Episode 86: How CFOs build a Goldilocks “just-right” budget – Jeff Epstein ex-CFO of Oracle
Show Notes
Jeff Epstein is an operating partner at Bessemer Venture Partners leading its CFO Council where he helps CEOs and CFOs at their 200-portfolio companies share best practices. Epstein, one of the most famous names in finance, is former executive vice president and chief financial officer of Oracle, with a market value of over $200 billion.
Prior to joining Oracle, Jeff served as CFO at public and private companies, including DoubleClick (acquired by Google), King World Productions (acquired by CBS), and Nielsen’s Media Measurement and Information Group. Earlier in his career, he was an investment banker at The First Boston Corporation.
In this episode:
From Wall Street to first-time CFO
Running finance at Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy and Oprah-TV hitmaker King World
The skills needed to be a top CFO
The 3 routes to CFO: Auditors, Wall Street or FP&A
What Andy Gove OKR setting can teach us about budget setting
What is the right percentage of time to hit budget goals?
Balancing between Elon Musk (Papa Bear) and Charlie Munger (Mama Bear) in setting targets
Giving people the opportunity to overachieve
Best case/worst case/base case at Oracle
The delicate balancing act of Wall Street guidance
Using a stagger chart
Why FP&A is so critical; how the biggest strategic decisions involve FP&A adviceRevisiting the processes as Oracle bought Sun Microsystems
Merger integration strategy worked on our sales compensation
Truck drivers and sales commission – a must-listen-to story
How in 1983, at the Washington Post, I learned from Warren Buffet and ended up scrambling to buy 4 shares of Berkshire Hathaway. Guess how much it’s worth now?
YouTube Video
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Links from the show
Jeff Epstein: How CFOs build a Goldilocks “just-right” budget
Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon
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