The hardest career move I made to become a CFO

Plus what consumer spending shifts mean for CFOs today

Author

Wassia Kamon
May 15, 2025

My take on business news stories through a CFO lens to sharpen your strategic thinking and executive brand. Plus, off-the-record career lessons and Q&A, every other week.

Welcome back 👋

Every career has moments that feel uncomfortable.

Some decisions look like a step backward at first but end up opening bigger doors later.

Today, I am sharing one of the hardest choices I made on my path to CFO and what it taught me about long-term growth.

Before we get into that, here’s what’s inside this edition:

Let’s dive in ⤵️

What This Tells Us:


It looks like the consumer is holding up. But the quality of spending is changing.

If you are not paying attention, you could miss early warning signs that growth could slow even more.

What I’d Be Asking as a CFO:

  • What parts of our portfolio rely on discretionary spending, and what parts rely on non-discretionary spending? Are we still allocating resources correctly between them?

  • Are we adjusting our demand forecasts based on real consumer behavior shifts, or are we clinging to old assumptions?

  • If consumers pull back harder later this year, where would the first cracks show up in our P&L?

  • How are we planning to protect margins if pricing power weakens faster than we expect?

What I’d Be Doing as a CFO:

  • Rethink our analysis of the portfolio:

    Break down our business lines, products, and customers into discretionary vs non-discretionary categories.

    Pressure-test whether our current investment, headcount, and marketing spend match where resilience will likely be strongest.

  • Reset forecasting assumptions:

    Challenge all revenue and demand forecasts to reflect today's consumer behavior, not last year's patterns.

    Refresh best-case, base-case, and worst-case models.

  • Track early signals:

    Assign finance team members to monitor key lead indicators (discounts, inventory buildups, customer payment delays) and report monthly.

    Make sure cash preservation and realistic growth expectations are built into board communications and leadership plans.

Extras I’ll Bookmark

💡 Quarterly Deep Dive

A deep dive on how to create effective executive presentations.

💡 This Month’s Biggest Earning Calls

Pro Tip:

Earnings calls show how executives are adjusting to market shifts, where they are pulling back, and where they are betting big. If you want to lead better, try to attend at least one earnings call per month.

Would you like more information on earning calls?

i.e. the dates, the links, materials...

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On The Record

Leading Finance with Curiosity and Cultural Intelligence, with Jenny Fuss

Jenny Fuss has led finance teams in Germany, China, and the United States. In this episode, she shares how working and living in three different countries shaped her leadership style and helped her lead major transformations with clarity and confidence.

From School Teacher to CFO: Tamica Williams on Grit and Leadership

Tamica Williams went from relying on food pantries as a kid to leading the largest food bank in Georgia as CFO. She shares how she made the jump from teaching to accounting and why leadership is about showing up 100% no matter where you start.

Off The Record

Question:

“What was the most difficult decision you had to make on your path to CFO, and how did you know it was the right one?

My Answer:

👉 Taking a pay cut to take the right opportunity.

Early in my career, I had a stable Controller job at a mid-size manufacturing and technology company.

It paid well. I was comfortable.

But I realized if I stayed, I would keep doing the same type of work.

To grow, I needed exposure to FP&A, bigger budgets, more complex planning, and real strategic decision-making.

So I made a tough call: I took a Finance Manager role at a much larger company.

It came with a pay cut + moving from leading a team of 15 to being an individual contributor.

At the time, it felt like a step back.

But it gave me access to the kind of experience and executive conversations that changed everything.

The main thing that helped me in the process was I was living way below my means, with very ow personal debt, so I could afford to have a smaller paycheck.

It is not for everyone though, and I don’t think I would have done it in their current economic & political environment.

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Before you go,

How was the ROI on this edition?

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If you working on becoming a VP of Finance, CAO or CFO within the next 5 years, check out The Finance Executive Accelerator (Formerly known as The Office of The CFO Bootcamp).

That’s it for today.

See you next time👋

Wassia

DISCLAIMER: The advice and insights shared in this newsletter are based on personal experience and general industry knowledge. They are not intended to replace professional financial, legal, or career counsel. Your situation is unique, and what works for one person may not work for another. Before making significant career or financial decisions, consult with qualified professionals familiar with your specific circumstances. I am not liable for any actions taken based on the content of this newsletter.

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