FP&A Today

Five-time CFO Rick Smith has led finance at companies including inVentiv Health Communications, Exos, Parchment, Solera Health before founding Bonfire advisory. He is also the author o fDemystifying the Role of the CFO in Venture and Growth Stage Companies, a no-nonsense approach to the topic. Reviews for the book include: “This book is a must-read if you want to understand how to scale a company as a CFO” and “Should be required reading for CEOs and PE people along with CFOs.” In this episode Smith provides his take on being a CFO and his long background in FP&A, providing insights on: The path from FP&A to CFO (without a CPA) Why I like being CFO at SMBs (sub $50m) Being a dreamer, artist and buildingFP&A  Audits vs QOEs  The unspoken challenges working with PE firms FP&A and M&A – what you need to know  Link to the book: Demystifying the Role of the CFO in Venture and Growth Stage Companies

Preston Naegle started his career in private equity at Leavitt Equity Partners (founded by Michael Leavitt, the former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. Negale then moved into the operating world and for more than 2 years has led strategic finance and FP&A at a PE-backed Midway Mechanical Services  in the HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) industry at the company which has completed 15 acquisitions (3 in 2025 alone) within the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing sector across the Western US region.  In this episode An origin story in Private Equity Learning from a “firehose” of business models  Bringing PE thinking to a head of finance role at Midway Mechanical  Bringing people with you as you create FP&A, budget and forecasting processes Choosing an FP&A solution Enhancing time to insights that bring long-term business partnering and profit growth 

Glenn reconnects with Adam Shilton—who reveals the highs and lows of more than a decade selling to finance teams and what 134 deals in 36 months taught him about CFO challenges. The founder, writer, and speaker has now launched his own venture focused on helping entrepreneurs and solo business owners. My Experience selling finance software including SAP Bridging the Sales-Finance Divide: Why pipeline forecasts are inherently “fluffy” The Deposit Game-Changer: Why commission should only be paid on receipt of deposit, not just signature Finance coaching sales on overdue invoices AI and AR automation AI Agents workflows 

What does it take to be the finance leader behind Hollywood stories? Diya Sagar, CFO of AWA Studios, which produces critically acclaimed, original stories for comics, TV, and movies, joins Glenn Hopper to reveal how she manages the money behind the magic—from funding graphic novels that may not pay off for years to navigating the unpredictable world of graphic novels, film and TV deals.  How a “creator-first” approach shows up in budgets Building a Hits-Driven Portfolio The Ultimate Model: From Page to Screen Economics The 2-4 year timeline  What Boards Really Want in a creative industry

With more than 20 years of experience helping startups scale from seed to series B, Maria Azatyan has built architectures for companies across ai, robotics and the new space economy, translating complex technologies into numbers. This is coupled with her frank perspective as a single mother balancing finance leadership and advising startups.  Sci-fi Dreams Made Real: sharing experiences with Waymo Setting up ArmGate, empowering entrepreneurs  One month to “two minutes” using AI to work with data Case study: AI to Automate ERA Filings for Venture Funds Role as ex-CFO at DocDoc.ru whose exit was ranked one of Russia’s top five IT & Digital M&A deals.  Problems with cash flow to 45% year-over-year revenue growth  Biggest startup challenges for finance teams