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

Demystifying the Role of the CFO in Growth Stage Companies: Rick Smith