Whether you’re a junior or mid-level finance executive aspiring to sit in the Chief Financial Officer chair in the future, or you’re an experienced CFO with many years of experience, education, learning never stops. As any great finance executive will tell you, constantly looking for ways to improve your professional knowledge is what makes a good CFO great. The business landscape is constantly throwing up new challenges, and staying sharp will help you learn how to overcome whatever markets throw your way.
But resources aren’t just limited to improving the way you think. New tools and software can improve the way you work, too.
The only problem is that there is so much information and so many new SaaS tools out there, that it can be overwhelming trying to figure out which are worth your time. Especially when time is a resource we all seem to have less and less of every day.
So, we’ve curated a list of resources that can help both aspiring financial leaders and experienced CFOs become more effective and more efficient.
Table of Contents
CFO Recommended Podcasts, Webinars & Guides
Digital resources are usually the first port of call for obvious reasons — they’re typically available instantly, free, and you can work through them at your own pace.
Strength in the Numbers Podcast
For aspiring CFOs who want to benefit from a mentor but don’t yet have someone they can go to, the Strength In The Numbers podcast is a fantastic resource. The show brings regular interviews with senior finance leaders from companies like McDonalds, Oracle, and Johnson & Johnson, and provides valuable conversations on career choices and the biggest issues facing CFOs.
Inside the Strategy Room Podcast
For more experienced CFOs who want to dive into meaty topics, Inside the Strategy Room from McKinsey is an excellent choice. To give a sense of the gravity of the show, recent guests include the founder of Blackstone, Stephen Schwarzman, Pfizer CFO Frank D’Amelio, and former special assistant to President George H.W. Bush, Richard Haass, who discusses how CEO and CFOs can navigate geopolitical issues.
By learning how those at the top of their field are approaching the issues of the day, CFOs can apply lessons and strategies to their company.
5 Ways to Supercharge Your Role as a Strategic Finance Leader Webinar
A collaboration between CFO Dive, Teampay, and Mosaic, this webinar provides a number of valuable, practical tips on how CFOs can shift from spending all their time tallying up historical numbers and more time on forward-looking, strategic decision-making.
If you’re a finance leader who feels stuck on a hamster wheel of day-to-day tasks and you want to spend more time on big picture vision and strategy, this is a must-watch resource.
New CFOs: A Roadmap To Success
Stepping into the CFO role for the first time can be a daunting prospect. Gartner knows that, which is why they created this guide to the first 100 days in the role. It’s incredibly important to get a fast start and build momentum when you’re in this position, making this whitepaper a very useful starting point for new CFOs.
CFO Recommended Events
While digital resources are likely to make up the bulk of your personal development, there is still serious value to be found in ‘the real world.’ The opportunity to interact directly with experts is hugely beneficial, as are the networking opportunities that come with in-person events.
Gartner CFO & Finance Executive Conference
May 20 – 21, 2024 | National Harbor, MD
There are few hotter topics in the world of finance right now than automation and generative AI, and Gartner’s annual conference is tackling the issue head-on with the theme of Autonomous Finance: Driving Transformation to Unlock Enterprise Value for their 2024 conference.
While the technology is exciting and has the potential to change the way the finance function operates, there’s a lot of noise in the space. Attendees at the Gartner conference will be able to access a tailored set of keynotes and expert discussions that will focus on what finance leaders really want to know – how can AI help grow our company?
AFP 2024
October 20 – 23, 2024 | Nashville, TN
It’s one of the biggest events on the finance calendar, and this year AFP is heading to Nashville. Keynote speakers are yet to be announced, but it’s a big conference, so attendees are sure to find presentations and discussions that they’ll gain value from. As with any conference, one of the biggest benefits is networking and being able to talk shop with finance professionals dealing with the same issues you are.
Whether you’re relatively new in your finance career or a seasoned CFO, there will be plenty for you at AFP.
CFO Recommended Communities
Finding the right community can transform your work. There’s immense value in face-to-face or direct online interactions with people who are facing the same challenges as you are, as well as those who have overcome them before. Here are some of the best for CFOs:
F Suite
F Suite describes itself as “The CFO Neural Network – an independent, invitation-only community for CFOs of high-growth companies and funds.” Sounds like something worth being a part of. The community runs regular in-person and online events, has its own membership platform, and provides access to real-time data and surveys.
Membership boasts CFOs from companies like Lyft, Nextdoor, MidJourney, and Circle, so it’s worth tapping into your network to find out more.
CFO Leadership Council
With a membership that’s over 2,000 strong, there’s a lot of collective knowledge to be found in the CFO Leadership Council. The community has chapters all across the country and offers a comprehensive suite of regular online and in-person events for CFOs to improve their strategic planning, finance leadership, and risk management.
These include multi-day conferences in spring and fall and a three-day finance and technology expo showcasing the latest tools for the strategic CFO.
Airbase
Looking for a community that fits into your existing workday? Spend management platform Airbase runs a Slack-based online community called Off the Ledger, which is open to finance, accounting, and procurement professionals.
Off the Ledger could be a good fit if you want a place to ask questions or bounce ideas without the need to login to a separate platform or get to an in-person event.
CFO Recommended People
Sometimes, the best advice doesn’t come from the wisdom of crowds, but rather the wisdom of an individual whose experience resonates with you. Here are a couple of individuals worth checking out:
Dave Kellog
Dave Kellog is an “advisor, director, consultant, angel investor, and blogger focused on enterprise software startups.” Kellog shares his unique insights on the challenges facing startups on his website Kellblog, as well as posting regular content on LinkedIn.
Kellog is also a regular guest on podcasts and YouTube channels, often sharing the links to these episodes on his blog and LinkedIn.
Ben Murray – The SaaS CFO
Murrary is a true modern hybrid, combining expert SaaS CFO expertise and a CPA with prolific content creation. The SaaS CFO website started back in 2016 and now offers a library of resources, SaaS metrics, and forecasting – from key SaaS metrics to guides on venture debt, how to build specific financial models, and downloadable templates.
In addition to The SaaS CFO website, Murray has a podcast, a newsletter, an academy and even offers fraction CFO services.
How Mosaic Complements These Resources
Most of these resources center around one thing. Strategy. Up to 90% of executives agree that the CFO’s strategic importance has significantly increased. In order to meet those expectations and provide real strategic insight, they need access to data in a way that facilitates it.
That’s where CFO software and tools such as Mosaic can prove to be an invaluable resource in financial planning and analysis. Mosaic acts as the connective tissue between a company’s numerous and disparate systems and platforms, and provides a consolidated CFO dashboard with real-time views of your most important metrics.
Through the integration of your corporate financial data, married with a suite of sophisticated financial forecasting, advanced analytics, and cash management tools, Mosaic gives CFOs and senior finance leaders the ability to strategize and assess the potential impact of new ideas easier than ever before.
Simply put, it should be a fundamental component of a modern CFO’s tech stack.
To find out more about how Mosaic can make your finance team more effective and more efficient, book a demo today.
CFO Resource FAQs
What are the top resources recommended by CFOs?
The needs of CFOs in various industries are as varied as the industries they work in. In addition to the resources we’ve listed in this article, some well-known websites include CFO Dive, CFO.com, as well as content produced by leading firms such as McKinsey and Deloitte.
