The Finance Leader Podcast
What separates finance professionals who influence strategy from those who only report the numbers?
The answer isn't better spreadsheets. It's developing the judgment, leadership, and business acumen to become a trusted strategic advisor.
The Finance Leader Podcast helps finance and accounting professionals, FP&A teams, controllers, CFOs, business owners, and executive leaders strengthen the connection between finance, operations, and strategy. Episodes provide practical insights, proven frameworks, and real-world lessons to help you improve decision making, develop executive presence, build stronger partnerships across the organization, and create measurable business value.
Hosted by Stephen McLain, a retired U.S. Army Finance Officer and corporate FP&A and accounting consultant, the podcast combines military leadership experience with practical corporate finance expertise to help finance professionals lead with greater confidence and strategic impact.
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The Finance Leader Podcast
Latest Episodes
Developing the FP&A Training Plan - Building a More Strategic Finance Capability
Episode # 157: We walk through how we build an FP&A training plan that develops individual talent while raising the effectiveness of the whole finance organization. That starts with a formal development strategy, not ad hoc learning ...
SWOT Analysis for a Competitive Strategic Advantage
Episode # 156: Most SWOT analyses fail for one simple reason: they end as a four-quadrant chart instead of becoming a set of decisions. I’m breaking down how to run a strategic SWOT assessment that actually changes what you do next so yo...
Overcome the AI Overwhelm
Episode # 155: AI can feel like it’s coming for your job while you’re still trying to close the month. If you’ve felt overwhelmed by artificial intelligence, unsure which tools matter, or worried you’re falling behind, we’re going to slo...
How Agile Strategy Can Transform FP&A from a Reporting Function to a Strategic Business Partner
Episode # 154: Most FP&A teams aren’t short on effort they’re short on time to think. When the calendar is dominated by budgets, monthly reporting, variance explanations, and forecast refreshes, finance can end up reacting to problem...
Start Shaping Strategic Decisions Instead of Only Reporting Financial Results, Deliver Real Impact to Senior Leaders
Episode # 153: Strategy rarely changes because of a perfect variance report. It changes when someone connects the numbers to what customers feel, what operations can deliver, and which levers will protect margin and growth. We dig into h...
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