25 Lessons from 25 Years in Finance!!!

1. Cash doesn’t lie. Your P&L might.

2. The Board cares about results, not effort.

3. Great CFOs influence — they don’t just report.

4. M&A dies in integration. Plan for the aftermath.

5. Revenue is vanity. Margin is sanity.

6. In a downturn, cash is king. In crisis, it’s God.

7. Forecasting is storytelling — make it believable.

8. If Finance isn’t driving the strategy, you’re doing it wrong.

9. Headcount is the most emotional and dangerous line item.

10. You’ll regret hiring too slowly. You’ll regret firing too late.

11. Excel is not a strategy.

12. Auditors are not your enemy — but they’re not your friend either.

13. Good data beats gut feeling. But clean data beats everything.

14. Don’t scale chaos. Automate first.

15. Not every founder should be a CEO. Know when to step in.

16. Your forecast is fake if your Go-To-Market team can’t explain their pipeline.

17. Your real burn isn’t what you think it is.

18. Complexity kills clarity. Simplify everything.

19. Fundraising is a full-time job. Treat it like one.

20. Due diligence is not just for VCs. It’s for survival.

21. Don’t fall in love with your model. Fall in love with reality.

22. Finance is not the back office. It’s your central nervous system.

23. Every CFO is a part-time psychologist.

24. Culture eats controls for breakfast.

25. Your credibility is your compounding asset. Protect it at all costs.

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