Having technical expertise is important, but successful CFOs will tell you that you must go beyond this, to take a step back to see the larger picture. How can you position yourself to solve problems your company is facing?

To do this, you must first learn the business.

For Ken MacAskill, it’s a mindset he wishes he could have learned sooner in his 20-year career working with emerging and high-growth companies. Over his career, he held CFO positions at five companies before landing as CFO of tech company Snyk in 2019.

Understanding the business that you’re in takes patience, according to Ken. Don’t rush the process. He describes his journey as an evolution. With each project, he learned something new from it and used it to inform how to approach the next. Learn not only your own role, but also the role of others, and how they intersect on a large scale.

This growth mentality has been integral to Ken’s development over the course of his career, and it’s one he encourages the emerging CFO to keep in mind.

On this episode of The CFO Playbook, Ken shares his mindset shift, expertise on methodology to achieving success as a CFO, and what to look at when funding growth in the business.

Connect with Ken on LinkedIn.

Connect with our host Ross on LinkedIn.

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