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Bonus episode # 98: Revenue can be up and your stress can still be up right along with it. If your business is selling more but cash feels tight, your credit card is creeping higher, and you cannot explain where the money went, we are looking at the wrong scoreboard.

We walk through the difference between revenue, gross profit, and net profit in plain language, then use a simple real-world example to show how “great sales” can turn into surprisingly small profit once direct costs and overhead hit. From underpricing and discounting to growth-driven expenses like contractors, software, ads, inventory, and equipment, we lay out the most common reasons sales volume can hide weak margins. We also call out the hidden costs that quietly erase your wins, including revisions, admin time, payment processing fees, travel, rework, and unpaid consultations.

Please connect with me on:

1. Instagram: stephen.mclain
2. Twitter: smclainiii
3. Facebook: stephenmclainconsultant
4. LinkedIn: stephenjmclainiii

For more resources, please visit Finance Leader Academy:  financeleaderacademy.com.

Support the show

Stephen is an experienced Finance Professional and Leader who offers fractional CFO services and development opportunities. Please visit his LinkedIn profile or Finance Leader Academy for more information.

The views and information shared on The Finance Leader Podcast are intended solely for educational and informational purposes. They do not constitute financial, accounting, tax, legal, investment, or other professional advice. Always seek guidance from a qualified professional before making decisions related to your specific circumstances. 

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Episode # 157: We walk through how we build an FP&A training plan that develops individual talent while raising the effectiveness of the whole finance organization. That starts with a formal development strategy, not ad hoc learning squeezed in when time allows. We talk about the capabilities that separate high-performing FP&A teams from strong reporting teams: business acumen, critical thinking, stakeholder management, leadership, decision support, and financial storytelling that makes recommendations clear and usable.

We also get practical about how to turn analysts into trusted strategic business partners. That means immersing FP&A in the functions they support, teaching curiosity and root-cause thinking, and creating real exposure to strategic planning, capital decisions, pricing, product discussions, and post-implementation reviews. Along the way, we address how to build a culture of continuous improvement through peer learning and safe experimentation with automation and AI in FP&A, plus how to measure training success by impact, not courses completed.

Episode outline:

1.  Why FP&A needs a formal development plan,
2. Our goal is to develop strategic business partners,
3. Creating a culture of continuous improvement,
4. Measuring training success.

Please connect with me on:

1. Instagram: stephen.mclain
2. Twitter: smclainiii
3. Facebook: stephenmclainconsultant
4. LinkedIn: stephenjmclainiii

For more resources, please visit Finance Leader Academy:  financeleaderacademy.com.

Support the show

Stephen is an experienced Finance Professional and Leader who offers fractional CFO services and development opportunities. Please visit his LinkedIn profile or Finance Leader Academy for more information.

The views and information shared on The Finance Leader Podcast are intended solely for educational and informational purposes. They do not constitute financial, accounting, tax, legal, investment, or other professional advice. Always seek guidance from a qualified professional before making decisions related to your specific circumstances. 

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Episode # 156: Most SWOT analyses fail for one simple reason: they end as a four-quadrant chart instead of becoming a set of decisions. I’m breaking down how to run a strategic SWOT assessment that actually changes what you do next so you can outperform competitors over the next three to five years, not just document what you already know.

We walk through what SWOT analysis is really for in modern strategic planning: clarifying your competitive position, surfacing vulnerabilities early, spotting emerging market trends, and choosing investment priorities when capital, time, and leadership attention are limited. I also explain why SWOT can’t be a solo assignment. It needs executive sponsorship and real input across the business, from sales and marketing to operations, IT, HR, legal, accounting, and finance, so you get an honest view of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

From a finance leader perspective, I share how CFOs and FP&A teams can anchor the process in data instead of opinion, using profitability analysis, cash flow trends, ROIC, retention, productivity, and operating metrics to test assumptions. We dig into scenario planning and sensitivity analysis to model uncertainty, then cover how to convert SWOT themes into a strategy plan with clear owners, resources, milestones, KPIs, and business outcomes. Finally, we talk about where AI can accelerate research, competitor benchmarking, and trend detection without replacing executive judgment.

Episode outline:

1.  Why Every Organization Needs a Strategic SWOT assessment,
2. Building the Right SWOT Analysis Team and Value-added Process,
3. Converting your SWOT assessment Into a Strategy plan.

Please connect with me on:

1. Instagram: stephen.mclain
2. Twitter: smclainiii
3. Facebook: stephenmclainconsultant
4. LinkedIn: stephenjmclainiii

For more resources, please visit Finance Leader Academy:  financeleaderacademy.com.

Support the show

Stephen is an experienced Finance Professional and Leader who offers fractional CFO services and development opportunities. Please visit his LinkedIn profile or Finance Leader Academy for more information.

The views and information shared on The Finance Leader Podcast are intended solely for educational and informational purposes. They do not constitute financial, accounting, tax, legal, investment, or other professional advice. Always seek guidance from a qualified professional before making decisions related to your specific circumstances. 

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Episode # 155: AI can feel like it’s coming for your job while you’re still trying to close the month. If you’ve felt overwhelmed by artificial intelligence, unsure which tools matter, or worried you’re falling behind, we’re going to slow it down and make it practical, especially for finance leaders, FP&A, accounting, and anyone responsible for decisions, controls, and credibility.

We start with the real reason AI creates anxiety: finance professionals build careers by becoming experts, but AI changes too fast to “master” in the old way. I explain why information overload fuels fear, what AI can do well today, and where human judgment remains essential for critical decisions and strategic leadership. We also talk about responsible AI use, including following organizational policies so you don’t accidentally expose sensitive company information.

Then we shift the mindset that unlocks confidence: don’t start with AI, start with the business problem. I share the questions I want every finance team asking, from repetitive work that wastes time to reports nobody reads to decisions that need better insight. From there, I walk through a simple confidence-building progression: awareness, personal productivity, financial analysis, and finally using AI to elevate your role as a true strategic partner, not just someone who automates reporting.

Episode outline:

1.  Why AI creates so much anxiety,
2. Shift your mindset from technology to business problems, and
3. Build your confidence in using Artificial Intelligence effectively.

Please connect with me on:

1. Instagram: stephen.mclain
2. Twitter: smclainiii
3. Facebook: stephenmclainconsultant
4. LinkedIn: stephenjmclainiii

For more resources, please visit Finance Leader Academy:  financeleaderacademy.com.

Support the show

Stephen is an experienced Finance Professional and Leader who offers fractional CFO services and development opportunities. Please visit his LinkedIn profile or Finance Leader Academy for more information.

The views and information shared on The Finance Leader Podcast are intended solely for educational and informational purposes. They do not constitute financial, accounting, tax, legal, investment, or other professional advice. Always seek guidance from a qualified professional before making decisions related to your specific circumstances. 

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Episode # 154: Most FP&A teams aren’t short on effort they’re short on time to think. When the calendar is dominated by budgets, monthly reporting, variance explanations, and forecast refreshes, finance can end up reacting to problems after they’ve already hit results. That’s risky in a world of rapid market shifts, customer behavior changes, supply chain disruption, and nonstop technology transformation.

We walk through how agile strategy applies to financial planning and analysis without throwing out long-term goals. The difference is execution: shorter planning cycles, frequent reassessment, rolling forecasts, and continuous scenario analysis that keep assumptions current. I explain why traditional FP&A models become reactive, especially when finance is separated from sales, marketing, operations, HR, and supply chain and only sees emerging issues once they appear in the financial statements.

Episode outline:

1.  What is Agile Strategy?
2. Why traditional FP&A can become reactive, and
3. Let’s examine some key agile principles.

Please connect with me on:

1. Instagram: stephen.mclain
2. Twitter: smclainiii
3. Facebook: stephenmclainconsultant
4. LinkedIn: stephenjmclainiii

For more resources, please visit Finance Leader Academy:  financeleaderacademy.com.

Support the show

Stephen is an experienced Finance Professional and Leader who offers fractional CFO services and development opportunities. Please visit his LinkedIn profile or Finance Leader Academy for more information.

The views and information shared on The Finance Leader Podcast are intended solely for educational and informational purposes. They do not constitute financial, accounting, tax, legal, investment, or other professional advice. Always seek guidance from a qualified professional before making decisions related to your specific circumstances. 

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Episode # 153: Strategy rarely changes because of a perfect variance report. It changes when someone connects the numbers to what customers feel, what operations can deliver, and which levers will protect margin and growth. We dig into how FP&A analysts and staff accountants can stop just reporting results and start shaping what happens next by diagnosing drivers, partnering across functions, and communicating like executives.

We start with a mindset reset: reporting performance is not the same as shaping performance. You will hear practical ways to move from scorekeeper to strategist, including turning variance reports into conversations, using price‑volume‑mix to explain revenue shifts, and running simple scenario and sensitivity analyses 

If you are ready to think and operate at a higher level, start building the CFO mindset now: keep technical excellence, expand business acumen, and practice clear, decisive storytelling that earns influence. 

Episode outline:

1. Shift from scorekeeper to strategist,
2. Build credibility by understanding the business beyond finance, and
3. Communicate like an executive so your analysis actually drives action.

Please connect with me on:

1. Instagram: stephen.mclain
2. Twitter: smclainiii
3. Facebook: stephenmclainconsultant
4. LinkedIn: stephenjmclainiii

For more resources, please visit Finance Leader Academy:  financeleaderacademy.com.

Support the show

Stephen is an experienced Finance Professional and Leader who offers fractional CFO services and development opportunities. Please visit his LinkedIn profile or Finance Leader Academy for more information.

The views and information shared on The Finance Leader Podcast are intended solely for educational and informational purposes. They do not constitute financial, accounting, tax, legal, investment, or other professional advice. Always seek guidance from a qualified professional before making decisions related to your specific circumstances. 

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Episode # 152: We show how finance becomes a real partner to operations by translating numbers into drivers, embedding FP&A in decisions before they are made, and aligning metrics and incentives to strategy. The result is faster execution, fewer surprises, and teams that own outcomes.

• translating financials into operational drivers
• replacing data dumps with clear operational stories
• partnering early to frame trade‑offs and scenarios
• aligning metrics, goals, and incentives to strategy
• shifting from metric protection to outcome ownership
• strengthening accountability while deepening trust
• practical questions to assess team impact
• getting out of the stovepipe to join project teams

Please connect with me on:

1. Instagram: stephen.mclain
2. Twitter: smclainiii
3. Facebook: stephenmclainconsultant
4. LinkedIn: stephenjmclainiii

For more resources, please visit Finance Leader Academy:  financeleaderacademy.com.

Support the show

Stephen is an experienced Finance Professional and Leader who offers fractional CFO services and development opportunities. Please visit his LinkedIn profile or Finance Leader Academy for more information.

The views and information shared on The Finance Leader Podcast are intended solely for educational and informational purposes. They do not constitute financial, accounting, tax, legal, investment, or other professional advice. Always seek guidance from a qualified professional before making decisions related to your specific circumstances. 

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Episode # 151: Start the year with leadership that actually moves the needle. We walk through the strategic actions that make teams faster, clearer, and more resilient—without adding noise. 

We begin with the culture you model when pressure hits, because people copy what you do, not what you say. Calm, integrity, and active listening create psychological safety and higher standards at the same time. From there, we narrow in on priorities: how to publish a short, ranked list, tie it to forecasts and analysis, and adjust in real time so finance and accounting stop guessing. You’ll hear practical ways to align tasks to business objectives using specified, implied, and essential work—an approach that reduces miscommunication and keeps execution honest.

Governance becomes your engine for speed. We outline how to set clear escalation thresholds, run effective risk and operating reviews, and reward early warnings over last‑minute heroics. Then we tackle direct engagement and decision timeliness: structured operating rhythms, skip‑level listening, and defined decision rights that accelerate choices without micromanaging. The throughline is clarity—who decides, what matters now, and why trade‑offs are worth it—so people can move with confidence.

By the end, you’ll have a checklist for today: model one cultural behavior, publish your priorities, and set a simple escalation path. Whether you lead FP&A, accounting, or the broader enterprise, these moves build trust and momentum that last beyond January. 

Episode outline:

1. Set a positive team culture,
2. Establish clear priorities, transparency, and accountability,
3. Encourage risk issue escalation with good governance, and 
4. Lead with more direct engagement and better decision timeliness. 

Please connect with me on:

1. Instagram: stephen.mclain
2. Twitter: smclainiii
3. Facebook: stephenmclainconsultant
4. LinkedIn: stephenjmclainiii

For more resources, please visit Finance Leader Academy:  financeleaderacademy.com.

Support the show

Stephen is an experienced Finance Professional and Leader who offers fractional CFO services and development opportunities. Please visit his LinkedIn profile or Finance Leader Academy for more information.

The views and information shared on The Finance Leader Podcast are intended solely for educational and informational purposes. They do not constitute financial, accounting, tax, legal, investment, or other professional advice. Always seek guidance from a qualified professional before making decisions related to your specific circumstances. 

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Episode # 150: Leadership in finance isn’t a title—it’s a practice. We dive into what turns any role in accounting, FP&A, or audit into a force for strategic impact, starting with the four pillars that anchor meaningful change: influence, grow your people, deliver results, and see the future. Along the way, we unpack how to turn data into decisions, build trust with senior leaders, and convert operational friction—like a chaotic month end—into a reliable, learning-driven process.

We start by reframing influence as earned alignment. You’ll hear how to show up with validated numbers, a sharp point of view, and a concise ask that respects executive time. Then we get practical about developing talent: mentoring for strategic thinking, cross-training on the business model, and running blameless reviews that raise the team’s ceiling. Execution takes center stage with tactics to speed the close, improve forecast accuracy, and translate variances into action. Finally, we step into forward-looking leadership—tracking external signals that matter, setting crisp scenarios, and aligning decisions to both profitability and purpose.

If you’re ready to elevate your impact, this conversation will help you become the partner your organization needs: people-centered, data-driven, and ethically grounded. 

Please connect with me on:

1. Instagram: stephen.mclain
2. Twitter: smclainiii
3. Facebook: stephenmclainconsultant
4. LinkedIn: stephenjmclainiii

For more resources, please visit Finance Leader Academy:  financeleaderacademy.com.

Support the show

Stephen is an experienced Finance Professional and Leader who offers fractional CFO services and development opportunities. Please visit his LinkedIn profile or Finance Leader Academy for more information.

The views and information shared on The Finance Leader Podcast are intended solely for educational and informational purposes. They do not constitute financial, accounting, tax, legal, investment, or other professional advice. Always seek guidance from a qualified professional before making decisions related to your specific circumstances. 

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Episode  #149: Month-end doesn’t have to feel like a rolling emergency. We walk through a proven, blame-free framework—the U.S. Army’s After Action Review—to turn your close into a reliable, data-driven process that gets faster and more accurate every cycle. If your calendar is packed and bottlenecks keep returning, this is the practical reset your team needs.

We start by reframing performance reviews as a leadership habit that compounds. Then we break down the AAR into three simple stages: plan, prepare, execute. You’ll learn how to define clear success metrics for close, set roles and handoffs, and create a safe environment where facts matter more than opinions. We show how to gather evidence during the cycle—timelines, task logs, error heat maps—so the review pinpoints root causes and turns observations into action.

From there, we dive into the backbone of a modern close: standardized processes, integrated systems, and tools that truly enable collaboration. Expect concrete ideas for automating data flow, reducing manual entries, and mapping end-to-end dependencies. We share ways to align accounting and FP&A early, cut late reclasses, and measure progress with a focused KPI set: close duration, on-time tasks, aged reconciliations, and post-close entries.

Episode outline:

1. The U.S. Army’s After-Action Review process,
2. Let’s always focus on processes, systems, and tools, and
3. Using the After-Action Review system to evaluate our month-end close procedures.

Please connect with me on:

1. Instagram: stephen.mclain
2. Twitter: smclainiii
3. Facebook: stephenmclainconsultant
4. LinkedIn: stephenjmclainiii

For more resources, please visit Finance Leader Academy:  financeleaderacademy.com.

Support the show

Stephen is an experienced Finance Professional and Leader who offers fractional CFO services and development opportunities. Please visit his LinkedIn profile or Finance Leader Academy for more information.

The views and information shared on The Finance Leader Podcast are intended solely for educational and informational purposes. They do not constitute financial, accounting, tax, legal, investment, or other professional advice. Always seek guidance from a qualified professional before making decisions related to your specific circumstances.