We’re Ellen and Simone. After 36 years in finance, we’re ready to share what textbooks won’t tell you.

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Finance runs on facts - but companies and boardrooms run on people, power, and politics. Political awareness has become a core CFO skill - numbers alone don’t drive decisions.

You can’t “stay out of it.” Influence is inevitable - the only question is whether you shape it or get shaped by it.

Influence starts long before the boardroom: In the daily interactions with your CEO, peers, and teams. Politics isn’t just what happens in meetings; it’s what happens in between them.

1. The CFO in the Crossfire - Why Politics Matter

The CFO role used to be about precision. Today, it’s about perception and precision.

You’re the bridge between vision and accountability:

• The CEO wants acceleration.

• The board wants control.

• Investors want predictability.

And you? You need to translate it all into one coherent story that still fits the math. 

The bridge only holds if trust does. Never surprise your CEO - alignment in private must come before disagreement in public. And know your red lines: accounting integrity and delegated authority aren’t up for negotiation. Great CFOs stay curious, flexible, and collaborative - but non-negotiable where credibility lives.

The politics don’t stop at the boardroom table - they just get quieter, and the stakes get higher.

Key Takeaway: The true power of the CFO isn’t in owning the numbers - it’s in shaping what those numbers mean.

2. The Power Map - Reading the Real Org Behind the Org

The org chart shows structure. On paper. The power map shows how decisions actually move.

Influence doesn’t flow through reporting lines - it flows through relationships, credibility, and control of information. CFOs sit right in the middle of it: every major decision eventually touches budget, cash, or data.

But the real levers often sit offstage:

• A long-tenured controller who knows how to push things through.

• A Head of Sales with a direct line to the CEO, shaping priorities over coffee chats.

• A product lead who defines what “success” looks like in metrics.

• Or that one exec assistant who quietly manages access - and therefore, influence.

If the person spending the most time in the CEO’s office is deciding what gets attention, you’re already in the middle of company politics.

Sideways politics matter just as much as upward ones. The COO, CRO, and CHRO shape the company’s direction as much as Finance does -  just from a different angle. Invest in those peer relationships early. Credibility compounds across functions, not just up the chain.

The same dynamics that shape power also shape data. Whoever controls definitions, controls decisions.

3. Decision Friction - Where Politics Meets Data

Budgets and forecasts don’t just measure performance - they expose alignment.

The tension is universal:

• Boards crave certainty.

• Management needs flexibility.

• Finance sits in between, translating chaos into coherence.

Data should be neutral, but in practice, every function shapes it to its own priorities: Marketing calls it ROI, Sales calls it growth, Product calls it engagement.

When definitions differ, data becomes ammunition.

That’s how you turn data from a political tool into a shared language for decisions.

4. The CFO’s Survival Toolkit - How to Turn Influence into Impact

Politics can’t be avoided - but they can be managed.

Great CFOs build habits that turn influence into impact:

Key Takeaway: Preparation, clarity, and composure turn politics into presence.

Once you can read the politics, the next step is to use them - not fight them.

5. From Politics to Partnership - How Great CFOs Influence through Structure

Politics fade when numbers speak clearly. That’s why great CFOs turn influence into structure - through process, language, and data.

How to do it:

Influence lasts longer when it’s built on trust - not titles. Trust is the real currency for CFOs.

Every CFO eventually learns: mastery of politics comes with time. The first months often feel like an imposter test - the room gets quieter, the stakes higher. Range and resilience are what turn that uncertainty into influence.

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(by Simone)

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CFO Playbook reflects our personal opinions, not professional advice.