Show Notes
Is the future of finance full-time? Or are the best CFOs increasingly working across multiple businesses?
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In this episode of The CFO Playbook, David McClelland is joined by Sara Daw, Global CEO of The CFO Centre and the Liberty Group, and one of the world’s leading voices on fractional finance leadership.
Sara shares why more businesses are choosing to access CFO expertise rather than employ it full-time, and explains what she’s learned after more than two decades working alongside hundreds of finance leaders across 18 countries. She explores how the CFO role has evolved from technical expert to trusted strategic adviser, why relationships matter more than reporting, and how the best finance leaders help CEOs make better decisions.
In her conversation with David McClelland, Sara discusses her own unconventional career journey from Deloitte and London Business School into the emerging world of fractional finance, why she chose flexibility over investment banking, and how that decision led to building the world’s largest network of fractional CFOs. She also explains what makes a successful fractional CFO, how businesses know when it’s time to hire a full-time finance leader, and why access to leadership is becoming more valuable than ownership of talent.
Sara also shares her research into the future of work, including psychological ownership, blended workforces, and how organisations can build trust and commitment beyond traditional employment models. Finally, she looks ahead to an AI-enabled finance function, explaining why judgment, ethics, and human relationships will become even more valuable as finance becomes increasingly autonomous. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why businesses are increasingly hiring fractional CFOs What CEOs really value from finance leaders beyond technical expertise The signs a business is ready for a full-time CFO The skills that separate great fractional CFOs from the rest How to build trust and psychological ownership in flexible teams Why relationships matter more than reporting How AI is changing the future of finance leadership Why judgment, ethics, and communication will become a CFO’s greatest competitive advantage About Soldo Soldo is the proactive spend management solution that frees progressive businesses to accomplish more. Learn more: https://www.soldo.com/en-gb/
Useful Links 🔗 Sara Daw - https://www.linkedin.com/in/saradaw/
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How do you lead finance in a global human rights organisation, protect independence, and make sure every pound supports the mission? Is there someone you’d like to see on The CFO Playbook? Email us at: [email protected] In this episode of The CFO Playbook, David McClelland is joined by Rohan Hewavisenti, CFO at Amnesty International, one of the world’s most recognised human rights organisations. Rohan shares what financial discipline looks like when the stakes are not measured in profit, but in people’s lives. He explains how Amnesty International’s International Secretariat operates as a £100 million organisation, working as part of a wider €400 million global movement, and why preserving independence shapes everything from funding decisions to resource allocation. In his conversation with David McClelland, Rohan reflects on his career across the not-for-profit sector, from ActionAid and Breast Cancer Care to the British Red Cross, RNIB and Amnesty International. He discusses managing volatility, rebuilding from a £20 million deficit, investing in future areas of human rights work, and keeping finance closely connected to mission impact. Rohan also explores the role of generative AI in a human rights organisation, from the ethical questions around bias, data, and autonomous weapons to the internal opportunities for improving efficiency and accessing decades of research. He explains why CFOs need to understand the cost of AI, build data skills across their teams, and stay open to technology by using it regularly. Rohan’s CFO Playbook principle: Understand the organisation deeply, from what drives income and costs to what drives good performance in mission-related work.
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