The CFO Playbook

Sponsored by Soldo and hosted by technology reporter David McClelland, The CFO Playbook brings an interesting outside perspective to finance leadership. McClelland is not a finance insider, which turns out to be an advantage. He asks the questions that a sharp journalist would ask, probing how CFOs actually think about strategy, technology adoption, and scaling operations. The show has 101 episodes since launching in 2021, with new ones arriving roughly every two weeks. Episodes run 30 to 50 minutes, and the guest quality is consistently strong. Recent conversations have featured the CFO of Motorway discussing how to scale without creating bottlenecks, and Anaplan's CFO drawing parallels between his background in fighter jet engineering and financial planning. That kind of unexpected angle is a hallmark of the show. McClelland has a knack for getting finance leaders to talk about their actual decision-making process rather than delivering rehearsed talking points. The episode on asking better questions instead of defaulting to "no" was a particularly good example of this. The production quality is polished, and each conversation has a clear editorial throughline. With a 4.8 rating from 24 reviews on Apple Podcasts, The CFO Playbook has quietly built a loyal audience. It skews slightly more toward European and UK finance perspectives than many US-centric shows, which adds variety. A solid choice for finance leaders who want interviews with substance, not just a parade of job titles.