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 • 258 episodes

The Finance Leader Podcast

Latest Episodes

Small Business Series - A Practical Pricing Checkup, Are You Charging Enough (Ep 3)

Bonus episode # 100: You can be fully booked, gaining customers, and still feel like the business never throws off real money and pricing is often the reason. We take a hard look at the question many small business owners avoid: what if ...

August 18, 2026 • 9:38

Small Business Series - Why Profitable Businesses Still Run Out of Cash (Ep 2)

Bonus episode # 99: Your P&L says you’re profitable, but the bank account keeps hovering near empty, so what’s actually happening? I walk through the gap between profit and cash and why small businesses can look healthy on paper whil...

August 11, 2026 • 8:34

Small Business Series - Why Sales Growth Can Still Feel Like Struggle (Ep 1)

Bonus episode # 98: Revenue can be up and your stress can still be up right along with it. If your business is selling more but cash feels tight, your credit card is creeping higher, and you cannot explain where the money went, we are lo...

August 06, 2026 • 7:26

Developing the FP&A Training Plan - Building a More Strategic Finance Capability

Episode # 157: We walk through how we build an FP&A training plan that develops individual talent while raising the effectiveness of the whole finance organization. That starts with a formal development strategy, not ad hoc learning ...

July 29, 2026 • Season 22 • Episode 7 • 20:45

SWOT Analysis for a Competitive Strategic Advantage

Episode # 156: Most SWOT analyses fail for one simple reason: they end as a four-quadrant chart instead of becoming a set of decisions. I’m breaking down how to run a strategic SWOT assessment that actually changes what you do next so yo...

July 21, 2026 • Season 22 • Episode 6 • 21:30

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