The Finance Leader Podcast

What separates finance professionals who influence strategy from those who only report the numbers?

The answer isn't better spreadsheets. It's developing the judgment, leadership, and business acumen to become a trusted strategic advisor.

The Finance Leader Podcast helps finance and accounting professionals, FP&A teams, controllers, CFOs, business owners, and executive leaders strengthen the connection between finance, operations, and strategy. Episodes provide practical insights, proven frameworks, and real-world lessons to help you improve decision making, develop executive presence, build stronger partnerships across the organization, and create measurable business value.

Hosted by Stephen McLain, a retired U.S. Army Finance Officer and corporate FP&A and accounting consultant, the podcast combines military leadership experience with practical corporate finance expertise to help finance professionals lead with greater confidence and strategic impact.

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Podcasting since 2020 • 264 episodes

The Finance Leader Podcast

Latest Episodes

Improve Communications Between Finance and Operations: Shared Facts, Better Decisions

Episode # 160: Quarterly reviews shouldn’t feel like three teams arguing in three different languages, but that’s exactly what happens when operations, FP&A, and accounting aren’t aligned on the basics. We dig into the real source of...

September 30, 2026 • Season 23 • Episode 3 • 15:27

How FP&A Helps Hospitality Leaders Make Better Daily Decisions

Empty hotel rooms don’t roll over to next week, and a slow variance deck won’t save tonight’s margin. We dig into what hospitality FP&A should look like when the business needs real-time decisions on staffing, purchasing, pricing, capacity,...

September 23, 2026 • Season 23 • Episode 2 • 21:21

How the Future Hospitality FP&A Team Forecasts Demand And Protects Margins

Episode # 158: A hotel room empty tonight is not “lost demand” on a spreadsheet. It’s gone forever. That one reality makes hospitality one of the clearest places where FP&A has to operate in real time, not on last month’s variance de...

September 16, 2026 • Season 23 • Episode 1 • 20:34

A Strong Audit Plan Turns Compliance Into Trust

Bonus episode # 103: If you think “the audit” is just a yearly event, you’re leaving your organization exposed. I’m sharing a replay of The Audit Blueprint, my CFO’s guide to financial integrity, because accurate books and strong interna...

September 08, 2026 • 17:53

Small Business Series - Think Like a CEO (Ep 5)

Bonus episode # 102: If you started your business to build something meaningful, here’s the uncomfortable question: are you creating an asset or creating another job for yourself? I’m wrapping up my limited small business series by zoomi...

September 01, 2026 • 10:23

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