For Dan Barzily, his leadership advantage comes from a varied career—from engineering to consulting, chief of staff and chief strategy officer positions. Now he serves as the CFO of payables automation company Tipalti.
“My career experience shapes my view of finance as a strategic function,” he says. “Not just tracking results and numbers, but also informing where the business should go in the future.”
He shares the lessons he’s learned from his unconventional path to finance leadership, and where he sees the CFO role heading in the future.
How has your background across partnerships, enterprise strategy and consulting shaped the way you approach the CFO role and influenced what you do differently as a finance leader today?
My path to CFO has been fairly unconventional, but I see that as a real advantage. I started as an engineer, moved into consulting and then spent time in corporate planning and business development at American Express before stepping more deeply into strategy at a technology business.
At Tipalti, my move to CFO built directly on my experience as chief of staff and chief strategy officer. That foundation provided me with detailed insight into our product, customers and the business’ operational and financial levers.
But overall, my career experience shapes my view of finance as a strategic function—not just tracking results and numbers, but also informing where the business should go in the future. As a finance leader, I prioritize understanding broader market forces, aligning with various teams such as product and operations, and turning those insights into actionable business priorities.
In today’s uncertain economy, what does success in the CFO role look like, and which metrics matter most?
Success for CFOs today means providing a clear understanding of how the business is doing amid constant change. The finance function is a key part of how any business plans for resilience, adaptability and long-term growth.
In finance, there are many metrics that matter. For example, some of the core metrics are revenue targets and cash flow, with an added emphasis on predictability and agility. Profitability is also something we are looking at in our overall planning. Accurate forecasting and flexible scenario modeling have become just as critical as the results themselves.
Success also means finance operates as a true partner—helping guide decisions, coordinate priorities and giving leadership confidence. Finance for me is about shaping a business, an industry and making an impact.
Balancing long-term innovation with disciplined growth is a challenge in business. What role do rolling forecasts and scenario planning play in how you run finance?
They’re foundational to how we operate. The traditional annual planning cycle just isn’t sufficient in a changing environment or for a fast-growing company. Rolling forecasts keep us current, while scenario planning helps us prepare for a range of likely outcomes. Preparation is key.
This approach enables us to continue investing in long-term priorities such as innovation and AI while maintaining financial discipline. It also allows finance to play a more active role in shaping decisions, working alongside the rest of the business to evaluate trade-offs and track outcomes in real time.
Above all, it illustrates finance’s evolving role—from managing the books to helping define the future.
From your perspective, how should CFOs think about funding AI initiatives, and why move beyond treating them as isolated experiments?
AI needs to be viewed as a core part of the operating model, not a set of isolated experiments. The real value lies in embedding it into workflows that improve efficiency, accuracy and decision-making throughout the business.
From a finance perspective, that means approaching AI investments with the same rigor as any other strategic initiative, linking them to clear business outcomes, and guaranteeing alignment across functions.
AI can boost productivity within finance, enabling teams to shift from routine tasks to strategic work. The goal is to merge technological precision with human insight to improve business decision-making while maintaining control.
