How finance leaders can build influence by moving beyond traditional full-time roles
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In this episode of The CFO Playbook, David McClelland is joined by Sara Daw, Global CEO of The CFO Centre and the Liberty Group, and one of the world’s leading voices on fractional finance leadership.
Sara shares why more businesses are choosing to access CFO expertise rather than employ it full-time, and explains what she’s learned after more than two decades working alongside hundreds of finance leaders across 18 countries. She explores how the CFO role has evolved from technical expert to trusted strategic adviser, why relationships matter more than reporting, and how the best finance leaders help CEOs make better decisions.
In her conversation with David McClelland, Sara discusses her own unconventional career journey from Deloitte and London Business School into the emerging world of fractional finance, why she chose flexibility over investment banking, and how that decision led to building the world’s largest network of fractional CFOs. She also explains what makes a successful fractional CFO, how businesses know when it’s time to hire a full-time finance leader, and why access to leadership is becoming more valuable than ownership of talent.
Sara also shares her research into the future of work, including psychological ownership, blended workforces, and how organisations can build trust and commitment beyond traditional employment models. Finally, she looks ahead to an AI-enabled finance function, explaining why judgment, ethics, and human relationships will become even more valuable as finance becomes increasingly autonomous.
The trusted CFO: a leadership checklist
Influence used to come from owning the numbers. Sara Daw’s career, spanning Deloitte to building the world’s largest fractional CFO network, points to something different: trust built fast, perspective earned across businesses, and judgement that holds up without a permanent seat at the table. Six principles here, drawn straight from her conversation on The CFO Playbook, for finance leaders ready to lead on relationships and credibility rather than reporting lines.