FP&A Today

My first year as a first-time CFO – CJ Gustafson, CFO, PartsTech

Listen Later

“I last came on FP&A Today before I started my new CFO gig, and I was pretty nervous. I was talking a lot in theory of what I thought it would be, and now I can tell you a little bit more of the reality. So it's been quite the ride.”

Returning guest CJ Gustafson–master of the hugely popular Mostly Metrics newsletter–delivers in his custom funny and frank style the lessons from his first year as CFO and the practical lessons for anyone in finance (and particularly FP&A).

  • His worst budget experience - working six months on an operating plan  thrown away within a week during COVID (and the surprising conclusion)
  • Getting stamps on my finance passport getting me to CFO
  • The biggest lessons on being a CFO-as removing blockers and letting an organization go faster.
  • CFO as chief psychologist, chief contract signer, and chief risk officer
  • How I prioritized my finance hires
  • Views of FP&A as a CFO 
  • How knowing numbers better than anybody else projected me to CFO
  • Why BI was put under the CFO function (“it’s like putting data insights on steroids and you combine FP&A and BI”)
  • Why ARR per employee is my favorite SaaS metric
  • CAC payback period as the golden SaaS metric 
  • How I (painfully) learned about the power of the “meeting before the meeting” 
  • Creating a category for yourself as CFO

    • Sign up for the Mostly Metrics Newsletter from CJ Gustafson: https://www.mostlymetrics.com/

    Check out Run the Numbers hosted by CJ: a weekly podcast about financial metrics and business models, designed for ambitious people operating tech startups https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/run-the-numbers-startup-finance-strategy-and-operations/id1704418764

    Follow CJ or get in touch with him on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/

    Or Twitter https://twitter.com/cjgustafson222

    ...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
    Exchanges by Goldman Sachs

    Exchanges

    974 Listeners

    The McKinsey Podcast by McKinsey & Company

    The McKinsey Podcast

    408 Listeners

    PwC's accounting podcast by PwC

    PwC's accounting podcast

    181 Listeners

    WSJ Tech News Briefing by The Wall Street Journal

    WSJ Tech News Briefing

    1,653 Listeners

    CFO THOUGHT LEADER by The Future of Finance is Listening

    CFO THOUGHT LEADER

    127 Listeners

    TED Business by TED

    TED Business

    1,099 Listeners

    Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy by Colossus | Investing & Business Podcasts

    Invest Like the Best with Patrick O'Shaughnessy

    2,366 Listeners

    WSJ Minute Briefing by The Wall Street Journal

    WSJ Minute Briefing

    677 Listeners

    The Accounting Podcast by Blake Oliver & David Leary

    The Accounting Podcast

    347 Listeners

    Eat Your Crust by Crystal Jiao, Jeesoo Kim

    Eat Your Crust

    223 Listeners

    Thoughts on the Market by Morgan Stanley

    Thoughts on the Market

    1,307 Listeners

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

    Think Fast Talk Smart: Communication Techniques

    838 Listeners

    CFO Weekly by Personiv

    CFO Weekly

    45 Listeners

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

    WSJ's Take On the Week

    142 Listeners

    FP&A Unlocked by Paul Barnhurst

    FP&A Unlocked

    25 Listeners