Leaving FP&A at billion dollar companies to become a top Fractional CFO: Rosemary Linden ‘s amazing career journey

FP&A Today

Mar 19 2024 • 46 mins

Rosemary Linden more than earned her stripes in FP&A over twenty years.  Her roles included VP FP&A at Alliant Insurance Services. Director of Global FP&A at WD-40 Company and at Solera.

But after two decades in corporate finance she moved to being a fractional CFO serving small businesses (typical annual revenue of around $10million) managing an assortment of responsibilities.

This episode is for anyone in finance who may be looking to escape the corporate grind and set up as a Fractional CFO. But Linden warns it is not for everyone. “One of the first things I’d say to think about is, do you really want to be a fractional CFO? Because that’s different from being a full-time CFO at one particular company and comes with its own challenges.”

In this episode:

  • Moving from corporate finance after 20 years to dealing with “astute” small business owners as a fractional CFO in San Diego
  • Why FP&A is an ideal training ground to become a CFO Secrets for telling a good story
  • Getting to what you want the people in a room to “walk away knowing” Cash flows at small companies, opportunities and challenges
  • Dealing with seasonal variances at small businesses
  • Advice for starting your own business as a fractional CFO
  • Moving to a more analytical mindset
  • Difference between, strategic planning and financial planning (Case Study San Diego Civic Youth Ballet)
  • My most dangerous deep sea dive, being team Excel and Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Follow Rosemary Linden on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosemarylinden/