CFO Chronicles: The Secrets Behind Success

2025 nearly broke me.
Clients dropped. Revenue cratered. My dream car? Totaled by a dump truck, with no one inside. At our lowest, we were bleeding over $12,000/month.

But we didn’t quit. And by November, we closed 10 new clients in a month and had our first $15K cash day.

In this special New Year’s edition, I walk through the real story behind the posts: the burnouts, breakthroughs, and the shift that brought...

Most firms treat meetings like a checkbox. Talk. Wrap. Move on.

But what if the way you run and follow up on meetings is quietly costing you hours each week and revenue you don’t realize you’re losing?

Jordan Vickery, co-founder of Vinyl, joins the show to reveal how firms are reclaiming 30-40 minutes per meeting, identifying hidden sales opportunities, and coaching their teams using nothing but meeting transcripts.

If you’ve ever fel...

Hourly billing isn’t just outdated, it’s blocking your growth.
In this episode, Dylan from Fabbi breaks down how his firm ditched time-based pricing, scaled past 500 clients, and became the go-to financial team for business owners who want more than just “books and taxes.”

You’ll learn:

• Why hourly billing kills service quality and client retention
• The tech + team system that allows his firm to run 200+ WhatsApp support thread...

Still billing by the hour and afraid to raise prices? That’s exactly why you’re stuck.

Michael Ly, founder of Reconciled, joins CFO Chronicles to dismantle outdated firm models and share the mindset shifts that helped him scale a nationally recognized cloud accounting firm. From team turnover to pricing psychology, Michael opens up about the real work it takes to grow and why value-based pricing isn’t just a buzzword, it’s the futur...

Why are so many firm owners flat broke in Q4, even after six-figure tax seasons?

Tony Proctor’s been running a firm for 20 years, and he’s seen it all: tax pros who bleed cash every December, clients who push for fraud, and practitioners who won’t raise prices because they’re scared to lose “friend” clients.

In this episode:

• Why Proctor fired a paying client (and what it cost him)
• What he really thinks about Profit First (it’s not ...

Most accounting firms are burning cash on cold leads and broken outreach funnels, but what if that’s not your real growth problem?

In this episode, I sit down with Kwame Agyei, founder of Appoynt, to reveal what actually scales firm growth: community, relationships, and real conversations. Kwame´s built a global team across Africa and shares how showing up in person has done more for growth than any automation ever could.

We talk abo...

Most firm owners stay stuck under $10K/month because they think “good work” is enough. It’s not.

Cameron Williams got fired while expecting his first child. Since then, he’s built KynLi Consulting, helped clients save $2M+ in taxes, and built a lean CFO firm with a 7-person team.

In this episode, he breaks down the real steps that helped him scale, without relying on referrals, ads, or undercharging. We talk:

• Why bookkeeping alone...

Most accountants are losing business and don’t even realize it.

In this episode, we break down the 3 silent killers that are costing firms revenue, retention, and referrals, starting with outdated pricing models and ending with what your clients actually care about (hint: it’s not your reconciliations).

Debra Kilsheimer joins to share what actually drives client loyalty, why she ditched hourly billing decades ago, and how she built h...

You’re not invisible. You’re just not on Google.

In this special workshop episode, you'll learn the exact strategy that's generated:

• $125K of new revenue in 49 days (Shaun)
• 113 inbound calls in 16 days (Shalini)
• $83K in five months (Justin)

If you’re tired of referrals drying up or watching competitors win business that should be yours, this is your blueprint.

You’ll learn:

• How to rank at the top of Google Maps
• Why m...

Most accountants aren't losing to AI, they're losing to their own bad systems.

In this episode, we sit down with Justin White, founder of JBookkeeping and a former trades business owner who’s now built a fast-growing remote firm on precision, responsiveness, and no-BS service.

He shares:

• What actually builds trust and wins clients in 2025
• Why most firms lose money before they even pick up the phone
• The questions that close...

Lost your office, denied by FEMA, and broke? Here’s how Brandon Adjei bounced back and saved his clients over $3 million in the process.

In this episode, Brandon shares how Hurricane Harvey nearly wiped out his firm and how pro bono work with the IRS transformed his business forever.

What we cover:
 • How one client’s $1.3M IRS bill became just $150K
 • The planning mistake that cost another family $300K
 • What entrepren...

You’ve done the work. You’ve climbed the ladder. So why does the CFO title still feel out of reach?

Kevin Appleby, COO of GrowCFO and mentor to hundreds of finance leaders, reveals:

• The 3 invisible blockers keeping smart finance pros from stepping up
• Why “imposter syndrome” shows up right after your promotion
• What most people get completely wrong about becoming CFO
• The mindset shift that separa...

“Are you a real  CFO?”

That’s the question clients are now asking,  because not all “fractional CFOs” are created equal.

In this episode, Brett Frevert (Founder of CFO Systems, Inc. and 9-time Inc. 5000 awardee) breaks down:

• Why “bookkeeper to CFO in 90 days” is hurting the industry
• The 4 levels of business conversations and why most pros are stuck at level one
• Why your newsletter ...

$40,000,000. That’s how much Dan Lake’s clients have saved on taxes and most people have never even heard of the strategy.

In this episode, Dan reveals how he helps CPAs and high-net-worth individuals shrink tax bills using solar tax equity deals most pros overlook.

You’ll learn:

• Why mortgages are one of the worst financial tools
 • How W-2 earners can legally offset massive tax burdens
 • The strategy that turned a $2M tax ...

She sold her firm for 7 figures with just 56 clients. Here's how she did it.

Jackie Meyer, CPA, founder of TaxPlanIQ and leader of the proactive accounting movement, is done watching firms burn out and undercharge.

In this episode, she breaks down:

• The ROI method that turns tax advice into a 5-figure service
 • How to quote tax planning with confidence (even if you hate sales)
 • What’s killing firms from the inside and...

He scheduled his wedding around payroll. That’s when he knew something had to change.

Jaime Rodriguez, CEO of Bookkeepers.com, has helped over 17,000 students turn their skill into a scalable business. In this episode, he shares the real lessons that most freelancers and early-stage business owners miss:

• The two personality types that sabotage their own growth
 • The SOP mistake that stalled his own firm
 • Why most freelan...

AI isn’t coming for accounting, it’s already here. And it’s quietly rewriting who wins and who falls behind.

In this episode, Daniel Moshe, CEO of TechGuru, breaks down how smart firms are already using AI, cybersecurity, and modern tech stacks to:

• Attract better-fit clients (and actually land them)
 • Add capacity without burning out staff
 • Win more proposals by proving security and compliance
 • Automate the admin, ...

Working 7 days a week. No vacations. $36K a year. Then a CFO stepped in and changed everything.

In this episode, Daniel Dickeson, founder of Atlas CFO Solutions, breaks down how he turned a struggling salon into a 6-figure business without scaling chaos or hustle culture.

You’ll learn:

• Why cash flow beats profit, every time
• How to spot silent killers in your pricing and expenses
• The shift from financial chaos to true clarity
• How foun...

Scaling doesn’t kill companies, confusion does. And most founders are flying blind.

In this episode, Jack Weinstein, fractional CFO and former Fox exec, shares what he’s learned advising 50+ entrepreneurs, from zero to $25M in revenue:

• The hiring trap that derails scaling teams
 • What financial firepower really means (and why most businesses don’t have it)
 • The difference between a controller and a real CFO
 • Why gr...