5 takeaways from Forestay’s CFO Summit

Just before the high summer break, Forestay had the pleasure of hosting 14 SaaS finance leaders for an intimate and engaging CFO Summit at our London offices. The event provided an opportunity to absorb insights from our speakers and served as a forum for sharing experiences about the current market status.

We came away from the Summit with numerous specific learnings. However, five key messages or takeaways deserve broader mention:

1. A shift from profitability to accelerated growth expectations: Recent years have seen venture-backed businesses undergo significant changes, including restructuring, identifying redundancies, and implementing austere budgets. As leadership now refocuses on growth investment, finance leaders face a more communicative role. They must reassure employees that previous measures weren’t futile and inspire confidence in the upcoming growth journey.

2. Finance leaders must also be skilled communicators: Funding rounds, exit processes, and corporate development initiatives require finance leaders to not only know the numbers but also actively participate in the sales pitch. We explored how the MEDDIC or MEDDPICC model applies to corporate finance activities.

3. Debt financing offers a viable path for scaling companies: Venture debt is a versatile tool that, when used strategically and in conjunction with equity financing, can be an attractive option for management teams. While leadership teams are often more familiar with equity venture capital, finance leaders can educate CEOs and founders about the potential role of venture debt in financing rounds and corporate development activities.

4. Growing recognition of finance’s broader role and the value of strategic initiatives: Strategic finance acts as a data hub. By equipping finance teams with additional datasets, such as product information, we can conduct analyses that provide deeper insights into the business’s true operations. This grants strategic finance leaders a seat at the table for initiatives not traditionally seen as financial, such as product development roadmaps and customer success organizational design.

5. CFOs are the “brakes” and CEOs are the “accelerators”: We explored the symbiotic, yet occasionally antagonistic, relationship between the visionary CEO and the pragmatic CFO. Finance leaders now feel more valued, having earned increased credibility after spearheading challenging initiatives in recent years. They’re increasingly called upon to determine when it’s appropriate to “release the brakes” and allow for accelerated growth.

The role of the CFO has evolved significantly in recent years. We were delighted to bring together forward-thinking financial leaders to share knowledge and exchange ideas. Exceptional communication, leadership, and data analysis skills are hallmarks of today’s great CFOs.

We are keen to hear your thoughts and whether this matches your experiences in SaaS finance leadership. Equally, if you’re building enterprise tooling for the Office of the CFO, we would love to hear from you. Reach out to a member of the Forestay team or drop us a message at contact@forestay.vc.