Register

Fall 2026

Agenda
Monday, October 12

1:00 – 5:00 pm MT

CFO Tech Automation Challenge

A curated workshop experience built entirely from real CFO-submitted finance technology challenges.

Before the conference, CFOs submit their most pressing automation and systems issues. Those anonymized challenges shape a focused, executive-level agenda featuring a thought leader keynote, two rounds of structured tech challenge responses from five solution providers, and moderated Q&A designed to surface practical insight—not product pitches.

The workshop concludes with CFO peer roundtables led by industry thought leaders, where finance leaders engage in candid discussion around automation tools, implementation strategy, ROI, and change management.

The result: exposure to multiple solution approaches, independent strategic framing, and peer-to-peer clarity in a tightly structured format.

Tickets $95. Offered exclusively to Fall CFO Conference attendees. 2 CPEs offered.

5:00 – 6:30 pm MT

Registration, Welcome Reception, & Exhibit Hall Open
Tuesday, October 13

8:00 – 9:00 am MT

Registration & Networking Breakfast

9:00 – 9:10 am MT

Opening Remarks

9:10 – 10:00 am MT

KEYNOTE: What Elite Military Teams Teach CFOs About Performance, Accountability & Growth

Speaker: Michael Sarraille | Best-Selling Author, Retired U.S. Navy SEAL & Chief Talent Officer of Overwatch Mission Critical

Mike Sarraille has led at the highest levels of both elite military operations and high-growth businesses—commanding special operations units authorized directly by the President and later building and exiting companies as a CEO. In this powerful keynote, Sarraille will translate lessons from SEAL Team Six, Delta Force, and special mission units into a practical framework for how leaders build teams that perform under pressure, adapt faster than competitors, and consistently deliver results.

Drawing on two decades of combat leadership and hands-on experience scaling and restructuring businesses, Sarraille challenges conventional thinking about hiring, performance management, and leadership development. For CFOs—who sit at the intersection of talent decisions, operational discipline, and financial outcomes—the message is clear: talent strategy is not an HR issue; it is a value-creation lever. And these principles have never been more critical amid tighter capital, flatter organizations, and the need to do more with fewer resources—without sacrificing performance

You’ll hear how elite teams:

  • Select for resilience, judgment, and adaptability—not just credentials
  • Pressure-test leaders before the stakes are high
  • Build accountability without bureaucracy
  • Align performance management to speed, trust, and execution
  • Create cultures that perform in volatile, high-expectation environments

10:00 – 10:50 am MT

VISIONARY SESSION

10:50 – 11:20 am MT

Networking Break in the Exhibit Hall

11:20 am – 12:10 pm MT

Breakout Sessions

Presented by Planful

Most CFOs have improved forecasting — but still struggle to turn plans into clear, confident decisions. This session explores how finance leaders are evolving planning from a reporting exercise into a leadership tool that shapes tradeoffs, investments, and accountability across the business. Discussion topics to include:
  • Moving from “what happened” to “what should we do now”
  • Designing forecasts around decisions, not calendar cycles
  • How CFOs balance agility with credibility

Presented by Brex

CFOs are under pressure to tighten spend — but blunt cost-cutting often damages growth, morale, and execution. This session explores how finance leaders are building smart spend governance that protects margins without slowing the business. Discussion topics to include:
  • Where cost discipline often breaks down
  • How CFOs distinguish “bad spend” from strategic investment
  • Creating accountability without bureaucracy

Presented by Tipalti

As finance operations become faster, more automated, and more distributed, CFOs are facing a new generation of risk. AI introduces new control challenges and traditional safeguards often struggle to keep pace with the speed of the business.
This session will explore how CFOs are strengthening controls and reducing exposure without slowing execution or adding unnecessary complexity. Discussion topics to include:
  • How AI and automation change the risk profile of finance teams
  • Why legacy controls break down—and what replaces them
  • Practical approaches to building resilience without adding headcount

Presented by Capstan

Most CFOs think about tax compliance, not strategic tax incentives. But when you treat incentives like a value lever instead of an afterthought, you introduce a new competitive advantage.
 
In this session, a panel of CFOs will break down how they help their clients identify, evaluate, and leverage specialty tax incentives — like R&D Tax Credits, Energy Incentives, and Cost Segregation — in ways that meaningfully improve cash flow.  Facilitated by a specialty tax expert, this conversation will explore the CFO’s decision-making process – including practical screening questions for all industries.
 
Expect true stories, real numbers, and a candid look at how CFOs use incentives to scale operations, offset payroll, and unlock strategic initiatives
 
Plus – it’s easier than you think.

12:10 – 1:45 pm MT

Networking Lunch in the Exhibit Hall

1:45 – 2:35 pm MT

VISIONARY PANEL

2:35 – 3:00 pm MT

Networking Break in the Exhibit Hall

3:00 – 3:50 pm MT

Breakout Sessions

Presented by Planful

Most CFOs have improved forecasting — but still struggle to turn plans into clear, confident decisions. This session explores how finance leaders are evolving planning from a reporting exercise into a leadership tool that shapes tradeoffs, investments, and accountability across the business. Discussion topics to include:
  • Moving from “what happened” to “what should we do now”
  • Designing forecasts around decisions, not calendar cycles
  • How CFOs balance agility with credibility

Presented by Brex

CFOs are under pressure to tighten spend — but blunt cost-cutting often damages growth, morale, and execution. This session explores how finance leaders are building smart spend governance that protects margins without slowing the business. Discussion topics to include:
  • Where cost discipline often breaks down
  • How CFOs distinguish “bad spend” from strategic investment
  • Creating accountability without bureaucracy

Presented by Tipalti

As finance operations become faster, more automated, and more distributed, CFOs are facing a new generation of risk. AI introduces new control challenges and traditional safeguards often struggle to keep pace with the speed of the business.
This session will explore how CFOs are strengthening controls and reducing exposure without slowing execution or adding unnecessary complexity. Discussion topics to include:
  • How AI and automation change the risk profile of finance teams
  • Why legacy controls break down—and what replaces them
  • Practical approaches to building resilience without adding headcount

Presented by Capstan

Most CFOs think about tax compliance, not strategic tax incentives. But when you treat incentives like a value lever instead of an afterthought, you introduce a new competitive advantage.
 
In this session, a panel of CFOs will break down how they help their clients identify, evaluate, and leverage specialty tax incentives — like R&D Tax Credits, Energy Incentives, and Cost Segregation — in ways that meaningfully improve cash flow.  Facilitated by a specialty tax expert, this conversation will explore the CFO’s decision-making process – including practical screening questions for all industries.
 
Expect true stories, real numbers, and a candid look at how CFOs use incentives to scale operations, offset payroll, and unlock strategic initiatives
 
Plus – it’s easier than you think.

3:50 – 4:00 pm MT

Transition

4:00 – 5:00 pm MT

KEYNOTE: The CFO IPO Playbook for Scaling a Regulated Fintech

Speaker: Macrina Kgil | CFO, Figure Technology Solutions

For many CFOs, leading a company through an IPO is the defining moment of their career—the ultimate test of financial leadership, operational readiness, and credibility under pressure. It is the point at which finance stops being an internal function and becomes a public promise.

In this keynote, Macrina Kgil, CFO of Figure Technology Solutions, offers an insider’s, real-world view of what it takes to guide a company from private growth to public accountability—particularly in a complex, highly regulated business operating at the intersection of financial services, technology, and capital markets. Drawing on senior finance leadership roles across technology, crypto, and high-growth environments, Macrina shares what changes immediately when the ticker goes live: investor expectations, the pace and intensity of reporting, the culture shift toward discipline, and the constant balancing act between speed and control.

A centerpiece of the discussion is the increasingly powerful leadership dynamic of CFO partnering with a CFO-turned-CEO. At Figure, Macrina works alongside CEO Michael Tannenbaum, whose own finance background shapes decision-making, accountability, and what great execution looks like in the first critical months as a public company.

This is a practical blueprint for CFOs who want to lead at the highest level—where performance is measured quarterly, in public, with no margin for error.

Key Takeaways

  • What truly changes for CFOs in the first 90 days after an IPO
  • Capital strategy and financial leadership lessons from the earliest months post-IPO
  • How to balance discipline + speed in a regulated fintech / blockchain-enabled business
  • How the CFO-CFO partnership (CFO + CFO-turned-CEO) reshapes influence and ownership

5:00 – 6:30 pm MT

Networking Reception
Wednesday, October 14

7:45 – 9:00 am MT

Networking Breakfast

8:00 – 8:50 am MT

Breakfast Roundtables

Presented by Prophix

The value of planning isn’t accuracy—it’s alignment. CFOs increasingly play a central role in helping leadership teams make tradeoffs, prioritize investments, and move quickly with confidence. In this breakout, we’ll discuss how finance leaders structure planning conversations, resolve cross-functional tension, and keep the organization focused as conditions change. Discussion topics will include:
  • Creating alignment across Finance, Sales, Operations, and Product
  • Using planning to resolve tradeoffs faster and with less friction
  • What “good enough” planning looks like in fast-moving environments

Presented by Robert Half

AI is changing the way finance teams work, but having the tools isn’t enough on its own. Many organizations struggle to get the most out of AI because of gaps in skills, experience or governance. This interactive roundtable gives finance leaders a chance to share ideas and learn from each other. We’ll explore practical ways to close those skills gaps, balance AI with human judgment and modernize teams without disrupting day-to-day operations. You’ll hear real-world strategies for upskilling, accessing specialized talent and building teams that can grow alongside rapidly evolving technology. Attendees will leave with actionable insights to help their organization move from experimenting with AI to realizing its value.

9:00 – 9:05 am MT

Opening Remarks

9:05 – 9:55 am MT

KEYNOTE: Leading with Insight at Scale: How Grainger’s CFO Uses Finance to Drive Customer Value and Performance

Speaker: Deidra Merriwether | SVP & CFO, Grainger

As CFO of W.W. Grainger, Deidre Merriwether helps lead a 95-year-old company that has consistently reinvented itself—through pricing transformation, analytics, digital investment, and a relentless focus on the customer. In this fireside chat, Merriwether will share how her unconventional path—spanning engineering, sales leadership, pricing strategy, and finance—shaped her view of the CFO role as a strategic connector across the enterprise. She’ll discuss how finance leaders can move beyond reporting to influence growth, margin, and long-term decision-making, even in complex, asset-intensive businesses.

While Grainger operates at global scale, the lessons apply directly to CFOs across industries: how to embed customer insight into financial decisions, use analytics to sharpen pricing and investment choices, and balance discipline with adaptability in uncertain markets. Together, we’ll explore themes that will help attendees ensure finance is a driver of performance, including:

  • Using finance to connect strategy, pricing, and customer value
  • Turning analytics into better decisions—not more reports
  • Balancing operational discipline with long-term growth investments
  • Expanding the CFO’s influence across sales, operations, and strategy

9:55 – 10:45 am MT

VISIONARY SESSION

10:45 – 11:10 am MT

Networking Break in the Exhibit Hall

11:10 am – 12:00 pm MT

KEYNOTE: Leadership, Resilience & The Fast Track to the CFO Role

Speaker: Dorothy Walter | Global CFO, Accel

Few finance leaders rise to the CFO role as quickly as Dorothy Walter. Through a combination of intellectual curiosity, resilience, and a deep commitment to building strong teams, she has established herself as one of the most thoughtful finance leaders in the investment world.

Today, Dorothy serves as Global CFO of Accel, a global venture capital firm that partners with exceptional companies from their earliest stages through periods of rapid growth. Previously, she was CFO of Alpine Investors, where she helped guide the firm during a period of remarkable expansion in assets, talent, and influence.

Her leadership journey has been shaped by an unusually global perspective. Born in Taiwan and raised across several continents—including New York, Singapore, and Beijing—Dorothy developed an early appreciation for different cultures and ways of thinking. That global mindset continued through her education at Vassar College and Stanford Graduate School of Business, and has remained central to how she approaches leadership today.

In this conversation, Dorothy will share what it takes to grow quickly into the CFO role and lead effectively in high-growth organizations. She will discuss the mentors who shaped her journey, the role emotional intelligence plays in building strong teams, and why the best finance leaders combine analytical rigor with empathy and adaptability. Her story offers a candid look at leadership, resilience, and what it takes to succeed when opportunities arrive earlier than expected.

Key Takeaways

• Lessons from Dorothy’s fast-track journey to the CFO role
• Why emotional intelligence and resilience are essential leadership traits for finance executives
• The role mentorship and trust play in developing high-performing teams
• Practical insights for aspiring and first-time CFOs navigating their own leadership journeys

12:00 – 12:10 pm MT

Transition

12:10 – 1:00 pm MT

Breakout Sessions

Presented by Trintech

As finance teams move faster and rely more on automation and AI, CFOs face a growing challenge: how to maintain confidence in the numbers without slowing the business down. This session will evaluate how CFOs are improving close and control practices to support faster decisions, reduce risk, and ensure leadership is acting on reliable data—especially in high-change environments. Discussion topics will include:
  • Where breakdowns most often occur as finance accelerates
  • How CFOs rethink controls without adding friction or headcount
  • What “decision-ready” really means in today’s finance function

1:00 – 2:30 pm MT

LUNCH KEYNOTE: Finance Rewired: Leading Finance Teams in the Age of AI

Speaker: Valen Tong | CFO & GM, Masterclass 

AI is already entering finance workflows—but many organizations are still struggling to turn curiosity into real impact.

In this keynote session, Valen Tong—CFO of MasterClass and author of Finance Rewired: A Field Guide for Finance Leaders in the Age of AI—will share a practical roadmap for how finance teams can move beyond experimentation and begin integrating AI into real workflows.

Drawing on her experience leading finance inside a fast-growing, technology-driven company, Valen will explore how AI is changing the economics of work, the structure of finance teams, and the way leaders think about productivity, control, and decision-making. Rather than focusing on hype or technical jargon, she translates AI into the language finance leaders understand best: operational discipline, governance, and return on investment.

Valen will also introduce several practical frameworks from Finance Rewired that help finance teams identify the right use cases, implement AI responsibly, and build habits that make new tools stick. These insights are designed to help finance leaders at every stage of the journey—from those just beginning to explore AI to teams already running pilots and looking to scale their impact.

Key Takeaways

  • AI’s economic impact, and what that means for productivity & decision-making
  • Practical frameworks for identifying the right AI use cases inside finance teams
  • Methods to implement AI responsibly while maintaining control, governance & trust 
  • Best practices to move from isolated experiments to sustainable, organization-wide adoption

2:30 pm MT

Closing Remarks

10 CPEs offered pending NASBA approval on final agenda. 

The CFO Leadership Council is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be addressed to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors, 150 Fourth Avenue North, Suite 700, Nashville, TN, 37219-2417. Website:  www.nasba.org

Instructional method: Group-Live
Recommended CPE Credits: Up to 12 Credits
Experience Level: Basic
Prerequisites/advance preparation: None

For CFOLC CPE credits, one credit hour equals 50 minutes according to NASBA guidelines. Some state boards may differ on how many minutes constitute a credit hour. Contact your state board for more information. Questions or comments? Contact Nancy at nancy@cfolc.com

Fall 2026 CFO Leadership Conference

The Gold Standard of CFO Leadership.

Championship Strategy & Performance

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