The CFO Playbook

What does it take to lead finance when AI is changing how the work gets done? 

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In this episode of The CFO Playbook, David McClelland is joined by Michiel Boere, CFO at Remote. 

Remote helps companies hire, manage and pay people anywhere in the world. Michiel describes what it takes to run finance for a business that operates in almost every country. His team of around 150 people manages hundreds of bank accounts, dozens of audits every quarter and a constant flow of tax filings. He was Remote's first CFO, and he explains what that meant: clearing the backlog that fast growth leaves behind, and building the foundations that helped the company pass $300 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) and become cash-flow positive. 
Michiel tells David how AI agents now handle much of the repetitive work in his team. "Bob" is a back-office bot that processes bank statements. "Tim," the Treasury Investment Manager, moves cash around the world efficiently. A supervisor agent checks their work, and humans still make the decisions. He also describes the culture shift that followed, as hesitant team members became enthusiastic adopters. 
Michiel also looks back on seven years at Uber, where he moved from marketing into finance. He became CFO of Uber Eats just before the pandemic and helped take it from burning around $1 billion a year in EBITDA to being EBITDA-positive. He shares what that period taught him about fast decision-making, knowing your unit economics in depth, and not relying too heavily on forecasts. He also explains why he thinks companies are more at risk of under-investing in AI than over-investing. 
In this episode, you'll learn: 
What a first-time CFO must fix after a period of hyper-growth 
How AI agents are automating treasury and back-office work, and where humans stay in the loop 
Why finance has been slower than other functions to adopt AI, and the role auditors and regulators play 
How to bring a team from AI hesitancy to AI enthusiasm 
Lessons from turning Uber Eats from heavy losses to EBITDA-positive 
Why understanding the unit P&L is essential to managing profitability country by country 
How to make confident decisions with imperfect information, even when AI sounds certain 
Why future budgets may combine headcount and tokens, and why AI ROI may soon be the wrong question 
Why CFOs should watch frontier AI labs' pricing models and avoid being locked into one vendor 
Why the long-term value lies in doubling down on the "hard things" your customers can't do themselves

What does it take to become the kind of CFO who can turn fast growth into disciplined, sustainable progress?
Want more insights from finance leaders? Subscribe to Progressive Finance, Soldo’s new newsletter featuring practical leadership insights, finance trends, and conversations with CFOs and industry experts: https://substack.com/@progressivefinance

Is there someone you’d like to see on The CFO Playbook? Email us at: pr@soldo.com

In this episode of The CFO Playbook, David McClelland is joined by Robert Checchia, CFO at Benzinga.

Robert shares his perspective on the modern CFO as an operator: someone who gets close to the business, understands how teams work, and helps turn an ambitious growth plan into clear priorities, accountable ownership and sustainable margins. Drawing on his experience across banking, consulting, private equity and operating roles, he explains why the best finance leaders are not gatekeepers—they empower others to make better decisions.
In his conversation with David, Robert explores the discipline required to scale a business under private-equity ownership. He discusses how to distinguish good opportunities from the few that deserve real investment, how to give P&L owners meaningful visibility into their numbers, and why finance must connect revenue growth to margin, cash generation and execution.

Robert also reflects on building a career across countries and industries, the importance of making decisions with imperfect information, and why leaders must own the consequences of their recommendations. He shares practical advice on using AI to improve productivity without losing human judgement, including how to encourage experimentation while maintaining effective guardrails.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why the strongest CFOs are operators, not just financial stewards
How to say no to good opportunities so you can focus on the best ones
How to empower P&L owners with clear, consistent financial information
Why revenue growth must be measured alongside margin and cash generation
How to make decisions confidently with imperfect information
The value of accountability, ethics and clear communication in leadership
How to build incentives that align teams around growth targets
How to introduce AI tools responsibly while protecting human judgement
Why career pivots can build resilience, perspective and better leadership

What does it take to become the kind of CFO who can lead through hypergrowth, change and uncertainty? 

Want more insights from finance leaders? Subscribe to Progressive Finance, Soldo’s new newsletter featuring practical leadership insights, finance trends, and conversations with CFOs and industry experts: https://substack.com/@progressivefinance 

Is there someone you’d like to see on The CFO Playbook? Email us at: pr@soldo.com 

In this episode of The CFO Playbook, David McClelland is joined by Roy Hefer, CFO at Perk and a finance leader with experience taking two companies public. 

Roy shares a practical leadership playbook for CFOs: build a world-class team, create leverage through delegation, and make culture and trust as rigorous a priority as the numbers. He explains why the finance team that gets a business through its early growth is not always the one that will take it to the next stage—and how leaders can make the difficult people decisions that scaling demands. 
In his conversation with David, Roy explores the judgement behind successful M&A, arguing that culture and values matter as much as synergy models. He shares how to assess fit through time, candour and difficult conversations, why gut instinct is informed by experience, and how to build teams where credibility, reliability, confidentiality and accountability create lasting trust. 

Roy also discusses how CFOs can turn AI into real operating impact, build investor relationships long before a fundraise, and stay effective under pressure. From prioritising ruthlessly to protecting physical and mental health, his advice is a reminder that the modern CFO’s impact is ultimately defined by the people they build and the decisions they enable. 

In this episode, you’ll learn: 
Why building a world-class finance team is a CFO’s defining responsibility 
How to create leverage through delegation and high-performing teams 
Why culture and values determine whether an acquisition integration succeeds 
How to test cultural fit through time, candour and difficult conversations 
The role of trust, ownership and accountability in effective finance leadership 
How CFOs can turn AI and automation into meaningful operational improvements 
Why investor relationships must be built long before a fundraise 
How to prioritise ruthlessly while protecting physical and mental health

Is the future of finance full-time? Or are the best CFOs increasingly working across multiple businesses?

Is there someone you’d like to see on The CFO Playbook? Email us at: pr@soldo.com

In this episode of The CFO Playbook, David McClelland is joined by Sara Daw, Global CEO of The CFO Centre and the Liberty Group, and one of the world’s leading voices on fractional finance leadership.

Sara shares why more businesses are choosing to access CFO expertise rather than employ it full-time, and explains what she’s learned after more than two decades working alongside hundreds of finance leaders across 18 countries. She explores how the CFO role has evolved from technical expert to trusted strategic adviser, why relationships matter more than reporting, and how the best finance leaders help CEOs make better decisions.

In her conversation with David McClelland, Sara discusses her own unconventional career journey from Deloitte and London Business School into the emerging world of fractional finance, why she chose flexibility over investment banking, and how that decision led to building the world’s largest network of fractional CFOs. She also explains what makes a successful fractional CFO, how businesses know when it’s time to hire a full-time finance leader, and why access to leadership is becoming more valuable than ownership of talent.

Sara also shares her research into the future of work, including psychological ownership, blended workforces, and how organisations can build trust and commitment beyond traditional employment models. Finally, she looks ahead to an AI-enabled finance function, explaining why judgment, ethics, and human relationships will become even more valuable as finance becomes increasingly autonomous.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why businesses are increasingly hiring fractional CFOs
What CEOs really value from finance leaders beyond technical expertise
The signs a business is ready for a full-time CFO
The skills that separate great fractional CFOs from the rest
How to build trust and psychological ownership in flexible teams
Why relationships matter more than reporting
How AI is changing the future of finance leadership
Why judgment, ethics, and communication will become a CFO’s greatest competitive advantage
About Soldo
Soldo is the proactive spend management solution that frees progressive businesses to accomplish more.
Learn more: https://www.soldo.com/en-gb/

Useful Links 🔗
Sara Daw - https://www.linkedin.com/in/saradaw/

How do you lead finance in a global human rights organisation, protect independence, and make sure every pound supports the mission?
Is there someone you’d like to see on The CFO Playbook? Email us at: pr@soldo.com
In this episode of The CFO Playbook, David McClelland is joined by Rohan Hewavisenti, CFO at Amnesty International, one of the world’s most recognised human rights organisations.
Rohan shares what financial discipline looks like when the stakes are not measured in profit, but in people’s lives. He explains how Amnesty International’s International Secretariat operates as a £100 million organisation, working as part of a wider €400 million global movement, and why preserving independence shapes everything from funding decisions to resource allocation.
In his conversation with David McClelland, Rohan reflects on his career across the not-for-profit sector, from ActionAid and Breast Cancer Care to the British Red Cross, RNIB and Amnesty International. He discusses managing volatility, rebuilding from a £20 million deficit, investing in future areas of human rights work, and keeping finance closely connected to mission impact.
Rohan also explores the role of generative AI in a human rights organisation, from the ethical questions around bias, data, and autonomous weapons to the internal opportunities for improving efficiency and accessing decades of research. He explains why CFOs need to understand the cost of AI, build data skills across their teams, and stay open to technology by using it regularly.
Rohan’s CFO Playbook principle: Understand the organisation deeply, from what drives income and costs to what drives good performance in mission-related work.

About Soldo
Soldo is the proactive spend management solution that frees progressive businesses to accomplish more.
Learn more: https://www.soldo.com/en-gb/
Useful Links 🔗
Amnesty International – https://www.amnesty.org/en/
Rohan Hewavisenti – https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohan-hewavisenti-b716617/