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Why Most CFO Content Is Bad (And What Would Actually Help)
Most CFO content is written by people who have never sat in the chair. A critique of CFO.com listicles, Big-4 white papers, LinkedIn KPI slop, and vendor webinars. Plus what operating CFOs actually need to read, and the Pragmatic CFO brand promise.
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How PE Buyers Actually Evaluate a CFO Candidate
Round-by-round breakdown of the PE CFO interview: recruiter technical, partner narrative, back-channel references (they call your last sponsor FIRST), case study, deal-partner dinner. Five questions PE partners always ask and how to answer them.
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Add-Backs and QoE: What Actually Survives the Buyer’s Scrub
Sell-side vs buy-side view of EBITDA add-backs. Accepted, negotiated, stripped. A real EBITDA bridge example, the three add-backs sponsors laugh at, and a QoE prep checklist.
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The PE-Backed CFO Board Reporting Package: What Sponsors Actually Read
Page-by-page structure for a 12-page PE board deck plus appendix. Good version vs bad version of each page. The three slides that get you a follow-up call and not in a good way.
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The First 90 Days as a Portfolio Company CFO: A Real Playbook
A real week-by-week playbook for the first 90 days as a portfolio-company CFO. What to read, what to close, what to fix, what to ship, and the five mistakes that get PE CFOs replaced in year one.
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How to Screen an AI-Native CFO Resume: Real Signals vs Noise
TL;DR: Most 2026 CFO resumes now have an “AI” section. Almost none of it is real. The signals that matter are shipped workflows another team member still uses, verification discipline against source docs, and specific opinions on what NOT to automate. Below is a signal-vs-noise table, five red flags, five…
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Retained vs Contingency vs DIY: The Finance Executive Recruiter Playbook (And How Fees Actually Work)
TL;DR: Retained search costs 33% of first-year OTE and is worth it above $300K OTE or when the search is confidential. Contingency costs 20% to 25% of first-year base and works fine for controllers and FP&A managers under $250K. Fees are negotiable more often than recruiters admit. Below is how…
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Interviewing an AI-Native FP&A Analyst: 15 Questions That Actually Predict Fit
TL;DR: Most FP&A interview questions still test for pedigree and Excel trivia. Neither predicts fit in 2026. Below are 15 questions I use to screen AI-native FP&A analysts, each with the reason it works, a strong-answer signal, and a weak-answer signal. Plus a live exercise, questions to skip, and the…
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The AI-Native Finance Team: 2026 Job Descriptions for CFO, FP&A Manager, and Controller
TL;DR: Your 2019 finance job descriptions are actively hurting your 2026 hiring. “Advanced Excel” as the skill ceiling, “attention to detail” as a headline trait, and PowerPoint-first deliverables all filter out the exact candidates you want. Below are three ready-to-use JDs (CFO, FP&A Manager, Controller) written for how a finance…
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When to Hire a CFO: Fractional, Full-Time, or Interim (A Decision Framework)
TL;DR: Hire a fractional CFO when revenue is between $2M and $15M and finance runs on QuickBooks plus a shared drive. Bring in an interim CFO when a full-timer just left mid-close or you are 60 days from a diligence request. Hire a full-time CFO when you are above $20M…
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The CFO’s Guide to Uploading Financials to LLMs Without Privacy Risk
Three redaction techniques, four enterprise LLM tiers, a safe-vs-unsafe table, and ten vendor questions. The full playbook for using AI on real financials without a compliance incident.
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Building a Rolling 13-Week Cash Flow With Claude
The 4-prompt sequence for a rolling 13-week direct cash forecast. Input structure, expected outputs, weekly re-baseline routine, and the verification checkpoints that catch Claude’s arithmetic errors.
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The Pragmatic CFO 