Becky’s unconventional route from AAT apprentice to CFO.
0:03 Key factors that accelerated her path to the CFO role.
0:05 How launching an e‑commerce wine business changed her finance skill set.
0:08 Practical lessons from entrepreneurship for aspiring CFOs.
0:11 Inside Mazuma’s fintech‑accountancy model and SME focus.
0:13 The role of technology and AI in the future CFO toolkit.
0:16 Giving back through AAT and ACCA and why networks matter.
0:19 Confidence, imposter syndrome, and Becky’s mindset strategies.
0:25 Connection Career Collective and building connections in male‑dominated sectors.
0:28 Becky’s vision for her future and the evolving CFO role.
Find out more about GrowCFO
If you enjoyed this podcast, you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favorite podcast app. The GrowCFO show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Spotify and many others. Why not subscribe there today? That way, you never miss an episode.
GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. Join GrowCFO as a free member today and participate in our regular networking events and webinars. Premium members can also access our extensive training center and CFO Digital Toolkit. You can enroll in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programs here.
You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net
36 min
August 18#297 How Tax Professionals Can Become Fractional CFOs Scott Winters CEO & Chairman of the Board, Financial Gravity
 
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0zOed7gVBbs25h2TaJetQo
For tax professionals wondering what comes after traditional compliance work, this episode offers a practical roadmap for evolving into a more strategic, better-paid role. As AI and automation increasingly handle routine tax tasks, the real opportunity lies in stepping up as a trusted financial guide to business owners, not just a form-filler or historian of the past
In this episode, host Kevin Appleby interviews Scott Winters, CEO & Chairman of the Board at Financial Gravity, on how tax professionals can successfully transition into fractional CFO roles. The discussion frames this shift as both a strategic career move and a necessary response to the rapid commoditization of tax compliance, driven largely by AI and automation. Rather than remaining in backward-looking compliance work, Scott argues that tax professionals are uniquely positioned to become forward-looking strategic advisors, helping business owners make better decisions, scale, and ultimately create more enterprise value .
Scott introduces a five-stage business evaluation and scaling framework and explains how it can be applied by tax professionals who want to broaden their remit beyond tax filings . He explores the mindset shift required to move from technician to strategic partner, the skills gap between traditional tax advisors and seasoned CFOs, and practical models for offering fractional CFO services, including tiered offerings and retainer-based pricing. The episode makes a strong case that those who adapt will thrive in a world where AI takes over routine work, leaving humans to deliver higher-value insight, judgment, and leadership.
Key topics covered:
Why AI is commoditizing tax compliance and pushing advisors toward value-added fractional CFO services
The five-stage framework Scott uses to evaluate, fix, and scale client businesses
The skills tax professionals must develop to bridge the gap between compliance work and strategic CFO leadership
How to design a tiered service offering that layers advisory and fractional CFO work on top of core tax services
Shifting from hourly billing to a retainer-based model that supports deeper, ongoing client relationships
Why the demand for fractional CFOs is growing, and how tax professionals can differentiate in a crowded advisory market
Links
Scott Winters on LinkedIn
Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn
GrowCFO Mentoring
Timestamps:
0:00:02 – Scott Winters’ background and entrepreneurial journey
0:03:17 – Why tax professionals should become fractional CFOs
0:06:31 – Skills gap between tax compliance work and fractional CFO roles
0:08:45 – Scott’s five-stage business evaluation and scaling process
0:13:15 – Challenges and upskilling opportunities for tax professionals
0:14:33 – The value proposition of fractional CFO services
0:20:25 – Impact of AI on tax, accounting, and advisory services
0:24:08 – Fractional CFO market demand and competition
0:29:16 – Creating a tiered tax, advisory, and fractional CFO offering
0:30:52 – Moving from hourly billing to retainer-based models
0:32:55 – Book promotion and closing thoughts on “Tax Professional to Fractional CFO”
Find out more about GrowCFO
If you enjoyed this podcast, you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favorite podcast app. The GrowCFO show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Spotify and many others. Why not subscribe there today? That way, you never miss an episode.
GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. Join GrowCFO as a free member today and participate in our regular networking events and webinars. Premium members can also access our extensive training center and CFO Digital Toolkit. You can enroll in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programs here.
You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net
30 min
August 11#296 AI Is Giving CFOs Confidently Wrong Answers Don Rogers Managing Partner & Founder, Invictus Global Advisors, LLC
 
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2ZGZXsiAU9uEVPsIAGbSUj
AI is now embedded in almost every corner of the finance function, powering forecasts, reports, and board-ready insights at unprecedented speed. Yet when powerful systems are plugged into weak data, broken processes, or poor governance, they don’t just make mistakes, they do it with absolute confidence and immense credibility. For CFOs, the real risk isn’t that AI is wrong; it’s that it looks so right no one stops to question it.
In this GrowCFO Show episode, Kevin Appleby speaks with Don Rogers, Managing Partner & Founder of Invictus Global Advisors, LLC, to explore how AI can mislead finance teams with highly convincing but incorrect outputs, and what CFOs must do to protect decision-making. Rogers explains that while AI has reignited interest in finance transformation, many CFOs are layering powerful AI tools onto broken operating models and poor-quality data. The result is not better insight, but faster, more polished versions of the same flawed information, sometimes delivered with total confidence, yet fundamentally wrong. He stresses that without strong governance, data enablement, and process discipline, AI will amplify dysfunction rather than cure it.
Rogers positions AI as a catalyst that forces CFOs to rethink the strategic finance operating model, not a magic fix. He introduces a 10-component model spanning strategy, talent activation, service delivery, process optimization, governance, data, digital and AI, insights and analytics, constituent experience, and benefits realization. Throughout the conversation, he illustrates how weak change management, undocumented processes, and poor culture (e.g., fear of “red” status) cause transformations to miss their promised benefits, even when the technology works. His message is clear: AI can unlock the long-promised vision of finance as a true strategic advisor, but only if CFOs fix their operating model, embed strong governance, and keep “humans in the loop” to challenge and validate AI outputs.
Key topics covered:
Don explains how AI, when layered on top of a broken finance operating model and poor data governance, will “amplify the dysfunction” and produce confidently wrong answers instead of better insight.
He shares a real client example where the same AI prompts produced two completely different board reports, underscoring the risks of hallucinations, model drift, and weak governance in AI-led reporting.
Rogers introduces his Strategic Finance Operating Model with 10 components, showing CFOs how to connect corporate strategy, talent, processes, data, AI, and benefits realization into one coherent blueprint.
The discussion highlights sobering transformation statistics (e.g., high failure and dissatisfaction rates) and links them directly to poor change management, cultural resistance, and cutting “change” from budgets first.
Don stresses the need for a new apprenticeship model in finance: young professionals must learn AI, data, and tools, while experienced leaders focus on change enablement, strategic storytelling, and constituent experience.
The conversation explores the evolution from bespoke AI to generative and agentic AI, and why CFOs must demand strong guardrails, governance, and documented processes before trusting AI in core finance tasks like journal entries.
Links
Don Rogers on LinkedIn
Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn
GrowCFO Mentoring
Timestamps:
0:02:21 – AI, changing expectations of CFOs, and why layering AI on a broken model only “amplifies the dysfunction.”
0:04:46 – Don’s story of a CFO getting two different AI-generated board reports from the same prompts, and the risks of hallucination, drift, and bad data.
0:06:13 – How young professionals must learn AI, data, and tools, while senior leaders become change catalysts and keep “humans in the loop.” [episode296]
0:11:39 – Why 50% of transformations never get off the ground and ~70–80% fail to deliver expected benefits; Don links this directly to change management and human behavior, not technology.
0:17:32 – The importance of tracking outcomes and benefits: business cases are created, funded, then forgotten, driving the gap between promised and realized value.
0:20:23 – Culture, governance, and the “green-to-red” effect: why everything looks green until a project suddenly turns red, and how fear and blame stop early escalation.
0:22:41 – Don outlines the Strategic Finance Operating Model components (strategy, talent activation, service delivery, process optimization, governance, data enablement, digital & AI, insights & analytics, constituent experience, outcomes & benefits).
0:23:39 – Evolution of AI in finance: from bespoke models to embedded generative AI in ERPs and point solutions, and now to agentic AI acting on goals, not just instructions.
0:28:27 – Agentic AI and governance: Don’s epilogue on corporate and government responsibility for guardrails, and why AI is still only as good as the instructions and constraints given.
0:32:16 – Journal entry example: a client’s agentic AI project hits a 96% fail rate because underlying code-block rules weren’t built into the model.
0:33:33 – The hidden risk: critical business processes exist only in people’s heads, never documented, leaving AI with no reliable instructions to follow.
0:35:04 – Deeper dive into the 10 components and how to prioritize projects when organizations can only handle 5–7 major initiatives at a time.
0:39:59 – Don’s upcoming book: “Building the Strategic Finance Operating Model: The CFO’s Blueprint for Value Creation in the Age of AI” and its practical, conversational style.
Find out more about GrowCFO
If you enjoyed this podcast, you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favorite podcast app. The GrowCFO show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Spotify and many others. Why not subscribe there today? That way, you never miss an episode.
GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. Join GrowCFO as a free member today and participate in our regular networking events and webinars. Premium members can also access our extensive training center and CFO Digital Toolkit. You can enroll in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programs here.
You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net
39 min