Born Capital

7 signs of weak CFOs: 1. You hide mistakes Weak CFOs cover up errors to protect their image. Great CFOs openly admit when financial models fail, clearly explain why, and outline steps to avoid repeating mistakes. 2. You compromise on integrity Weak CFOs might bend rules to hit short-term targets, losing trust permanently. Great CFOs know integrity means saying "no" clearly and confidently, even if it's unpopular. 3. You treat FP&A like a reporting function Weak CFOs treat FP&A as reporting and data entry. Great CFOs turn FP&A into business partners, using financial insights to guide strategic decisions, such as launching new products or entering new markets. 4. You chase short-term wins Weak CFOs want quick wins at the expense of long-term stability. Great CFOs look 3-5 years ahead, investing in the right talent, systems, and partnerships to hit growth. 5. You fear new technology Weak CFOs delay adopting new tools because change feels risky. Great CFOs use AI to improve accuracy in forecasting, manage risks proactively, and streamline routine financial tasks. 6. You confuse employees with complex finance talk Overloading conversations with jargon might make you sound smart, but it leaves your team in the dark. Great CFOs make finance clear and actionable, helping teams to make informed decisions. 7. You react instead of anticipate Playing defense is a losing game. Great CFOs stay ahead of problems, anticipate risks, and have solutions before anyone asks. Weak CFOs play it safe. Great CFOs lead, simplify, and plan ahead. If you're tired of feel-good LinkedIn advice and want more hard truths and frameworks, join 10,000+ CFOs leading with conviction → https://lnkd.in/dcudfnBx

Hi, I’m Adam, and here’s my story I never planned to start a company. I was working in sales and business development, spending years traveling across Europe, meeting CFOs, finance teams, and operators. And no matter where I went, I kept hearing the same complaints: - Invoices get stuck for weeks. - Our ERP slows us down instead of helping. - Our accounts payable process is a disaster. At first, I thought someone would fix this. But nobody did. I pitched the idea of automating finance workflows to my company. They said no. That’s when I realized… If I wanted to solve this, I’d have to build it myself. So I quit my job. I convinced two of my colleagues to leave with me, and we started Dost. No funding. No customers. Just a belief: Finance shouldn’t be this hard. Today, we help companies automate their finance processes so teams can focus on strategy, not chasing approvals and fixing errors. But this journey hasn’t been easy. Over the coming weeks, I’ll share on LinkedIn about: 1. The biggest mistakes I made in building Dost. 2. Hard lessons I learned about finance and business. 3. Why most finance teams are stuck in the past and how to fix it. Outside of work, I’m big on discipline. I’ve played water polo since I was 9, and I still train regularly, swimming, lifting, and staying active. That’s it about me. I’d love to hear your story in the comments. Share what problems you’re solving.

2 deadly CFO AI use cases Model: ChatGPT-o3 Mini High and 4.5 Use case 1: Board Meeting Preparation. Why? o3 Mini high is capable of reasoning over the data. It will read the prompt and the attachments and take time to evaluate different paths for the output and can self-correct. Prompt: "You are my CFO strategy consultant. I’m preparing for an upcoming board meeting. Here’s what you need to know: My updated Jan 2025 financials (attached) cover key metrics and changes since the last meeting. Transcript of Q4 board meeting (attached). The board members are: Wouter and Michael. From our team participated: Me: John and our CTO: Jack Your tasks:?Summarize the top 3–5 concerns raised by each board member in the transcript. Based on these concerns and my updated financial data, predict 2–3 questions each member is likely to ask at the next meeting. Provide concise, data-driven responses for each predicted question, referencing any relevant metrics, new developments, or risk mitigations. Format your output as an executive report that is easily readable, no need to include references. Flag any areas where we might need additional data or clarifications before the meeting.” Results: (see comments) Board meetings aren’t just about reporting numbers. They’re about telling the right financial story, one that builds trust, aligns leadership, and drives strategic decisions. Most CFOs spend hours preparing slides, analyzing past discussions, and structuring insights. ChatGPT can do this in minutes. If you're worried about confidentiality, start testing AI on non-sensitive data. This prepares you for the day when AI handles your most confidential information securely. To be relevant, you must experiment boldly. You'd love the second use case with the prompt here → https://lnkd.in/dcudfnBx

The CFO Office newsletter just crossed 10,000 readers. This milestone means more than a number. It’s a sign that the conversation here resonates. As we celebrate, I’m more committed than ever to making The CFO Office your go-to newsletter for the latest CFO insights, real frameworks, hard truths, and the conviction to lead. Your support drives me to share the insider strategies finance deserves. P.S. Join 10,000+ CFOs and senior finance leaders here → cfooffice.io

The CFO Playbook is broken 1997: Process Engineer at Intel 2020: CFO at McKinsey & Company 2024: Chair, North America at McKinsey Eric Kutcher redefined the modern CFO role completely. - No CPA - No MBA - No FP&A role - He has a master's in engineering - He never took an accounting class Yet, he became CFO of McKinsey. One of the most influential consulting firms in the world. How? Kutcher’s career wasn’t built on technical accounting. It was built on problem-solving, strategy, and leadership. At Intel, he learned how to break down complex systems. At McKinsey, he mastered business transformation. His engineering mindset helped him tackle finance like a system, finding bottlenecks, optimizing processes, and driving strategic outcomes. He didn’t study finance in school. He learned it by taking on key roles. First on McKinsey’s compensation committee, then on the finance committee. That experience gave him a deep understanding of business economics, incentives, and financial planning. "For my sins, they made me the CFO," he jokes. But his leadership was no accident. At McKinsey, he transformed finance. He overhauled fee structures to align with client impact. Implemented an internal carbon tax to drive sustainability. Deployed a cloud-based ERP system across nearly 60 countries. Now, as McKinsey’s North America Chair, he leads operations across one of the firm's most critical markets. Kutcher’s career proves 2 things: 1. CFOs today drive business strategy, not financial reporting. 2. The best CFOs aren’t always accountants. They’re problem solvers. Experience in finance matters. But a CFO who only looks at numbers is just an analyst. The best CFOs show 3 signs: 1. They see the bigger picture 2. They can challenge assumptions. 3. They push companies forward and take small bets. TAKEAWAY: CFOs need brutally honest conversations about the future of finance. - How can I leverage technology? - How can I adapt to new financial realities? - How can I work with my CEO to make bold decisions? The best CFOs aren’t analysts or storytellers. They are strategists. They execute relentlessly. They challenge assumptions. They redefine how finance creates value... CFOs don’t need more noise. P.S. CFOs can turn AI into their 24/7 partner → https://lnkd.in/dcudfnBx

Demand for new CFOs is growing. But companies can't find them. Why? The CFO role has changed. But CFOs haven’t. CFOs used to manage budgets and crunch numbers. Now, they lead strategy and AI transformation. Yet, most CFOs give the same outdated advice: - Get a mentor - Technology is important - Understand the business - The CFO role isn't changing But where’s the real execution strategy? AI agents and automation are rewriting how companies operate. But most CFOs are reacting to change and not leading it. Companies want CFOs who can: - Drive profits - Build the future - Face the uncertainty - Use AI and automation - Scale businesses through acquisitions But here's the problem. Most CFOs aren’t ready for the future. They lack: Tech fluency Strategic mindset Execution skills companies want 3 signs of a modern CFO: They challenge assumptions. They take small bets that create big opportunities. They experiment with new CFO tools and AI to gain results. TAKEAWAY: Companies without modern CFOs risk falling behind. For future CFOs: Build skills in tech, strategy, and leadership. For companies: Act fast. Attract, train, and retain modern CFOs. CFOs don’t need more feel-good LinkedIn posts. They need real frameworks, hard truths, and the conviction to lead. P.S. Join 10,000+ CFOs getting insider strategies → https://lnkd.in/dE5pTJnT

FP&A is the faster path to the CFO role. Most people wait for the CFO title to act like one. But fail when the opportunity comes: The journey to the CFO role isn’t about where you start. It’s about what you master along the way. And FP&A masters what matters: - Strategic thinking - Operational finance - Data-driven leadership Most finance teams focus on their lane. Treasury manages liquidity. Accounting tracks historicals. Investor relations polishes the company’s story. FP&A? It runs the full financial ecosystem. Where revenue meets costs. Strategy meets execution. Long-term bets get modeled before they become billion-dollar decisions. If you want to lead a company’s financial future, you must see the full picture. FP&A?is?that picture. P.S. Every Thursday and Sunday I send out a letter to 9,000+ CFOs and finance leaders sharing insider strategies on AI, automation and CFO growth. Join them here → cfooffice.io

Traditional CFO: Revenue growth is at 25%, but our margins dropped 8%. We should freeze all new product launches for Q3. - Reactive. - Short-term fix. - Kills innovation. Smart CFO: I see the margin pressure, but also your vision for product innovation. Here's a plan: we can shift manufacturing timing, renegotiate supplier contracts, and optimize our launch sequence. This protects margins while keeping our roadmap alive. Let's review the options together. ? Strategic. ? Proactive problem-solving. ? Keeps the company growing. See yourself as the CEO's partner and transform from a number cruncher into a strategic ally. Your job as a CFO isn't to be a financial gatekeeper. Your job is to make bold visions financially possible. Compliance doesn't build great companies. Partnership does. image credits: Wouter Born

Imagine it’s 2035. Finance teams are gone. No accountants. No FP&A analysts. No controllers. Just you and 10,000 AI agents running finance in real-time. ? The books close themselves instantly. ? Cash flow is optimized before you even ask. ? Forecasts adjust automatically with live market data. No more SaaS vendors. No more vendor negotiations. No more procurement headaches. FP&A vendors pivot to selling “AI-optimized strategy consulting,” but no one buys because AI handles that too. Why pay for software when your AI agents build what you need on demand? Need a new FP&A model? Agent-4821 designs it in seconds. Regulatory change? Agent-7734 updates compliance in real time. Board report? AI assembles the slides before you wake up. Finance runs itself. - No audits. - No errors. - No manual work. But when every CFO has the same tools, the same perfect AI models… What sets them apart? Strategy. Influence. Judgment. Relationships. Real-world intuition AI can’t replicate. TAKEAWAY: CFOs won’t compete on efficiency. AI will do the work. The best CFOs will do the thinking. The next 10 years won’t belong to those who work harder. They will belong to those who think smarter. P.S. No need to panic… yet. Disclaimer: No accountants (or FP&A analysts) were harmed in the making of this post. P.S. CFOs can turn AI into their 24/7 partner → https://lnkd.in/dcudfnBx

I spoke to 3 CFOs last week about AI and I can admit it freely We're at the Blockbuster/Netflix moment in history. But here's the twist: 1. There are 2 types of CFOs One group sees the future and is ready to drive change. The other clings to old objections and reacts defensively. 2. Data security fear is real I was surprised by the volume of comments on my recent AI board meeting prep post. People are deeply worried about confidentiality, so many likes on those concerns prove it. But these objections can fade as enterprise-ready AI becomes more secure. 3. AI is non-negotiable If you're worried about confidentiality, start testing AI on non-sensitive data. This prepares you for the day when AI handles your most confidential information securely. And yes, AI can make mistakes now, but every new version cuts the error rate; soon, AI will self-correct like a seasoned pro. The bottom line: Blockbuster refused to change. They kept renting DVDs while Netflix moved to streaming. One is now almost a half trillion-dollar giant. The other is dead. Finance is going through the same shift. AI is changing how CFOs operate, analyze, and make decisions. Your colleagues who use AI can move faster, cut costs, and make better decisions. The ones who don’t? They’ll wonder where they went wrong. To be relevant, you must experiment boldly. P.S. If you like this post, you'll love how CFOs can turn AI into their 24/7 partner → https://lnkd.in/dQRpqZs3