The rise and rise of the “expert opinion” podcast shows no signs of slowing down—and why should it? When seeking industry-specific advice, it’s far more interesting to listen in to a witty, professional chat than to skim through companies' whitepapers.
The only problem is that podcasts designed for CFOs are often created with the main intention of selling something to CFOs, and the content itself a secondary concern. It can be hard to tell from the description whether a podcast will provide valuable information whilst gently plugging a product, or whether it'll be an extended advert for someone’s consultancy.
We’ve sorted out the meat from the marketing, and compiled a list of some of the best podcasts for finance managers.
How to get the most out of CFO podcasts
If you’re “not a podcast person” but would like to become one, here’s a few tips to get optimal value from your listening time.
First and foremost, if you’re searching for advice on a specific challenge or task—such as how to set your pricing model or best practices around preparing for IPO—it’s best to search for a single episode rather than a podcast series. Google search isn’t great at identifying individual episodes, so try a podcast search engine like ListenNotes.
Secondly, when listening to podcasts in your professional niche, remember to use them for networking purposes too. Many people create podcasts to build their reputation in an industry. If a guest speaker seems particularly knowledgeable, go ahead and add them on LinkedIn with a note that you enjoyed their appearance—everyone loves to hear that their expertise is appreciated, and there may be opportunities to work together down the line.
Finally, many popular podcasts apps like Apple Podcast and Spotify allow you to subscribe to shows, so that new episodes are automatically downloaded on your phone. Some financial news podcasts are only 5 minutes long—subscribing to one or two can help you stay on top of key headlines more easily.
The top 15 CFO podcasts for 2024
Here’s a selection of great podcasts financial managers would benefit from listening to, and a note about where to find them.
The SaaS CFO
Hosted by Ben Murray, this podcast delves into the intricacies of SaaS financial management. Each episode features interviews with CEOs and founders from innovative tech companies, exploring their journeys, challenges, and successes. The podcast covers a wide range of topics including seed rounds, subscription management, and AI-driven solutions, making it a valuable resource for anyone involved in SaaS finance and operations.
Listen on Spotify: The SaaS CFO
Website: The SaaS CFO
Notable episode: $34M Raised to Build Integrations Faster for B2B Software Companies
CFO Weekly (from Personiv)
CFO Weekly offers a conversation with a leading CFO, around a different business finance theme every week. There’s a general focus on digital issues, and topics are often newsworthy in some way. Reviewers say it’s one of the best for new and aspiring finance leaders based in the United States.
CFO Weekly is created by Personiv, a Texas-based company that helps businesses outsource their accounting. As such, the underlying marketing message encourages CFOs to focus on strategy issues, and handle their day-to-day accounting with Personiv.
Listen on Spotify: CFO Weekly
Website: CFO Weekly
Notable episode: Growth and Cash Flow Strategies for 2024 with Guido Torrini
Metrics that Measure Up
Metrics that Measure Up offers thought-provoking insights from B2B SaaS industry leaders, focusing on how data-driven, metrics-informed decision-making impacts SaaS company performance. Each episode features interactive dialogues with founders, authors, and experts on various themes including product-led growth, sales, marketing, customer success, and finance. This podcast is a valuable resource for SaaS professionals looking to enhance their strategic decision-making capabilities through the use of metrics and benchmarks.
Listen on Spotify: Metrics that Measure Up
Website: Metrics that Measure Up
Notable episode: Building a Brand and Efficient Growth Simultaneously with Randy Wootton
CFO Insights (from Startup CFO)
If CFO Weekly sounds too US-oriented for you, try CFO Insights. This podcast has a similar premise: every episode discusses one issue that faces CFOs, with a guest speaker. This podcast is for senior finance professionals at European tech companies, and has an impressive roster of sponsors who will be familiar to this audience, including Sage, Pento.io and Netsuite.
CFO Insights is created by Startup CFO—a members-only peer-to-peer support network for finance professionals who work in startups. Its speakers, presumably, are drawn from this group.
Listen on Spotify: CFO Insights
Website: Startup CFO
Notable episode: Paul Barnhurts Shares Lessons on FP&A and Commercial Partnering for Tech CFOs
SaaS Talk™ with the Metrics Brothers
SaaS Talk™ with the Metrics Brothers offers unique insights, strategies, and metrics essential for B2B SaaS companies. Hosted by industry veterans Dave "CAC" Kellogg and Ray "Growth" Rike, each 20-minute episode covers critical topics for profitable revenue growth, featuring practical advice on customer acquisition, retention, and expansion. The podcast also includes listener-submitted questions, ensuring a highly interactive experience.
Listen on Spotify: SaaS Talk™ with the Metrics Brothers
Website: SaaS Talk™ with the Metrics Brothers
Notable episode: Rubrik S-1 and IPO - A Growth and Profitability Metrics Review
Turpentine Finance
If you’d prefer a CFO-oriented podcast that isn’t affiliated with a brand, try Turpentine Finance, a podcast created and hosted by the serial entrepreneur Sasha Orloff. Orloff discusses finance themes with CFOs from large and well-known companies, like Open AI, Netflix and Runway.
The themes are ambitious, and implicitly targeted towards finance managers at fast-growing startups, covering topics like mergers and acquisitions and fundraising. If that’s the stage your business is at—or if you just want to learn something from the hyper-growth startup mindset—then it’s well worth a listen.
Listen on Spotify: Turpentine Finance
Website: N/A
Notable episode: The IPO Playbook: Expert Advice from Lee Kirkpatrick, Twilio’s Former CFO
The Finance Leadership Podcast
If you’re a CFO who works with US or UK-based companies, chances are you’ve taken some professional certifications with AICPA (The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants) or CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, the professional management accounting body based in the UK). The Financial Leadership Podcast is created by these bodies—partly to distribute the wealth of management accounting content they’ve already produced in their webinars and interviews, and partly to generate (even) more interest in their qualifications.
This podcast promotes AICPA and CIMA qualifications as being globally relevant, with interviewees from all over the world. If you’re thinking about taking any of their certificates, this podcast will help you choose the most relevant one, and score top marks on it.
If you’re already well-qualified in your professional niche, then there are still some useful episodes which offer industry advice and discuss trends in management accountancy. These bodies are huge thought leaders in the space—it’s worth paying attention to what AICPA + CIMA is saying.
Listen on Spotify: The FLP Podcast
Website: The FLP Podcast
Notable episode: FLP 180. Management Accounting: Thinking Beyond Numbers
BBC World Business Report
The BBC (the UK’s public broadcaster) offers a daily 25-minute podcast that explains how the latest geopolitical news will affect the global financial climate.
Of course, the analysis reflects a particular, anglophile worldview—but if that is a worldview relevant to your business, then this podcast will be useful for keeping track of market developments at a macro level.
Listen on Spotify: BBC World Business Report
Website: BBC World Business Report
Notable episode: topical
Yahoo Finance Daily
If you’re interested in keeping up with the stock market to see how it might affect your business, but don’t have much time to commit to it, Yahoo Finance Daily is a podcast which can break it down for you in 5 minute daily episodes. Listen to them in procrastination breaks, or whilst you’re waiting for files to upload.
Listen on Spotify: Yahoo Finance Daily
Website: N/A
Notable episode: topical
Patrick Boyle on Finance
This podcast is an educated monologue from the hedge fund manager, economics professor and former investment banker, Patrick Boyle. It tracks the latest developments in quantitative finance, and also discusses the unseen history of financial markets. Whilst that might sound a little abstract, topics are usually very tangible and relevant, with episodes including “Is AI actually useful?” and “What happened to electric vehicle sales?”
This one is more on the side of educational entertainment than actionable business advice—but well worth a listen for understanding contextual factors in why the economy currently looks the way it does.
Listen on Spotify: Patrick Boyle on Finance
Website: On Finance
Notable episode: Bankrupries rising around the world
FP&A Today
FP&A Today offers 45-minute interviews with leading financial planning experts and CFOs. Compared with similar podcasts, it’s more interviewee-led than theme-led—so it can be hard to find an episode that will cover exactly the issue you need information about. However, it’s a great podcast to use for inspiration for professional development, as well as to find experts in your industry to connect with.
FP&A today is created by Datarails, an AI-powered Financial Planning and Analysis platform.
Listen on Spotify: FP&A Today
Website: FP&A Today
Notable episode: The FP&A Life at GE, Microsoft—Now Google
Being Planful
Sticking with themes connected to FP&A, Being Planful is a podcast for advice on the strategy side of financial operations. Typically, each episode features a CFO talking about one successful aspect of their approach to the job.
This podcast is created by Planful, a US-based Financial Performance Management Platform, so expect some degree of advertising.
Listen on Spotify: Being Planful
Notable episode: A CFO's Guide to SaaS Success | Ben Murray
CFO 4.0
The expectations of a CFO have changed a lot in recent decades—the role has been totally reshaped by digitalization. Today’s finance managers usually take on more strategy-oriented tasks than their pencil-pushing forebears, working hand-in-hand with their CEO. CFO 4.0 is a podcast that charts this role change, and discusses what it means to be a finance leader in an ever more automated world.
It’s owned and presented by Hannah Munro, the Managing Director of the UK-based financial consultancy Itas.
Listen on Spotify: CFO 4.0
Website: CFO 4.0
Notable episode: Transforming Numbers Into Stories: The Power of Financial Communication with Soufyan Hamid
CFO Thought Leader
CFO Thought Leader was founded by Jack Sweeney, a former editor of a finance industry magazine, in response to two observations: the first, that traditional printed trade magazines are becoming less relevant, and the second, that there’s not much media dedicated to the professional journey of CFOs.
Though the title is a little on the nose, Sweeney’s podcast clearly resonates with its niche—CFO Thought Leader has nearly 1,000 episodes in its back catalog, and can boast well-known sponsors including Brex, Oracle Netsuite and Ledge. Each episode features an interview with a (usually US-based) CFO on their career journeys, successes and failures.
Listen on Spotify: CFO Thought Leader
Website: CFO Thought Leader
Notable episode: Controllers Classified: Building High-Performing Global Finance Teams
Gartner’s CFO Podcast
The Stanford-based consulting firm Gartner is a huge thought leader in the tech industry, and their CFO podcast summarizes their most important insights for finance managers. The podcast features some episodes on evergreen topics, such as cybersecurity tips and how to structure a finance team—as well as topical observations based on the company’s considerable research.
Episodes are short and only one per month, so becoming a regular listener isn’t a huge time commitment.
Listen on Spotify: Gartner’s CFO Podcast
Website: N/A
Notable episode: CFO Top priorities for 2024
Listen, learn, link up with peers
For all the empowering and interesting aspects of being a CFO, it can be quite an isolating job. You’re too high up the organization’s hierarchy to befriend your co-workers, and there’s no manager looking out for your career development.
Industry-specific podcasts can help you get the professional camaraderie you’re probably missing, providing a friendly voice that understands your professional problems, giving concrete tips, and perhaps even inspiring some networking opportunities.
