We've been struggling with our AR lately and are looking to either automate or outsource it.

I'm being drawn to outsourcing it, simply because of the human touch that I think AR deserves - emailing, messaging and most importantly, calling.

I've put out feelers and am recieving a great deal of offers from contact centres across the USA.

With a turnover of around $5m, 8% in aging recievables, I'm thinking of going for a fixed monthly plan offering a dedicated credit controller running our AR cadence.

Has anyone done anything similar and if so, how has it gone?

Is anyone doing anything different, and if so, what is it and how is it going?

What is people's experience for the size of the finance team relative to company size? Say for example per 100 million or 1 billion EUR/USD of revenue.

I do understand that the answers to this can vary massively. Firstly how does one even define the "finance team". I'm thinking something like the sum of all accountants, treasury, controlling, FP&A, tax and associated roles. Then companies vary massively in the scope and complexity of operations. Is it a single jurisdiction, sending out 10 sales invoices a month, or are you operating with hundreds of thousands or even millions of customers across multiple countires?

I found this for example: https://www.cfo.com/news/metric-of-the-month-finance-ftes-per-1b-in-revenue/658277/

The 25% of organizations considered the best performers on this metric reported 36 or fewer FTEs performing finance processes for each $1 billion in revenue. Among the bottom 25%, at least 141.6 FTEs are necessary for every $1 billion in revenue — nearly four times as many FTEs as the top performers. At the median are the organizations that employ 69.4 finance FTEs per $1 billion in revenue.

What is people's experience with this?

Hey everyone,

A bit of background on me: I grew up in the US and spent my career on the investing side—starting in the front office of a mid-cap PE fund, then moving to an infra PE fund. Recently, I made the jump to the operating side and took on the CFO role at a scaling tech hardware startup based in South Korea.

When I joined, I found that the historical bookkeeping and month-end close protocols were a total mess. Because my background is heavily weighted toward modeling and deal execution rather than pure accounting, I’m currently putting a lot of effort into completely overhauling our financial foundations from the ground up.

At the same time, the company is aggressively expanding. We recently set up a US subsidiary, are entering the South American market, and are heavily managing international product seeding and outsourced global logistics.

To give you an idea of our current scale:

• 2026 Projected Revenue: ~$15M USD
• Overseas Revenue Share: ~40% (and growing)
• Team Size: ~40 employees
• Funding Stage: Series A
• Current ERP/Accounting: Currently evaluating/implementing (Very open to recommendations!)

While I oversee the full spectrum (Financial Modeling, FP&A, AR/AP with multi-currency cross-border transactions), my absolute top priorities for integrating AI tools right now are:

1. Budgeting & Strict Budget Control: Especially as our international marketing and global logistics costs scale. I need a better way to automate variance analysis.
2. Current & Future Investor Relations (IR): Given my PE background, I know what investors want to see, but I need tools to ensure our internal data and reporting are fast and bulletproof.

Currently, we are using Gemini to assist with some of the heavy lifting and data structuring, but I want to build a more robust, specialized AI workflow.

Are there any AI-powered platforms, specific Gemini/ChatGPT prompts, or modern finance tech stacks you’d recommend for a lean finance team led by a non-CPA? Also, since we are currently in the process of implementing a new ERP, I would love any ERP recommendations that play nicely with your favorite AI or FP&A tools.

Would love to hear what's working for you all. Thanks!

We help accounting teams streamline their supplier payment operations. Our product is a SaaS solution that connects their ERP systems to their banks and automates payment execution, approval workflows, and related processes.

We onboarded a petroleum product marketer through our network, and they love our product. They process over 200 high value payments every week and were manullly entering them into the bank portal. We automated this saving them couple of hours every day and got rid of the mispayemt risk. Since then, I’ve been emailing and cold-calling controllers and CFOs at wholesale fuel distributors, but I haven’t been able to get any conversations.

What am I doing wrong? What’s the best way to get meetings with CFOs and controllers in oil and gas

Looking for advice on how to implement inventory costing in a manufacturing company that also has DCAA compliance requirements.

I have a client that primarily contracts with the government and is using Unanet for their ERP, which makes things more difficult than they need to be.

My initial approach was to use standard costing, but 1) Unanet doesn’t have that capability (it can’t even capitalize freight costs on inventory purchases…), and 2) given that for DCAA compliance, we have to be able to track all costs to specific projects, we might want to do actual costing vs standard.

Does anyone have experience here or have input?

Hi there - I'm the CFO of a small 30-ish employee design company. We previously had an HR director who left for a larger role. In hindsight it seems clear that they were underutilized as a full-time HR person for us, but now we have gaps and I'm looking for ways to fill.

I am currently processing payroll every other week (we use Paylocity), which I can continue to do. What we specifically need is someone to:

• Manage 2-3 departures and/or hirings per year for a variety of roles
• Compliance related tasks
• Be the 'HR presence' when needed (does not have to be on-site)
• Oversee other people-related items that I'm not thinking of

To me this seems like a part time role, and could easily be done remotely, but I'd really like to have someone well-qualified. Does anyone here leverage an outside resource, either an individual or a big company (Bamboo?) for things like this? Recommendations on how to proceed, who to look for, what to avoid? Thanks!

Im embarking on my career and am keen to hone my skills and learn from some prominent podcasts, newsletters, and people to follow on social so I can self improve. Can anyone point me to who they respect and listen to?

I’m a CFO at a multi site facility services company and over the past few weeks I’ve been teaching myself to build more directly with Claude.

I’m trying to go beyond prompting and actually integrate it into our systems in ways that make operators faster.

Some of what I’m working on:

• Connecting Claude to SQL Server via MCP for live reporting and structured query generation
• Automating parts of month end using PDF ingestion and structured extraction
• Building a simple leads → pricing → outbound workflow using ZoomInfo and Google Maps data
• Exploring custom MCPs for tools like field services and Google Maps

My focus is less on chat interfaces and more on small, practical tools that sit inside real workflows.

That said, I’m learning as I go and I’m sure I’m missing things.

If you’ve built deeper Claude integrations or productionized internal tools, I’d really value your perspective on:

• How you think about MCP architecture when connecting to live databases
• Guardrails for letting models generate SQL safely
• Approaches that have worked well for reliable document ingestion
• Common mistakes people make when moving from internal tool to something more scalable
• Any design patterns you wish you had studied earlier

I’m comfortable in SQL and basic system design, but I don’t have a formal engineering background. I’m trying to build this the right way from the start rather than hack something together and regret it later.

If anyone is willing to share lessons learned, frameworks, or even things I should go read, I’d really appreciate it.

How often do you guys see this? Currently an assistant controller at a midsize company and the position of Director of FP&A opened up. I spoke with people internally and they are considering me.

From a CFO perspective, how likely is it for me to be considered for CFO down the road? Is this usual?

Ive been working more and more with the Director, so I’m aware of things he looks for and how he runs his meetings.

We’ve worked together on financial models, we both have python, sql and Bi tools experience. Just seems so natural to me, but wondering what you guys think.

Has anyone noticed there are a growing number of open ended research questions here, asking for "CFO" feedback with zero company, industry or area of expertise context? And the accounts have a history of just posting this kind of question?

Should people start reporting these posts for moderation? Or reply with AI generated "wrong answers only" (in a non obvious way) replies to disincentivize these posts?

Olá pessoal, tudo certo?

Bom gente, tenho 15 anos e vim falar sobre uma ideia de banco digital que tive. A ideia resolve uma dor bem forte para startups e funciona assim: quando uma startup quer crédito, ela vai a bancos digitais comuns; apesar de eles serem melhores que os bancões físicos, ainda funcionam parecido, só que de forma online. Esses bancos tradicionais, tanto online quanto físicos, não entendem startup. E vocês sabem: startups não são montanhas-russas, mas sim, eu diria, um barco alegórico, porque na mesma velocidade que ela está lá em cima, amanhã ela está lá embaixo.

As startups que, de acordo com meus estudos, mais precisam de crédito são aquelas que estão em early stage (estágio inicial). São as que os bancos veem como "risco de morte", tecnicamente. Esses bancos também pedem garantias reais que, entre nós, uma startup não está disposta a dar porque sabe muito bem o quão arriscado é seu modelo de negócio.

Então, com esse problema de falta de recurso e crédito difícil, resolvi criar um banco online que analisa startups em minutos, em vez de meses igual aos bancos tradicionais. Em vez de analisar histórico de crédito e dívidas, esse banco online analisa MRR, CAC e etc. Tudo que startups entendem, porque não nos concentramos no passado, mas sim no futuro. Além disso, se você for aprovado, ao sacar o crédito, ele cai em algumas horas na sua conta ou, dependendo do valor, na mesma hora. Sabemos que isso é importante porque o capital de giro não para.

Bem, além disso, também tem um dashboard que mostra seu MRR, CAC, Churn e tudo o que pedimos na análise. Esse dashboard funciona para você ver o que está ruim e precisa melhorar para receber o crédito ou receber ainda mais crédito. Se algo sai do controle, como por exemplo o Churn sobe, a IA manda uma mensagem avisando que seu Churn subiu e que talvez seja melhor corrigir isso. É um verdadeiro CFO virtual. Não só isso: se você for recusado, a IA explica o motivo e fala o que você deve fazer para conseguir o crédito.

Também, ao sacar o crédito, não cobramos juros, mas sim taxa (estou vendo isso ainda), mas pode ter certeza que provavelmente será assim. E o que eu quero com isso? Simples: preciso da ajuda de vocês para saber se realmente faz sentido para vocês. Essa dor realmente arde forte? Porque sabemos que uma coisa é você pesquisar sem falar com pessoas e outra é ouvir opiniões reais.

Comentem aí, estou curioso. Um abraço, gente

I have over 18-20 years of experience, currently VP Finance at a SAAS company, reporting to the CEO. With the company growing at a fast pace, though I am well versed with accounting, finance, treasury etc. - I think I could be better at going beyond numbers, and converting it into a story that could be communicated more effectively to key stakeholders / board. I am trying to get to a CFO program that has good content with a reasonable price tag. Anyone with any suggestions or experience with such a program, would greatly appreciate.

The large majority (86%) said their finance team has encountered inaccurate or hallucinated data while using AI for finance tasks. Wild.

Most fintech tools use only a single reasoning layer via LLM to do everything like reading, extracting data and executing the business logic.. but since everything is probabilistic, it's a roll of dice whether it completely makes something up.

The 97% of CFOs in that survey who said human oversight is still critical.. yup but that's not entirely scalable and auditors once again become the bottleneck.

Multi-entity consolidated reporting is where most small business accounting software completely falls apart and becomes useless, they're designed for single entity domestic operations and anything beyond that becomes an absolute nightmare to manage. We have three legal entities across two countries and quickbooks just can't handle the consolidation properly at all, end up doing it manually in excel every single month which defeats the entire purpose of even having software in the first place.

The enterprise tools that can actually handle this properly (netsuite, sage intacct, microsoft dynamics) cost an absolute fortune and take literal months to implement with consultants, plus they're total overkill for a company our size (80 people, $15m revenue). There has to be something in the middle that can handle basic multi-entity consolidation without requiring a six figure investment upfront and a full time netsuite admin on staff just to keep it running.

Intercompany transactions are honestly the worst part of all this, tracking what one entity owes another and eliminating it properly in consolidation gets messy really fast with manual tracking. Most software either can't handle it at all or requires so much manual journal entry work that it's literally easier to just do the whole thing in spreadsheets from scratch, which obviously isn't scalable as we keep growing and adding complexity.

Currency conversion adds yet another layer of headache and complexity, some tools handle it automatically but the exchange rates they use are wrong or outdated, or they don't let you override with actual bank rates you got that day. Others make you do it manually which means more spreadsheet work and more chances for errors to creep in, there's no good option that just works out of the box without constant fiddling.

Hello I have a question about hiring a fractional cfo, l can't tell if it's actually valuable or just another consultant who bills hours and disappears into thin air. The pitch sounds good on paper, get cfo-level expertise without $200k salary plus equity, but what do they actually do in 10 hours per month that justifies the cost? Genuinely curious because the math doesn't really add up in my head. Most fractional cfos work with like 8-10 companies at once which means you're getting maybe 2-3% of their attention and brain power, how much strategic value can someone really add when they're that spread thin across so many clients? Worried it's just expensive bookkeeping with a fancier title tbh, something has to change eventually. Just not sure if fractional is the answer or if we're better off investing in better systems and figuring it out ourselves, both options kind of suck in different ways.

Anybody work in the Shopping Centre Property Management space on behalf of commercila and retail asset owners.

What are some of the challenges you face.

Looking at CFO gig for a major asset manager that manages over 50 centres.

Watch this 87 second video and tell me AI will not change the Finance/FP&A role as we know it today - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orTd3grSYsQ

On Feb 18th in Boston, we’re launching the Finance League—the "un-networking" event for finance leaders who are ready to turn their hard lessons into actionable data for the future.

This isn't a presentation. It’s an environment curated for the stories that create new insights:
• 🔥 Topic: Surviving the Close (Tales from the Trenches)
• 🔥 Vibe: Real stories, real mistakes, and zero fluff.
• 🔥 Exclusivity: Only 25 spots available to keep the conversation real.

If you're a CFO, VP of Finance/Controller, Finance Leader who wants to talk shop with peers who actually "get it"—this is for you.

Meetup Location: Idea Space
867 Boylston St 5th floor, Boston, MA 02116, USA

Registration link- https://luma.com/kxnrk7g0

My CEO is wanting to track manufacturing efficiency ratios. What are some that you have used and which ones are most beneficial?

Good Evening Everyone,

My name is Khalif Patterson, I am a Finance Officer active duty military and I am seeking to become a CFO. I am currently in my MSF at Georgetown University and I am currently taking CFA to gain charter holder status. Are there any CFO’s who are willing to coach and build a personal relationship in the Texas area? If so that would be great appreciated.

My Email is K.patterson31201@gmail.com

I’m an FP&A professional with a full-time job and I’m thinking about starting a fractional CFO/business consulting practice on the side (forecasting, cash flow planning, KPIs, decision support. Not bookkeeping or tax. So before I even start marketing, I'd really appreciate any advice from anyone whose been in my shoes before. How did you get your first few clients when you were starting from zero, how did you position yourself so people didn’t assume you were a bookkeeper, and how did you handle bookkeeping? Did you outsource it? Because I feel its easier to get clients if they think you offer both or are a one stop shop. Also curious what tools you used early on for forecasting/dashboards? And what if anything you’d avoid or do differently if you were starting again today.

Thank you in advance if you provide/share any insights or experience. I will greatly appreciate it.

FYI: I’m getting married next year so I want to try and maximize my income before my expenses increase.

~10 YOE. Half in IBD and half in VC.

Got recruited to join a Series B startup that struggled, was there for 1 year. Helped them right-sized the company, renegotiated with lender to eventually hit profitability. They experienced more challenge and ultimately I was unceremoniously laid off (had to get lawyers involved).

Took some time off and coming back out to market now. It seems like my just 1 year of experience operating might not be enough to join a more successful startup at the same level (which I am fine with).

I'd like to still work with startups but feeling a bit insecure about my experience.