Finance Alliance

Date: August 26 | Time: 9am PDT / 12pm EDT / 5pm BST | Location: Online IPO readiness takes years to build: disciplined planning, trusted data, and strong governance, done long before anyone calls a banker. Most finance teams don't find their gaps until it's too late to close them. Join Pigment and Deloitte for lessons from companies that got this right, including Figma, Chime, and Once Upon a Farm, and a clear way to benchmark your own team's readiness.

What is a zero-based budget and why is it important? A zero-based budget (ZBB) is a budgeting method where every dollar is assigned to a specific expense or category, starting from zero each cycle. No line item rolls over automatically. Every cost has to earn its place. Peter Pyhrr, an accountant at Texas Instruments, developed the approach in the 1970s. His idea was simple: instead of tweaking last year's numbers, question every expense from scratch. Why does that matter?

Become a member to see the rest Some of our content is only available to FA members. Join the tribe to unlock this article and much more.

For much of my career, I believed that being the most technically accurate person in the room would naturally lead to greater influence. I thought that if I mastered every accounting standard, closed the books flawlessly, and made sure every number was accurate, opportunities would eventually follow. Technical excellence was the benchmark I measured myself against because, like many controllers, that's exactly what I had been trained and rewarded to do.

We sat down with Diya Sagar, CFO at AWA Studios, to talk about what it really means to lead finance in a hit-driven, creative business.

Going public isn't just about growth. It's about rigor. In this episode of Two Cents: Finance Talk, Joy Mbanugo (CFO, CXAI) breaks down what finance teams must get right before an IPO, from audit readiness to building the discipline public markets demand.

When I speak with finance leaders, I often start with a simple question: Is the speed of decision-making in your company adequate? The answer is usually visible before anyone says a word. A few hesitant hands might go up, but most people remain still. The reaction is remarkably consistent across organizations, industries, and company sizes. It reveals a challenge that many of us recognize but struggle to solve.

They're two of the most important C-suite positions in any company. The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) work to keep the business financially stable and profitable. Though their titles sound similar, the CFO and CRO have very distinct responsibilities. The CFO oversees accounting, cash flow, and financial planning, while the CRO is laser-focused on driving sales and boosting revenue. But that's just scratching the surface.

A follow-up to my piece on the F-PRA framework for robust planning, budgeting, and forecasting. In my earlier article on building robust Planning, Budgeting, and Forecasting (PBF) processes, I introduced the F-PRA framework: Foundation, Philosophy, Rituals, and Artefacts. The first three elements tend to attract the most attention. Leaders debate governance structures, planning philosophy, process calendars, and system architecture. Artefacts, by contrast, are treated as an afterthought.

Become a member to see the rest Some of our content is only available to FA members. Join the tribe to unlock this article and much more.