Growcfo Show

13 episodes scanned. 94% of ad slots promote the show's own products.

Recent Episodes

1. #308 Buying AI for Finance? What You Need to Know Before You Commit Lyndon Stickley & Rob Steele CEO & CFO, iplicit

   Nov 3, 2026

   Rob Steele, CFO of iplicit, joins CEO Lyndon Stickley and host Kevin Appleby to discuss how finance leaders should evaluate AI software amid hype and a possible bubble. The conversation covers the difference between "AI native," "AI first," and cloud-core deterministic ledgers, why the ledger should not be compromised by AI, and the risks of unpredictable token costs. They also address vendor support, legacy system migration, and a pragmatic, step-by-step approach to adopting AI.

2. #307 What Should CFOs Fix Before Using AI in Forecasting? Carolina Lago Managing Director, Tactic Financial

   Oct 27, 2026

   Carolina Lago, Managing Director of Tactic Financial, discusses why CFOs and FP&A teams should establish clear data flows, a single source of truth, and repeatable processes before adding AI to forecasting. She explains her workflow model, which combines deterministic tools for locked calculations, probabilistic AI for analysis and scenario testing, and human-in-the-loop review. The conversation also covers AI tools for email and meeting work, the workforce impact of AI, and the workflow-based approach taught in her AI cohort course.

3. #306 Feel Behind on AI? Where CFOs Should Start Gavin McGahey CTO & Co-Founder at AccountsIQ

   Oct 20, 2026

   Gavin McGahey, CTO and Co-Founder of AccountsIQ, joins host Kevin Appleby to discuss AccountsIQ's CFO Mindset report on AI, which found that finance professionals feel pressure to adopt AI faster than they are comfortable with, even though 81% mostly or fully trust AI-driven outputs. The conversation covers data structure, vendor data-protection checks, audit trails, and human approval controls. It also covers practical starting points such as AP automation and anomaly detection, and how AccountsIQ builds narrowly scoped AI agents that keep users in control.

4. #305 What CFOs Need to Know Before Scaling AI Bruce Mullan Managing Partner, AI Governance Partners

   Oct 13, 2026

   Bruce Mullan, Managing Partner of AI Governance Partners, discusses why CFOs should treat AI governance as a performance system rather than a compliance gate. He covers risk-based governance tiers, the progression of finance AI from administrative assistance to process automation to automated decisions, using invoice processing as the example. The conversation also addresses shadow AI use, data protection with public AI tools, AI literacy, and the cost and accuracy trade-offs of free versus paid tools.

5. #304 Why Your Most Profitable Product Might Be Losing You Money Pauline Healey Founder, Logical BI

   Oct 6, 2026

   Pauline Healey, founder of Logical BI, discusses how fractional CFO services extend beyond finance to encompass operations, supply chain, and inventory management—particularly for manufacturing and engineering businesses. She explains why businesses must look beyond headline gross margins to understand true product profitability, using real examples of how high-margin products can actually destroy profit when support costs, sales effort, and operational waste are factored in. The conversation covers cash-flow forecasting across the full operating cycle, system selection (from Xero to ERP), the value of walking the shop floor, and how AI can both help and mislead business decision-making. Pauline also introduces her membership platform, Profit Harmony Hub, designed to scale CFO insights to smaller businesses and business owners at lower cost than traditional retainer models.

6. #303 The True Cost of AI: What CFOs Need to Know Ed Barrow Founder & CEO, Cloud Capital

   Sep 29, 2026

   Ed Barrow, Founder and CEO of Cloud Capital, discusses research from 100 growth-stage CFOs revealing that 96% blew through their AI budgets last year, with average software companies now spending 15–20% of revenue on compute and AI—a fourfold increase. Barrow distinguishes between workforce AI (scaling with headcount, belonging in OPEX) and product AI (scaling with customer usage, belonging in COGS), warning that misallocating these costs distorts unit economics. He cautions against betting on falling token prices, noting that consumption has outpaced per-unit declines and infrastructure providers will shift from pay-as-you-go to committed multi-year contracts as they prioritize profitability.

7. #302 Is AI Creating a Finance Jobs Crisis? Ademola Odewade CEO, K-Dems Consulting Ltd.

   Sep 22, 2026

   Ademola Odewade, CEO of K-Dems Consulting Ltd. and former Big 4 chartered accountant and CFO, discusses his new book 'Human Led AI Powered Finance' and challenges the narrative that AI will eliminate finance jobs. He introduces the ACCOUNT framework—Aim, Capability, Controls, Operating Workflows, Underlying Data, Numbers, and Trust—as a practical blueprint for adopting AI while preserving human judgment in financial decision-making. The conversation explores how AI acts as a multiplier of human capability rather than a replacement, and addresses the real employment challenges facing finance professionals as technology reshapes traditional roles.

8. #301 Could Your High Standards Be Hurting Your Team? Jeanné Els GrowCFO Mentor

   Sep 15, 2026

   Jeanné Els, founder of coaching and facilitation practice Sailor and new GrowCFO Mentor, discusses how high-performing leaders' drive for excellence can inadvertently harm team confidence and autonomy. Drawing on over a decade in corporate finance across Luxembourg, investment management, and real estate, Jeanné shares her personal journey from perfectionism and burnout to building psychologically safe, high-performing teams. The episode explores how finance leaders can maintain high standards while fostering trust, delegation, and sustainable ambition—key themes in GrowCFO's finance business partnering curriculum.

9. #300 Will AI Reduce Finance Team Headcount? Dan Wells Founder & CEO, GrowCFO

   Sep 8, 2026

   Dan Wells, Founder & CEO of GrowCFO, joins host Kevin Appleby for the landmark 300th episode to discuss whether AI will reduce finance team headcount and how CFOs should prepare. The episode examines how automation, machine learning, and generative AI are reshaping core finance activities—from reporting and month-end close to forecasting—and what this means for resource planning, role design, and capability building. Dan and Kevin also announce the launch of GrowCFO Academy, a bespoke AI-powered learning platform designed to help finance leaders develop personalized competencies while staying current with rapid AI evolution.

10. #299 What It Takes to Become CFO by 33 Audrey Lagresle CFO, Automobile En Direct

    Sep 1, 2026

    Audrey Lagresle, CFO of Automobile en Direct (Quebec's largest used-car retailer), discusses her accelerated path to the CFO role by age 35, achieved through diverse experiences spanning global finance transformation at Bombardier, FP&A development in a fast-growth automotive business, and strategic leadership during market volatility. She shares how non-traditional routes—project management, M&A, and operational partnership—equipped her better for modern CFO responsibilities than traditional accounting paths, and explains her approach to AI governance, ERP transformation, and value creation in a 400-person organization.