It was a rude awakening when I transitioned to leading a finance team in a company that had previously considered “finance” to be an outsourced payments team. I was initially shut out of key conversations simply because, in their view, what could a team focused on compliance, budgeting adherence, and taxes possibly contribute to “real” decisions? This was very different from my last role where I had been a true business partner in driving results. I quickly realized that it wasn’t just my ego that was hurt but that nobody had been responsible for grounding our major strategic decisions on org-wide data. Luckily, I had support from the CEO to change this culture so I jumped right in.
And, who doesn’t want to be a Strategic CFO? I provided the team with articles from McKinsey, Deloitte, and every trendy resource on the topic. With naive enthusiasm, I threw myself into the management team by running operations and providing commentary on everything: general strategy, compensation policies, in-office returns, pricing, KPI debates, and so on. I shared my view on everything that came up.
This was a mistake. Decisions didn’t improve. Why? Embarrassingly, I had forgotten the true competitive advantage of a Strategic CFO. A 10x finance leader adds value through their rock-solid understanding of the numbers, expertise in analysis, flexible risk management, and investor alignment, not ‘personal opinion.’ I had jumped in too fast without fully understanding our numbers or our business and became just one more of the many personalities already giving feedback. To resolve this, I stepped back and took time to truly understand the business. I only began to add true value after a couple of months by focusing data-based feedback on fewer key decisions.
Every startup needs to have a leader that advises on strategy and decisions using company-wide data. And yes, it is clear that the leader should be Finance with its accountability mandate and data ownership. But, to take this role you will need to earn the company's trust. It starts with the basics: control the finances, focus on what matters, drive the company to result, run the MBR process, stay ahead of market trends, leave your ego at the door, and lean into your skillsets.
So, how do you become a 10x CFO?
1. Control your numbers (no pun intended)
Your value to the business comes from providing objective advice rooted in reliable numbers. This is the foundation of your credibility. Here’s how:
Close accounting quickly. Aim for 95% closure by the first day of the month. Simplify this process with daily cash reconciliations and a structured pre-close process a few days before the end of the month.
Deliver consistent reporting. On the second day of each month, produce a standard suite of reports, including: an operational model with actuals, a full income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement—all connected by net income as a check.
Validate the numbers. Before releasing your data, cross-check reports against key system data by reviewing front-end outputs such as ARR/ACV/Logos in your CRM, NDR in your CS tool, and headcount in your HRIS.
Keep the operational model live. Create, update, and monitor a great operational model that includes everything from pipeline to usage to scenarios in order to give insights through the combination of operational and financial numbers.
Create a data accuracy dashboard. Build a unified data dashboard that pulls raw numbers from all your systems. Assign team members to check daily. Yes, “they should always match, but…”
Replace incompatible systems. All of your data must talk across systems, or you will drown in reconciliations once you start trying to provide live data.
This is not an easy task. Systems that should align often don’t. A lot of moving numbers can create small variances that can lead to confusion. But, by putting in the work to deliver consistent results, you instantly build your credibility.
Tip: Clearly define what is “material” (say 5,000 USD?) to avoid boiling the ocean.
2. Focus on what matters
Once your finance foundations are solid, focus on the sweet spot of actions that both make the most impact and align with your expertise. While it may be tempting to get involved in vision statements, HR policies, or marketing campaigns, stay focused as you already have plenty on your plate. After controlling your numbers, your primary focus should be to:
Run scenarios. What happens if your ICP leads drop by half or usage starts to increase by 30%? This will give you a good understanding of what matters for the business.
Assess resources. Review how resources are producing the outcomes that their expense would suggest. What are your short-term or long-term investments and when will they pay off?
Price and discount. Understand the key levers and historical trends. This is one of the most critical aspects of the business, and your expertise in analysis and market understanding should allow you to add quick value.
Manage risks. Look at the company as a whole to assess what risks are appropriate and what risks are unnecessary.
These are areas where your deep understanding of the business and analytical expertise uniquely position you to make the greatest impact ongoingly. You can continue to expand your focus once these are locked down.
Tip: Never forget that your most important contribution to the company is Cash Management. You should tie every decision every day in every way to cash burn, cash on hand, and runway.
3. Drive the company to results
Good numbers and good analysis are just the foundation. Driving results is what truly differentiates a Strategic CFO from someone who just provides the numbers. This is the trickiest part of the job and will be covered extensively in other sections, but for now let’s focus on a few highlights:
Plan clearly. Everyone in the company should know their business target and the actions required to achieve them. This means you should implement rolling reforecasts that always show live, clearly defined targets.
Hold people accountable. When a target is missed, follow up and clearly explain its impact on the business. Use the weekly management review for this.
Always question. While you won’t understand all parts of the business, you should know why every key number exists as it does. What actual actions lead to each of your key targets?
Destroy silos. Numbers are a natural way to get different teams in the same room. They are clear and non-judgmental. Use them to get teams into a room to dive into a single result in order to get the full picture.
No one in the organization is better suited to drive accountability more than the CFO. You oversee the company’s numbers, have the control mandate, and are incentivized to focus on sustainable growth.
Tip: You should measure yourself on the results of the whole business, use New revenue / Cash burn.
4. Transform the finance team into a bastion of excellence
The finance team should be the bedrock of stability in a fast-moving environment. The professionals in your team bring significant business experience that you can leverage to set a standard for performance. You should ensure your own team:
Follows through on commitments. Meet deadlines and provide accurate results consistently.
Responds quickly to requests. Generate goodwill by addressing others’ concerns quickly. This will increase general trust in Finance.
Handles core operations to a T. Completely streamline finance operations without needing to resort to manual adjustments. Your systems should just work.
Uses checklists and best practices. Financial processes are pretty standard. Most errors are caused by someone not checking something. Create checklists for your close process, data checks, and end of month reporting. It works.
The team will earn trust by demonstrating reliability, becoming a stabilizing presence in rapidly changing organizations.
Tip: Share your finance process publicly: calendars, checklists, reporting dashboard, etc. This not only brings your teams out of the shadows but serves as a blueprint for other teams.
5. Lean into project management
You’re a CFO because you have a T-shaped skill set, deep expertise in numbers/processes combined with a broad understanding of various business functions. This expertise comes from managing accounting, planning, treasury, and other finance disciplines which require significant rigor and project management skills. So, when critical projects arise, don’t hesitate to step up and lead. Volunteer to:
Manage internal infrastructure upgrades. Don’t hesitate to offer your team’s time to implement key systems so that they don’t come back and bite you later.
Lead AI rollouts. Your employees are already *all using it.* Embrace it. Finance is well-positioned to manage the transition with its clean data and repetitive tasks.
Own M&A integrations. Oversee financial due diligence and post-acquisition integrations.
Create stock option programs. Design and manage equity compensation plans to attract and retain top talent.
Manage restructures. If needed, you should take the lead on org-wide reviews to protect cash burn and profitability.
Your expertise positions you as the ideal leader for high-impact initiatives. You can ensure these projects are executed effectively and deliver meaningful results.
6. Stay ahead of market trends
You should be second only to the CEO in understanding external factors that could impact the business. To do this:
Monitor other company exits. Check acquisitions, IPOs, and general industry successes to gauge market dynamics.
Track competitors. Create a spreadsheet of all your competitors - including their price points, last funding rounds, and news. Monitor regularly.
Stay informed of FX and interest rates. Track currency fluctuations and be generally aware of macro-economic risks.
Know the best-in-class metrics. Benchmark your company against top performers in your industry to identify gaps and opportunities.
Keep up to date on tools. Keep an eye on emerging software and processes that could improve efficiency or decision-making.
Staying ahead requires regular reading and research. Make it enjoyable, there are a lot of incredible finance resources out there. For example in Tech, check out TechCrunch, Crunchbase (funding), The Verge, OpenView Weekly, CB Insights, First Round Review
Tip: Don’t try to read everything at once. Add a Google alert to your industry and all of your competitors. Things can change quickly.
7. Leave the ego at the door
Your greatest value comes from interpreting and serving the data. Your role is to guide others toward sound decisions based on the data you provide, not to make all the decisions yourself. Most operational choices should rest with the leaders of their respective teams (CEO, Sales, Product, etc.). To make this clear:
Acknowledge decision ownership. Clearly communicate to the leadership team that others are the primary decision-makers and your role is to support and guide.
Facilitate, don’t dictate. Guide meetings toward productive outcomes without dominating them.
Use “no” sparingly. Reserve outright refusals for critical situations where risks outweigh benefits. For an in-depth article on the politics of the C-suite check out: C-Suite Politics Part II
Explain through numbers. Base all recommendations in objective evidence. Again, this is the source of your strength.
Recognize that your colleagues bring diverse perspectives and experience to the table. Your role isn’t to add just another opinion but to clarify the risks and rewards of each option.
Tip: If decisions are made that go against the data, that’s okay as data isn’t everything. However, implement measures to track risks (e.g., retention tactics, partnership initiatives) and establish clear checkpoints to evaluate the effect of key decisions.
In conclusion.
Get the basics right. Get the data right. Then, use your expert advice to enable better decision making.
You are the eye of the storm, giving cold clean analytical advice to increase the company’s success.