As a CFO, you might lack people of similar expertise with whom you can exchange ideas. Thankfully, social media has plenty of inspiration and guidance for CFOs and financial professionals.
Here are the top 15 finance influencers every CFO must follow.
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Finance influencer #1:
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The Secret CFO is an anonymous professional located in North America who lists over 20,000 hours of experience as a multi-national CFO as one of their accomplishments. This person runs a popular Substack and is active on X (formerly Twitter.)
They grew popular on X in August 2022 after posting a thread about a real-world situation or "war story" as they put it. The thread boosted the account's follower count beyond 100,000 in a few days.
These days, The Secret CFO shares tips about everything from creating cash flow forecasts to ranting about corporate structural incompetence, making them a popular follow.
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Finance influencer #2:
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Based in Copenhagen, Anders Liu-Lindberg is a top financial voice on LinkedIn, with the platform bestowing him with a "Top Corporate FP&A Voice" badge. Liu-Linberg has over 300,000 followers on LinkedIn, making him one of the most influential voices in finance.
Currently the Chief Commercial Officer at the Business Partnering Institute, Liu-Lindberg began his career in the finance department at shipping giant Maersk, before gaining popularity in 2014 as a blogger and later course creator on LinkedIn.
Liu-Lindberg routinely talks about CFO KPIs, hiring trends, and general CFO best practices.
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Finance influencer #3:
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Christian Frantz Hansen is a popular finance influencer on LinkedIn, with close to 40,000 followers. He is also Anders Liu-Lindberg's business partner at the Business Partnering Institute, located in Copenhagen.
Hansen cut his teeth at Danske Bank before eventually working as a Senior Consultant for CFO Services at EY. In 2016, Hansen joined Implement Consulting Group as a Senior Consultant, effectively launching himself as a top voice in the financial services field.
While Liu-Lindberg talks about KPIs and the quantitative aspect of finance for CFOs, Hansen focuses on the qualitative aspects of the job, like creating more impact in the organization and facilitating insights.
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Finance influencer #4:
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Based in New York, Christian Wattig is one of LinkedIn's "Top Forecasting" voices. While many of Wattig's posts deal with the nitty-gritty of financial forecasting, CFOs will find following him highly informational.
Wattig began his journey at Procter & Gamble as an FP&A analyst before eventually heading FP&A Training at Datarails. These days, he runs a series of courses on FP&A skills for finance teams and the popular FP&A Tuesday newsletter.
Between posting useful Excel tips for finance professionals, Wattig also muses about the state of FP&A and how the finance department can become adept storytellers.
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Finance influencer #5:
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Aliyyah Abdulah has a smaller follower count than others on this list, but she makes up for it with a unique financial background. Hailing from the Caribbean island of Trinidad, Abdullah worked her way to become an Advisory Council Member at Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada.
She currently works as a Finance and Administration Manager at the Recycling Council of British Columbia, giving her a high-level overview of financial trends.
Abdullah regularly posts about operational efficiency and practical tips for CFOs derived from her work experience.
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Finance influencer #6:
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Currently a Finance Analytics Manager at Kraft Heinz and based in The Netherlands, Christian Martinez is a respected voice in the FP&A community. Martinez is a prolific course creator, having recently launched his Advanced ChatGPT for Finance course.
His posts deal with the practical intersection of technology and finance, highly relevant today when automation is changing the structure of finance teams.
A strong believer in the power of technology like ChatGPT for finance professionals, Martinez has close to 40,000 followers on LinkedIn.
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Finance influencer #7:
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Nicolas Boucher, hailing from Stuttgart, is making waves in the finance scene with a substantial 740,000-strong following on LinkedIn. With over 15 years of experience, Nicolas Boucher has navigated the intricate world of finance, playing diverse roles in audit, controlling, and FP&A across countries such as France, the USA, Luxembourg, Singapore, and Germany.
But here's the twist—Nicolas is not just about crunching numbers; he's on a mission. He's all about demystifying the complexities of finance and business, aiming to make them more accessible. Whether he's delving into the world of AI for finance, sharing insights on FP&A, or dishing out career development advice, his content is the real deal—practical, actionable, and engaging.
For CFOs looking for a professional yet accessible take on finance, Nicolas Boucher's insights are a must-follow.
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Finance influencer #8:
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Josh Aharonoff is a fractional CFO for SMBs and startups. He currently has over 290,000 followers on LinkedIn and is well-known in the finance niche for his CFO-centric dashboards and templates.
Based in New York, Aharonoff has an eclectic background in finance, starting in KPMG's tax unit and eventually moving to FP&A. These days, he works as an advisor to startups looking for CFO services, helping them structure their finance departments, identify KPIs, and help CFOs develop the right skills.
From Excel tips to intelligent dashboarding, Aharonoff's content has a wealth of information for CFOs.
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Finance influencer #9:
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Based in Belgrade, Aleksandar Stojanovic is a top voice in the SaaS finance world, helping companies with everything from FP&A to accounting. Stojanovic focuses primarily on leveraging automation to simplify finance tasks, routinely referencing software use cases.
His guide to the Top 3 Finance Roles in a Startup is one of the most popular resources in the finance niche. He currently has clo se to 40,000 followers on LinkedIn and posts daily about common challenges a CFO and finance team member faces.
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Finance influencer #10:
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At first glance, Phoenix-based Philip Handke is an atypical CFO influencer. Handke brings a wealth of SMB information in his role as a commercial CRE underwriter, possessing a slightly different background from the others on this list.
He regularly talks about the importance of business credit, managing risk, and financing tips.
While his Excel and financial analysis courses hog the limelight, CFOs will find immense value in following the well-rounded advice Handke posts on LinkedIn.
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Finance influencer #11:
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Soufyan Hamid, or Souf, is unique in the finance influencer world. While most influencers focus on hard skills like modeling and KPI tracking, Brussels-based Hamid focuses on storytelling, an important skill for every CFO and financial professional.
Given the role of the CFO in modern finance, Hamid's tips about telling better stories via presentations and reports are highly relevant. His 59,000 followers on LinkedIn find his content on financial charting and dashboarding invaluable.
Hamid has previously worked at firms like Deloitte and PWC giving him a good body of skills to impart knowledge.
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Finance influencer #12:
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Ottawa-based Oana Labes currently has over 310,000 followers and is the top corporate finance content creator on LinkedIn. Her content is a mix of practical CFO tips and hard skills like mastering cash flow management and choosing the right KPIs.
Labes has long worked as a guest writer for the Corporate Finance Institute and previously headed commercial financing for the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC). Last, but not least, her newsletter titled “The Finance Gem 💎” has over 36,000 followers worldwide.
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Finance influencer #13:
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Howard Tunnicliffe doesn't strike people as an influencer at first glance. He posts sporadically on LinkedIn and has no presence on X (formerly Twitter).
However, London-based Tunnicliffe is an influential voice because of his position as the Head of FP&A at The Economist. He also appears regularly on podcasts and conferences, making him a popular quote in industry publications.
Tunnicliffe primarily talks about his day-to-day experiences using FP&A to drive subscription growth at The Economist, giving CFOs practical insights into that function.
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Finance influencer #14:
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Hailing from Salt Lake City, Paul Barnhurst, or The FP&A Guy, is a popular voice on LinkedIn, covering all aspects of using finance to power growth. Barnhurst routinely posts tips on improving visualizations, leveraging automation to improve efficiency, and drawing more out of Excel.
He currently has close to 80,000 followers on LinkedIn and hosts a popular podcast where he discusses the state of finance with other voices in the industry (including Chris Martinez.)
Barnhurst also recently launched Plan Buddies, a planning and analytics community, aimed at offering mentorship and growth opportunities for finance professionals.
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Finance influencer #15:
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Our final influencer is well-known in the SaaS finance world and was one of the first practitioners to use social media to educate finance professionals. Ben Murray, or the SaaS CFO, is active on X (Twitter) and LinkedIn and is currently based in Denver.
Given his SaaS leanings, Murray is far more active on X and interacts regularly with his audience there. Murray is also a staple on every SaaS finance podcast, talking about FP&A, the specifics of bookings versus billings, and ARR bridges.
Who is your favorite finance content creator?
For finance professionals, staying ahead of the curve isn't just a challenge; it's a necessity. One savvy strategy to tackle this? Tapping into the real-life experiences of your peers.
Sure, the figures we've highlighted are fantastic sources of knowledge, but this is hardly an exhaustive list. There's a plethora of wisdom waiting to be uncovered.
So spill the beans—whose financial insights do you swear by?
