GrowCFO Show

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https://open.spotify.com/episode/2VMHWSc8joPjk5plFwizjr

High-achieving leaders often pride themselves on attention to detail, relentless drive, and demanding the best—from themselves and everyone around them. Yet the very qualities that fuel success can quietly erode team confidence, autonomy, and performance. When expectations become uncompromising, people stop taking initiative, avoid risks, and operate in fear of making mistakes. A critical leadership challenge is learning how to maintain excellence without creating pressure that stifles creativity, burns people out, or drives the best talent away—and how a few intentional shifts can turn high standards into a force for sustainable growth rather than harm.

In this GrowCFO Show episode, host Kevin Appleby is joined by Jeanné Els, GrowCFO Mentor and founder of coaching and facilitation practice Selah, to explore how high standards play out in real teams and real careers. Drawing on more than a decade in corporate finance and her work with high-performing professionals, Jeanné shares candid reflections on times when her own drive and perfectionism unintentionally created pressure and reduced ownership in her teams, and contrasts that with a more sustainable approach built on psychological safety, trust, and clear expectations. Together, Kevin and Jeanné connect these leadership lessons back to finance business partnering, showing how insight, storytelling, and curiosity can raise the bar while keeping both leaders and teams out of burnout.

Key topics covered:

Jeanné shares her journey from aspiring musician to chartered accountant and ultimately to coach and facilitator, illustrating how high performers often reinvent themselves when their old success patterns stop working

The discussion reframes finance business partnering as a storytelling and insight function, not just a reporting role, emphasizing the importance of communicating what really matters to stakeholders

Jeanné unpacks the concept of sustainable ambition, explaining how unchecked high standards can push leaders into overdrive, creating disconnects between who they are and how they show up at work

She explains how her own high standards once created pressure for her team, and how focusing on psychological safety, questions, and trust led to stronger, more autonomous performance

The episode explores imposter syndrome and the transition from technical expert to leader, highlighting why leaders must let go of needing all the answers and instead create space for their teams to learn and experiment

Jeanné outlines her vision for Selah as a community and support system for high-performing professionals who want to maintain ambition without sacrificing wellbeing or team health

Links

Jeanné Els on LinkedIn

Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn

GrowCFO Mentoring

Timestamps: 

00:00 – Kevin introduces Jeanné Els, her background in corporate finance, and sets up the importance of examining how high standards shape leadership and team dynamics

03:20 – Discussion of finance business partnering as moving beyond historic reporting into insights, communication, and influencing decisions—not just “being right” with the numbers

13:11 – Jeanné reflects on lessons she wishes she’d known earlier, including how relentless standards and over-responsibility can backfire on both career and team

13:27 – Jeanné explains the story behind Selah, her focus on sustainable ambition, and the need for safe spaces to step back and reflect on how you’re leading and living

20:47 – Deep dive into psychological safety, trusting your team, and treating mistakes as learning opportunities instead of evidence of falling below impossible standards

32:06 – Jeanné shares her vision for expanding Selah and building communities where driven professionals can maintain high standards without burning themselves or their teams out

Find out more about GrowCFO

If you enjoyed this podcast, you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favorite podcast app. The GrowCFO show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Spotify and many others. Why not subscribe there today? That way, you never miss an episode.

GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. Join GrowCFO as a free member today and participate in our regular networking events and webinars. Premium members can also access our extensive training center and CFO Digital Toolkit. You can enroll in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programs here.

You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net

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https://open.spotify.com/episode/1fQvZ06RhWiGAaCPATzx08

In today’s finance function, the question is no longer whether AI will have an impact, but whether it will fundamentally change team size and structure. This landmark 300th episode of The GrowCFO Show asks directly: will AI actually reduce finance team headcount, and how should CFOs prepare? Dan Wells, Founder & CEO of GrowCFO, examines how automation, machine learning, and generative AI are reshaping core finance activities—from reporting and month-end close to forecasting and transactional processing—and what that means for resource planning, role design, and long-term capability building.

Dan sets out a pragmatic framework for separating hype from reality. He considers which finance activities are most automatable, where AI is likely to create capacity rather than eliminate roles, and how leading CFOs are using that capacity—whether to cut cost, reinvest in analysis and business partnering, or build new capabilities altogether. Listeners come away with a structured way to think about headcount, role design, and capability building in an AI-enabled finance function, along with practical next steps they can apply in their own teams.

Key topics covered:

Why the question “Will AI Reduce Finance Team Headcount?” is now a strategic issue for CFOs, not just a technology debate

A clear distinction between automating high-volume tasks and making decisions about structural headcount

Specific areas where AI can meaningfully reduce manual effort in reporting, month-end close, and forecasting workflows

Which finance roles and skill sets are most exposed to automation, and which will become more valuable in an AI-enabled team

How progressive CFOs are redeploying capacity towards partnering, scenario analysis, and decision support instead of pure cost-cutting

Key governance, risk, and change-management considerations when using AI to reshape the finance operating model

Links

Dan Wells on LinkedIn

Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn

GrowCFO Mentoring

Timestamps: 

00:00 – 03:30 – Introduction: why AI and finance headcount is now a board-level topic

03:30 – 10:00 – Mapping the current finance operating model and identifying automation hotspots

10:00 – 18:00 – Tasks vs. roles: what AI can automate today versus what still needs human judgement

18:00 – 28:00 – Example scenarios: where AI could change team size and structure in reporting, close, and forecasting

28:00 – 38:00 – Future skills and profiles: what CFOs should hire, retain, and develop in an AI-driven finance function

38:00 – 45:00 – Strategic implications: balancing cost savings with capability, culture, and stakeholder expectations

Find out more about GrowCFO

If you enjoyed this podcast, you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favorite podcast app. The GrowCFO show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Spotify and many others. Why not subscribe there today? That way, you never miss an episode.

GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. Join GrowCFO as a free member today and participate in our regular networking events and webinars. Premium members can also access our extensive training center and CFO Digital Toolkit. You can enroll in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programs here.

You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net

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https://open.spotify.com/episode/6btUL4oyp02GAFIzpP2kja

Becoming a CFO by 33 takes far more than technical finance skills; it demands strategic breadth, deep business exposure, and the confidence to operate at board level. In this GrowCFO Show episode, Kevin Appleby talks with Audrey Lagresle, CFO of Automobile On Direct, about how she reached the CFO seat so early in her career and why today’s CFO must be a value creator and change leader, not just a chief accountant.

Audrey shares her journey from growing up in an entrepreneurial family in France, to driving global finance transformation at Bombardier, and then building the FP&A and finance business partnering function from scratch in a fast‑growing Canadian automotive business. She explains how she now leads a 19‑person finance team, focuses on strategy and decision support, shapes the company’s AI agenda, and applies lessons from ERP transformation and a volatile used‑car market. Along the way, she reflects on imposter syndrome, the role of the GrowCFO program, and how non‑traditional routes can successfully lead to the modern CFO role.

About Audrey Lagresle

Audrey Lagresle is the Chief Financial Officer of Automobile en Direct, Quebec’s leading used‑car retailer. At 35, she oversees strategy, governance, and major transformation initiatives for a fast‑growing, 400‑employee organization. Audrey joined the company six years ago to build its FP&A function and was promoted to CFO in 2024.

Born into a family of entrepreneurs in France, she developed an early understanding of how businesses operate and a lasting affinity for small and medium‑sized companies. She immigrated to Montreal at 18 to study at HEC Montréal, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Corporate Finance, a Master’s degree in Strategy, and competing as an elite student‑athlete.

Audrey built a non‑traditional CFO path through eight years at Bombardier, gaining experience in accounting, financial modeling, finance transformation, corporate strategy, and M&A. She later joined Automobile en Direct, where she led FP&A, strategic planning, corporate governance, a multi‑bank loan syndication, a divestment plan, and major innovation projects including ERP replacement and the launch of an internal AI Committee.

Key topics covered:

Audrey’s journey from growing up in an entrepreneurial family in France to becoming CFO of a leading Canadian used‑car retailer by age 33.

How global finance transformation work at Bombardier—shared services, FP&A systems, and post‑merger integration—equipped her with change, people, and risk management skills vital for the CFO seat.

Why she left a multinational for a fast‑growing medium‑sized business and how she built FP&A, budgeting, cash flow planning, and monthly performance reviews from the ground up.

Audrey’s view of the modern CFO as a value creator and strategic partner to the CEO and COO, rather than a traditional “chief accountant,” and how the GrowCFO program reinforced her readiness for the role.

Lessons from navigating the post‑COVID used‑car downturn, executing a divestment plan, and still opening new branches while maintaining financial discipline .

How she is leading the company’s AI and technology agenda—creating an internal AI committee, adding a Director of Technology and Innovation, and using AI to enhance decisions without cutting headcount.

Links

Audrey Lagresle on LinkedIn

Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn

GrowCFO Mentoring

Timestamps: 

0:00:01 – Introduction to Audrey Lagrell and Automobile On Direct; overview of the used‑car business model and scale (14,000+ cars per year, #1 used‑car retailer in Canada focused solely on used cars)

0:02:04 – Audrey’s early exposure to entrepreneurship in her family’s furniture business and how living “inside the business” shaped her holistic understanding of how companies operate

0:04:20 – Bombardier finance transformation: building shared service centers in Costa Rica, Romania, and the Philippines; project management, process mapping, and large‑scale change management in a 60,000‑employee multinational.

0:09:18 – Standardizing finance across multiple plants and learning from major divestments and post‑merger integrations, including work with Airbus on carve‑outs and integration activities.

0:14:10 – Transition from multinational to a growing medium‑sized automotive business; building FP&A, budgets, cash flow, treasury policies, and monthly financial reviews from scratch.

0:16:46 – The GrowCFO program, evolving expectations of the CFO role by 2030, and why Audrey believes the CFO’s primary mission is to create value and help the CEO make better decisions—not just close the books.

0:21:01 – Imposter syndrome, stepping into the CFO role at 33, and realizing she was already operating as a strategic influencer before the title formally changed.

0:25:25 – Audrey’s finance team structure: strong corporate controller, dedicated FP&A, and treasury support that free her to focus on growth, strategy, and partnerships with the CEO and COO.

0:28:40 – How she is leading AI in the business: internal AI committee, evaluating use cases across marketing, finance, and reconditioning, and insisting on clear ROI and risk management.

0:33:39 – Lessons from a major ERP replacement to Microsoft Business Central and why the CFO must stay close to tech projects to ensure they genuinely create business value.

Find out more about GrowCFO

If you enjoyed this podcast, you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favorite podcast app. The GrowCFO show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Spotify and many others. Why not subscribe there today? That way, you never miss an episode.

GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. Join GrowCFO as a free member today and participate in our regular networking events and webinars. Premium members can also access our extensive training center and CFO Digital Toolkit. You can enroll in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programs here.

You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net

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https://open.spotify.com/episode/4dDqz9crVX05wHlwbFskwN

A CFO role is no longer just about reporting the numbers; it’s about driving strategy, shaping growth, and leading with commercial insight. For ambitious finance professionals, understanding how to deliberately design a career that accelerates you into that top seat has never been more important. From gaining the right breadth of experience to leveraging technology, networks, and non‑traditional opportunities, there are practical ways to intentionally fast‑track your journey to CFO.

In this episode, Kevin Appleby interviews Becky Glover, Chief Financial Officer at Mazuma, about her unconventional and accelerated journey to the CFO seat. Becky outlines how she progressed from leaving school at 17 to qualifying through the AAT and ACCA routes, building a portfolio of varied roles, and eventually stepping into the CFO role without a traditional university background. The conversation positions her story as a practical blueprint for finance professionals who want to fast‑track their careers by focusing on the right experiences, networks, and skills rather than just job titles and salary progression.

The episode also explores how running her own e‑commerce business, engaging with professional bodies such as AAT and ACCA, and contributing to initiatives like Connection Career Collective all accelerated Becky’s development as a modern, technology-enabled CFO. Listeners gain insight into how exposure to technology, automation, marketing, and SME operations can significantly increase a finance leader’s impact and readiness for the top finance role. The discussion highlights that the path to CFO is becoming more diverse and that intentional career design, continuous learning, and meaningful connections can dramatically shorten the journey.

Key topics covered:

Becky’s non‑traditional path: from AAT apprenticeship to ACCA-qualified CFO without a university degree

How diverse roles, board work, and “saying yes” to opportunities helped fast‑track her career

Lessons from running an e‑commerce wine business and how it sharpened her technology and commercial skills

How Mazuma combines fintech and accountancy to serve small SMEs with proprietary automation (MazApp)

Why future CFOs must leverage technology and automation to focus on advisory and value creation

Becky’s work with AAT, ACCA, and Connection Career Collective to build networks in male‑dominated fields

Links

Becky Glover on LinkedIn

Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn

GrowCFO Mentoring

Timestamps: 

0:00 Becky’s unconventional route from AAT apprentice to CFO.

0:03 Key factors that accelerated her path to the CFO role.

0:05 How launching an e‑commerce wine business changed her finance skill set.

0:08 Practical lessons from entrepreneurship for aspiring CFOs.

0:11 Inside Mazuma’s fintech‑accountancy model and SME focus.

0:13 The role of technology and AI in the future CFO toolkit.

0:16 Giving back through AAT and ACCA and why networks matter.

0:19 Confidence, imposter syndrome, and Becky’s mindset strategies.

0:25 Connection Career Collective and building connections in male‑dominated sectors.

0:28 Becky’s vision for her future and the evolving CFO role.

Find out more about GrowCFO

If you enjoyed this podcast, you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favorite podcast app. The GrowCFO show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Spotify and many others. Why not subscribe there today? That way, you never miss an episode.

GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. Join GrowCFO as a free member today and participate in our regular networking events and webinars. Premium members can also access our extensive training center and CFO Digital Toolkit. You can enroll in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programs here.

You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net

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https://open.spotify.com/episode/0zOed7gVBbs25h2TaJetQo

For tax professionals wondering what comes after traditional compliance work, this episode offers a practical roadmap for evolving into a more strategic, better-paid role. As AI and automation increasingly handle routine tax tasks, the real opportunity lies in stepping up as a trusted financial guide to business owners, not just a form-filler or historian of the past

In this episode, host Kevin Appleby interviews Scott Winters, CEO & Chairman of the Board at Financial Gravity, on how tax professionals can successfully transition into fractional CFO roles. The discussion frames this shift as both a strategic career move and a necessary response to the rapid commoditization of tax compliance, driven largely by AI and automation. Rather than remaining in backward-looking compliance work, Scott argues that tax professionals are uniquely positioned to become forward-looking strategic advisors, helping business owners make better decisions, scale, and ultimately create more enterprise value .

Scott introduces a five-stage business evaluation and scaling framework and explains how it can be applied by tax professionals who want to broaden their remit beyond tax filings . He explores the mindset shift required to move from technician to strategic partner, the skills gap between traditional tax advisors and seasoned CFOs, and practical models for offering fractional CFO services, including tiered offerings and retainer-based pricing. The episode makes a strong case that those who adapt will thrive in a world where AI takes over routine work, leaving humans to deliver higher-value insight, judgment, and leadership.

Key topics covered:

Why AI is commoditizing tax compliance and pushing advisors toward value-added fractional CFO services

The five-stage framework Scott uses to evaluate, fix, and scale client businesses

The skills tax professionals must develop to bridge the gap between compliance work and strategic CFO leadership

How to design a tiered service offering that layers advisory and fractional CFO work on top of core tax services

Shifting from hourly billing to a retainer-based model that supports deeper, ongoing client relationships

Why the demand for fractional CFOs is growing, and how tax professionals can differentiate in a crowded advisory market

Links

Scott Winters on LinkedIn

Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn

GrowCFO Mentoring

Timestamps: 

0:00:02 – Scott Winters’ background and entrepreneurial journey

0:03:17 – Why tax professionals should become fractional CFOs

0:06:31 – Skills gap between tax compliance work and fractional CFO roles

0:08:45 – Scott’s five-stage business evaluation and scaling process

0:13:15 – Challenges and upskilling opportunities for tax professionals

0:14:33 – The value proposition of fractional CFO services

0:20:25 – Impact of AI on tax, accounting, and advisory services

0:24:08 – Fractional CFO market demand and competition

0:29:16 – Creating a tiered tax, advisory, and fractional CFO offering

0:30:52 – Moving from hourly billing to retainer-based models

0:32:55 – Book promotion and closing thoughts on “Tax Professional to Fractional CFO”

Find out more about GrowCFO

If you enjoyed this podcast, you can subscribe to the GrowCFO Show with your favorite podcast app. The GrowCFO show is listed in the Apple podcast directory, Spotify and many others. Why not subscribe there today? That way, you never miss an episode.

GrowCFO is a great place to extend your professional network. Join GrowCFO as a free member today and participate in our regular networking events and webinars. Premium members can also access our extensive training center and CFO Digital Toolkit. You can enroll in our flagship Future CFO or Finance Leader programs here.

You can find out more and join today at growcfo.net