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Q: How can finance leaders transition from being seen as gatekeepers to true business partners?

A: It’s all about building trust. Show you are not there to be the "no" person. Build trust by rolling up your sleeves and solving problems with teams across the organization, even the tedious ones. Demonstrate your desire to empower the business through data-driven insights. When you build a reputation as someone who consistently shows up as a partner focused on enabling success, you earn the credibility to influence strategic decisions. I've found that once people trust your judgment, they're much more accepting when you occasionally need to pump the brakes.

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Q: What mindset shifts help accountants succeed when moving from Big 4 to startups?

A: You need to get comfortable operating at two different levels of precision. For business planning, directional accuracy is often good enough - saying revenue is between $8-10M gives leaders what they need to make decisions. But for accounting and audits, you need absolute accuracy and exact figures. The art is knowing how to hold both standards simultaneously and know when each applies.

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Q: What's your advice for building an effective finance function in high-growth companies?

A: First, accept that feeling behind is normal - that's actually a good sign, it means the business is growing. Give it your all now, but remember - looking back in a year, you'll see how far you've come and how much more you know. Focus on progress over perfection.

Second, don't build finance in isolation. Partner extensively with other teams. Include engineers, product leaders, and other stakeholders in key discussions and decisions, even hiring. The best finance teams I've seen were built through deep partnerships across the organization.

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Q: What distinguishes truly exceptional finance leaders from good ones?

A: Self-awareness is huge. Great leaders know their strengths and weaknesses, bringing in complementary talent where needed. But what really sets them apart is combining strong operational skills with genuine passion for the business mission. Strong leaders are constantly anticipating needs and challenges and focused on enabling growth rather than controlling it. And critically, they understand that while core finance skills matter, building trust and driving impact comes from how well you partner with and serve the broader organization.