CEO at OnPlan.co - a fast and flexible FP&A platform that makes financial reporting easy. Follow me for posts about FP&A, excel humor, startups and life in finance.

I am the Managing Partner of Fractional Buyers Group, where I focus on operations — sourcing deals, structuring acquisitions, and coordinating exits.

Our mission is simple but powerful: to help people who, for one reason or another, don’t have access to the significant equity that is tied up in their homes. Many of these properties are owned by multiple heirs or complicated by title issues that make it impossible for families to sell or access their value. We step in to resolve those barriers, unlock that trapped capital, and create paths to fair exits.

I work closely with our legal team to take each property from acquisition to clear title and eventual sale. For investors, this means access to a repeatable, secured, and real asset–backed strategy in Texas real estate.

If you’re interested in partnering with us or learning more about how we deliver secured returns, reach me directly at David@fractionalbuyersgroup.com.

David Greenbaum

Your Finance Progression + Resilience Partner | Helping New Hires and Managers' Transitions in Finance Teams | VP of Finance | Keynote Speaker | 40 Under 40 CPA Practice Advisor

Finance teams should be able to do more strategic work to support the expanding CFO role, and still have a life outside of work. That is what my work is all about.​

Through Wharton Online, workshops, and The Diary of a CFO podcast, I share practical tools to reset how finance teams work so they can think ahead, partner with the business, and avoid burning out in the process.​

The reality is that most finance functions are still built to report, not to lead. That creates blind spots for CEOs, delays decisions for boards, and leaves CFOs without a real pipeline of ready successors.​

Over the last 15+ years, I have led finance teams across manufacturing, technology, pharmaceuticals, and now a nonprofit CDFI. The pattern is the same: strategy stays with the CFO and maybe FP&A, while the rest of the team is stuck in transactions and constant urgency, with very little time or support to actually think like executives.​

What boards and CEOs value is not more reports. They want finance leaders who can spot signals early, frame choices clearly, and influence outcomes, while staying grounded and human in high pressure environments.​

That is how I build and lead teams, and it is the lens I bring to every class, talk, and episode: practical, realistic ways to grow your impact, develop your team, and build a bench of future CFOs without losing yourself in the process.​

If you are building a pipeline of finance leaders or aiming for the CFO seat yourself and want to do it in a more sustainable way, let us connect.​

🌐 WassiaKamon.start.page
📧 Info@WassiaKamon.com

Wassia Kamon, CPA, CMA, MBA

It was during my first 90 days as a CFO that I realized how wide the gap was between the expectations for my role and what my finance team was actually set up to do.

See, most of the conversations with my CEO, my peers, and the board were about strategy, growth, and risk.

But most of the work and systems inside finance was about transactions, reconciliations, and compliance.

The reality is the CFO role has evolved, 
but the finance function hasn't kept up.

If the CFO is going to be strategic, the rest of finance has to be strategic too.

That means accounting, FP&A, treasury, tax, plus the processes and systems they use need to level up.

Otherwise, we are asking the CFO to work in the future while the rest of finance is still operating in the past.

No wonder, so many CFOs feel stretched, and everyone around them is frustrated.

What I recommend is to stop treating this as a “CFO problem” and start redesigning the whole finance stack around the new expectations of the role.

1️⃣ Start by redefining each finance role in terms of decisions it supports, not tasks it completes.

2️⃣ Upgrade processes so data moves in real time to the people making decisions, not just into reports.

3️⃣ Invest in systems that give you one clean source of truth instead of spreadsheet gymnastics every month.

4️⃣ Train and coach your team to see the bigger picture and translate numbers into insights for the business.

That is how you close the gap between a strategic CFO and a finance function that can effectively support them.

-------

This visual is just a starting point for rethinking accounting to support a more strategic CFO role.

I will share what that looks like in real life at the upcoming AICPA CFO Conference with my good friend Paul Young, CFO at Liberty Bank.

If you are attending, make sure to stop by our session on April 13.

In the meantime, let me know ⤵️ 
 
Do you feel that same tension between your role and how your day-to-day is set up?

CFO | Helping leaders build high‑performing finance teams without losing themselves | Wharton Online Guest Faculty

Infographic titled ‘How Every Accounting Role Supports a Strategic CFO,’ showing AP, AR, GL/staff accountants, and controllers with examples of value drivers, key metrics, and easy wins to help the CFO be more strategic.

One thing I learned quickly when I became a CFO is that preparing the board deck in FP&A or accounting is not the same as being in the CFO seat.

In FP&A, you can be right and still be safe.

In the CFO seat, you can be right and still lose the room.

Because the board isn’t only listening to the update. 

They’re reading you. Every answer is a signal:
- Is this under control?
- Do you actually know what’s going on?
- Are you the right person for this situation?

That’s why most CFOs don’t lose the board’s trust because of a bad quarter.

They lose it because of the conversations about that quarter.

After a few of those “hot seat” moments and conversations with great CFOs like Scott Meyers and Dr. Tamer Alsayed on my podcast, I built a repeatable way to prepare.

I call it my CFO Template for Board Meeting Prep. It’s a simple framework you can use to prep for any board conversation, good or bad.

That’s what you’re seeing in the cheat sheet.

If you want the full breakdown of the framework and how to use it, I unpack it in my latest blog on The Diary of a CFO Podcast website.

I'm curious to hear:

Which conversation tends to get the most tense in your experience: missed numbers, runway, or strategy? 👇

BOARD CONVERSATION CHEAT SHEET from the diary of a cfo blog

The kind of controller I was 10 years ago is not the kind of controller I’d want to work with today as a CFO.

Back then, “great” looked like:
✅ Clean closes. 
✅ Tight reconciliations. 
✅ No surprises in the audit.

Today, the bar for finance leadership is very different,
because the role of the CFO, and the expections around it, are very different.

Everyone is expected to:

- Partner with the business

- Spot patterns before they hit the P&L

- Translate metrics into real business choices

- Show up in executive conversations as partners, not just reporters.

A strategic CFO can’t carry that load alone.
The whole leadership bench has to evolve with the role.

For example:

- Controllers should use close and audit findings to flag emerging risks before they hit the board deck.

- FP&A leaders should bring options, not just budgets and forecasts

- Treasury leaders should connect liquidity decisions to growth bets, not just cash management.

- Tax and compliance leaders should surface structure and risk choices early instead of after the fact.

That doesn’t require a reorg.

It requires treating every function within the CFO office as part of the strategy engine, not just the reporting engine.

If you’re a CFO (or report to one) and want your team to think more strategically, here are some pointers ⤵️ 

What do you think?

infographic titled Where CFO Direct Reports add strategic lift, by Wassia Kamon, featuring insights for controllers, treasury, fp&a and tax.

The first time I spoke at the AICPA CFO Conference, I wasn’t a CFO yet. Coming back to the stage this year as one feels like a full-circle moment. 

It's also a reminder that growth often starts when you step into rooms before you feel fully ready.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to share what I’ve learned along the way about building truly strategic finance teams.

Even better, I get to share the stage with the amazing Paul S. Young, CPA, CGMA, MBA.

So, if you’ll be at the AICPA CFO Conference next month, I hope to see you there.

https://lnkd.in/eveXrSXX 

#AICPA #CFOConference26

This is my "I've had to make some hard calls to get here" face.

And I know it makes some people uncomfortable.

Because women in leadership are supposed to:
Smile,
Be warm, 
Be likeable,
Be approachable. 

Never too assertive. Never too quiet. Never too much.

We're expected to lead, but make it look effortless.
To have the answers, but not seem like a know-it-all.
To take up space, but not too much of it.

For a long time, it frustrated me.
Until I realized I could flip it and use it strategically.

You want to learn more?

Join me this Friday with other women who have navigated these nuances and are willing to share how they did it.

✦ Sowmya Ranganathan, ex-Controller @ OpenAI & Founder of Lumera
✦ Sarah Sieman, Senior Director @ CBIZ
✦ Rebeca Sanchez Sarmiento, Finance Operating Partner @ Sixth Street

Register here: https://lnkd.in/ekhnVeC4

And tell me: what expectation did you learn to flip? ⤵️

Wassia Kamon standing in a bright space wearing a pink coat, looking intentionally serious for a post about women in leadership.

"If you have people in your group that can't get excited about your goals and objectives, get them transferred to your competition."

This might sound harsh, but David DeFreitas is right.

People who can't get excited about what you're trying to accomplish will drain the life right out of your team.

And this is just a snippet of the wisdom Dave shared on The Diary of a CFO Podcast this week.

In this episode, he walked me through what it actually took to go from staff accountant to group CFO at Caterpillar Inc.

What stood out:

✔️ He had 7 jobs in 6 years before his first big promotion.

✔️ At 35, he became CFO of Caterpillar UK, leading a 150+ people, and 4 of 6 direct reports were over 60 years old. 

We also talked about AI, the difference between managing change and leading change and so much more!

Side note: Dave has been on my personal board of directors for almost 3 years and I could not be more grateful to have him on the show.

🎧 Listen now on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube

Let me know your biggest takeaway once you listen 👇🏽

View newsletter: The Diary of a CFO Recap

Brought to you by Ramp. Join us on March 6th at 1PM ET for a free webinar celebrating Women's History Month. Click here to learn more and register. Mo

Open article: Former Caterpillar Group CFO, Dave DeFreitas, on Essential Leadership Skills for Finance Leaders by Wassia Kamon, CPA, CMA, MBA • 4 min read

Former Caterpillar Group CFO, Dave DeFreitas, on Essential Leadership Skills for Finance Leaders

To be a woman, to be a leader, and to be in finance is not for the weak.

- The rooms that are not built for you. 

- The moments you have to prove yourself twice, yet often paid less.

- The personal load you are expected to leave at the door but never really can.

Most people don't talk about that part.

But on March 6th, we will.

I am honored to share the stage with women who know exactly what this path looks like behind the scenes.

- Sowmya Ranganathan was the Controller at OpenAI during the launch of ChatGPT and went on to found her own company, Lumera.

- Rebeca Sanchez Sarmiento built her career on Wall Street, became a 3x CFO in PE-backed environments, and is now a Finance Operating Partner at Sixth Street.

- Sarah Sieman started in public accounting at PwC, switched to FP&A, became a CFO, and now leads business transformation and AI adoption at CBIZ.

Topics we will cover:

✅Navigating bias
✅Advocating for yourself and your 💰
✅Building networks that actually support you.
✅Managing caregiving and leadership at the same time

If this resonates, you’re welcome to join us.

📅 March 6 | 1 PM ET
 
Register here: https://lnkd.in/ekhnVeC4

Promotional graphic for a webinar titled “Women Who Lead: Unfiltered Conversations with Top Executives,” happening March 6 at 1 PM ET. Features headshots of speakers Wassia Kamon (CFO, ACE), Sowmya Ranganathan (Founder, Lumera; former Controller at OpenAI), Sarah Sieman (Senior Director, CBIZ), and Rebeca Sanchez Sarmiento (Operating Partner, Sixth Street).

What if the real AI risk in your finance team is not job loss, but confidently presenting the wrong answer to your CEO and board?

On this week’s The Diary of a CFO Podcast, I sit down with Jennifer Warawa, President of insightsoftware and one of the most influential leaders in our profession, to talk about what actually changes in the office of the CFO when AI shows up.

We get into:

✅  What it looks like to act as a true strategic co‑pilot to the CEO

✅  How AI exposes every weakness in your data, processes, and tech stack 

✅  A practical roadmap to implement AI in the office of the CFO

✅  How to bring your team along when some people are excited about AI and others are quietly afraid their role will disappear.

If you lead finance and feel like your spreadsheets are moving slower than the business' expectations, this episode will help you close that gap with a clear game plan. 

Let me know in the comments:

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐀𝐈, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐲?

------------------
Big thanks to insightsoftware for sponsoring this episode

Brought to you by insightsoftware. Attend part 1 of their free webinar series “Data is Power” on March 31. Visit insightsoftware.com/dataispower to le

Open article: How AI is Changing the Office of the CFO, with Jennifer Warawa by Wassia Kamon, CPA, CMA, MBA • 4 min read

How AI is Changing the Office of the CFO, with Jennifer Warawa

Imposter syndrome is the # 1 thing that keeps new CFOs awake at night. 

Not covenants,
Not close calendars, 
Not even board decks.

It's that quiet voice asking:

“Do I really belong in this seat?”  

I was surprised how often this came up in my conversation with Kevin Appleby. 

But the more we talked, the more I realized I’d felt some of the same doubts in my own first year as a CFO too.  

- The second‑guessing before every decision,

- Replaying SLT and board meetings in my head, wondering if one mistake would prove everyone wrong about me.

If you’re there right now, this is the part I wish someone had said to me: 

Feeling that way is not proof you’re in the wrong role. 

It’s often proof that you care,
that you’re stretching, and that you’re no longer hiding in the comfort of what you’ve already mastered.

That's I love the practical advice Kevin shared in this clip on how to overcome imposter syndrome as a new leader.

if you have any more tips, please share 👇

If you have 8–10 minutes, would you please do me a favor?

I’m running a benchmark survey on how strategic finance teams really are, and I’d love your help.

If you're a CFO or work under a CFO, please take the survey:

➡️ https://lnkd.in/e-BdDWY2

If not, I’d really appreciate you sharing it with a finance leader who fits this description:

- CFO
- CAO
- Controller
- VP of Finance
- FP&A Manager or above
- Treasury Manager or above
- Accounting Manager or above

I’m aiming for about 1,000 responses so we can publish practical benchmarks for how finance teams actually operate today, regardless of company size or industry.

As a thank you, respondents will receive:

✅ Early access to the survey results

✅ A copy of my Personal Board of Directors Playbook

Thank you in advance!!!

taplio

The Battle

David Greenbaum

Wassia Kamon, CPA, CMA, MBA

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreWassia Kamon, CPA, CMA, MBA's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

David Greenbaum

Wassia Kamon, CPA, CMA, MBA

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Wassia Kamon, CPA, CMA, MBA's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreWassia Kamon, CPA, CMA, MBA's LinkedIn Performance