Adapting and responding to changing circumstances is crucial for business leaders during uncertain times.
Making quick decisions and taking calculated risks is essential for finance leaders.
Aligning data analytics with the business model can drive efficiency and leverage in financial planning and analysis (FP&A).
Deep dives
CJ shares his worst budget experience during the COVID-19 pandemic
CJ Gustafson, CFO at PartsTech, discusses his challenging budget experience during the COVID-19 pandemic when several deals fell through due to the economic impact of the virus. He highlights the importance of making quick decisions in times of uncertainty and the need for business leaders to adapt and respond to changing circumstances.
CJ's journey as a CFO and his insights on decision-making
CJ talks about his experience as a first-time CFO, sharing lessons learned and insights on decision-making. He emphasizes the importance of being willing to make decisions quickly and take calculated risks. He also mentions the value of learning from others and seeking different opinions to make informed decisions as a finance leader.
CJ's reflections on the role of FP&A and BI under the CFO
CJ discusses the role of financial planning and analysis (FP&A) and business intelligence (BI) under the CFO. He highlights the importance of FP&A in providing insights for decision-making and mentions the power of combining FP&A and BI teams to drive more impactful outcomes. Additionally, he emphasizes the need for aligning data analytics with the business model to achieve efficiency and leverage.
CJ's favorite SaaS metrics and their significance
CJ shares his favorite SaaS metrics, including ARR per employee, net dollar retention, and CAC payback period. He explains the importance of ARR per employee in assessing efficiency and leverage, highlights net dollar retention as a metric reflecting customer loyalty and ability to fund growth, and mentions the relevance of CAC payback period in understanding the time it takes to recover customer acquisition costs.
CJ's tips for aspiring FP&A professionals
CJ offers advice for individuals starting their career in finance, specifically in financial planning and analysis (FP&A). He emphasizes the value of developing a diverse skill set and finding unique strengths to differentiate oneself. He encourages individuals to be authentic and embrace their own style to bring a fresh perspective to the field.
“I last came on FP&A Today before I started my new CFO gig, and I was pretty nervous. I was talking a lot in theory of what I thought it would be, and now I can tell you a little bit more of the reality. So it's been quite the ride.”
Returning guest CJ Gustafson–master of the hugely popular Mostly Metrics newsletter–delivers in his custom funny and frank style the lessons from his first year as CFO and the practical lessons for anyone in finance (and particularly FP&A).
His worst budget experience - working six months on an operating plan thrown away within a week during COVID (and the surprising conclusion)
Getting stamps on my finance passport getting me to CFO
The biggest lessons on being a CFO-as removing blockers and letting an organization go faster.
CFO as chief psychologist, chief contract signer, and chief risk officer
How I prioritized my finance hires
Views of FP&A as a CFO
How knowing numbers better than anybody else projected me to CFO
Why BI was put under the CFO function (“it’s like putting data insights on steroids and you combine FP&A and BI”)
Why ARR per employee is my favorite SaaS metric
CAC payback period as the golden SaaS metric
How I (painfully) learned about the power of the “meeting before the meeting”
Creating a category for yourself as CFO
Sign up for the Mostly Metrics Newsletter from CJ Gustafson: https://www.mostlymetrics.com/
Check out Run the Numbers hosted by CJ: a weekly podcast about financial metrics and business models, designed for ambitious people operating tech startups https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/run-the-numbers-startup-finance-strategy-and-operations/id1704418764
Follow CJ or get in touch with him on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/
Or Twitter https://twitter.com/cjgustafson222
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