FP&A Today

How CFOs build a Goldilocks “just-right” budget – Jeff Epstein ex-CFO of Oracle

Listen Later

Jeff Epstein is an operating partner at Bessemer Venture Partners leading its CFO Council where he helps CEOs and CFOs at their 200- portfolio company share best practices. Epstein, one of the most famous names in finance, is former executive vice president and chief financial officer of Oracle, with a market value of over $200 billion. Prior to joining Oracle, Jeff served as CFO at public and private companies, including DoubleClick (acquired by Google), King World Productions (acquired by CBS), and Nielsen’s Media Measurement and Information Group. Earlier in his career, he was an investment banker at The First Boston Corporation. 

In this episode:

  • From Wall Street to first-time CFO 
  • Running finance at Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy and Oprah-TV hitmaker King World
  • The skills needed to be a top CFO
  • The 3 routes to CFO: Auditors, Wall Street or FP&A
    • What Andy Gove OKR setting can teach us about budget setting 
  • What is the right percentage of time to hit budget goals?
  • Balancing between Elon Musk (Papa Bear) and Charlie Munger (Mama Bear) in setting targets 
  • Giving people the opportunity to overachieve 
  • Best case/worst case/base case at Oracle strategy 
  • The delicate balancing act of Wall Street guidance 
  • Using a stagger chart 
  • Why FP&A is so critical; how  the biggest strategic decisions involve FP&A advice
    • Revisiting the  processes as Oracle bought Sun Microsystems
  • Merger integration strategy worked on our sales compensation
  • Truck drivers and sales commission – a must-listen to story
  • How in 1983 at the Washington Post I learned from Warren Buffet and ended up scrambling to buy 4 shares of Berkshire Hathaway. Guess much it’s worth now?

    • Show notes 

    Forecasting 101 and how to build a Stagger chart

    Jeff Epstein: How CFOs build a Goldilocks “just-right” budget

    Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon

    Winston Churchill: My Early Life 

    Andy Grove: High Output Management

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store
    FP&A TodayBy Glenn Hopper
    • 4.7
    • 4.7
    • 4.7
    • 4.7
    • 4.7

    4.7

    45 ratings

    More shows like FP&A Today

    View all
    The McKinsey Podcast by McKinsey & Company

    The McKinsey Podcast

    392 Listeners

    PwC's accounting podcast by PwC

    PwC's accounting podcast

    180 Listeners

    HBR IdeaCast by Harvard Business Review

    HBR IdeaCast

    1,827 Listeners

    CFO THOUGHT LEADER by The Future of Finance is Listening

    CFO THOUGHT LEADER

    129 Listeners

    TED Business by TED

    TED Business

    1,110 Listeners

    M&A Science by Kison Patel

    M&A Science

    127 Listeners

    Wall Street Breakfast by Seeking Alpha

    Wall Street Breakfast

    1,030 Listeners

    Inside the Strategy Room by McKinsey & Company

    Inside the Strategy Room

    168 Listeners

    FT News Briefing by Financial Times

    FT News Briefing

    677 Listeners

    Making Sense by J.P. Morgan

    Making Sense

    59 Listeners

    Thoughts on the Market by Morgan Stanley

    Thoughts on the Market

    1,290 Listeners

    Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques by Matt Abrahams, Think Fast Talk Smart

    Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques

    802 Listeners

    WSJ's Take On the Week by The Wall Street Journal

    WSJ's Take On the Week

    146 Listeners

    FP&A Unlocked by Paul Barnhurst

    FP&A Unlocked

    24 Listeners

    Financial Modeler's Corner by Paul Barnhurst AKA The FP&A Guy

    Financial Modeler's Corner

    17 Listeners