At Creative CFO, we’re building the world’s best finance teams. The best teams learn from experts and those who came before them. After talking to our team, here are the top accounting and finance voices they recommend we follow.
These voices champion sustainable growth and clarify cash flow, investing, and forecasting. They provide insights that help business owners and finance professionals build clarity, confidence, and long-term resilience, lessons our team uses daily.
David Heinemeier Hansson
David Heinemeier Hansson (DHH) co-founded 37signals, the firm behind Basecamp and HEY. He also created Ruby on Rails and is a strong critic of the “growth at all costs” mindset.
Instead, he supports a finance-first approach. First, fund your business with paying customers. Then, focus on profitability. Finally, plan for the long term.
His philosophy is simple but powerful. Earn more than you spend. Keep things simple. Build a calm, sustainable company where everyone, including founders, can thrive.
When Ian founded Creative CFO, DHH’s ideas had a big influence. His books on sustainable, owner-led growth inspired many of the principles that still shape our work today. They also helped make CCFO remote-enabled in 2013, long before remote work became the norm in 2020. More importantly, he focuses on profit, not vanity growth. We help our SME clients achieve the same: clarity, confidence, and long-term resilience. His work supports the idea that good finance isn’t just about flashy numbers. It’s about creating businesses that last.
A standout resource:
For a deep dive, explore his books. For the core lesson, read “Why We Choose Profit.” It reminds us that profit is essential. It’s the base for lasting growth.
Oana Labes
Oana Labes is relevant for anyone in the SME space. She shares insights that help scale and grow small and medium-sized businesses. She focuses on cash flow. This helps business owners understand the importance of maintaining a healthy company.
One of our team members said, “Her guidance has reshaped how I view cash flow: no matter how strong other parts of a business appear, prolonged cash flow issues will inevitably create pressure.”
A standout resource:
You don’t run a business with profit you run it with cash. Her viewpoint shows that good cash management is key to lasting growth. This makes her advice essential for SMEs aiming to scale successfully.
Carla Venter
Carla has a rare gift. She makes tough financial topics seem simple and logical.
She simplifies complex ideas, from passive investing and ETFs to tax-free savings accounts. She uses real-life examples and ensures full transparency in her lessons. What makes her unique is how she shifts your viewpoint. She makes investing less risky and less intimidating. Instead, it becomes a smart, long-term strategy you can manage with confidence.
Her clear, practical explanations boost your confidence. They show how managing your own investments can empower you and save money. This approach could potentially save you millions in advisor fees.
A standout resource:
Carla has a YouTube video on her channel, Money with Carla, In her YouTube video about ETFs, Carla explains why exchange-traded funds are an excellent choice for building wealth. It’s clear and practical advice. It cuts through jargon and makes a key concept in modern investing easy to grasp.
Paul Barnhurst (The FP&A Guy)
If you’re into FP&A (financial planning and analysis) or financial modelling, Paul Barnhurst is a top voice to follow.
He uses his website, LinkedIn, and especially his podcast to connect experts. They share practical insights based on experience, not just theory. His strength is making specialist topics relevant and actionable. Whether you’re into modelling or want to boost your financial planning, he’s got you covered.
A standout resource:
For us at Creative CFO, Paul’s work has been a way to step back and reflect on our own processes.
Hearing the talks he has with finance leaders on his podcast, “Financial Modeler’s Corner”, often gives us new ideas. It helps us think about how to improve, refine, or rethink our support for SMEs.
It’s like being able to sit in on a roundtable of experts and pull out the lessons that apply directly to our work.
Josh Aharonoff
Josh Aharonoff simplifies complex finance topics. He shares practical tips on cash flow management, budgeting, fundraising, and Excel tutorials. His content is practical and easy to understand. It’s made for professionals who want to improve their financial skills.
Josh’s guidance has revolutionised the way we work with multiple digital marketing agencies. It’s crucial for campaign planning, budget allocation, and predicting ROI. Applying his methods has significantly improved our forecasting accuracy and confidence.
A standout resource:
“The Forecast Loop: Why Your Numbers Never Match Reality” explains why forecasts can miss the mark. It also offers practical steps to improve your projections. Josh emphasises that forecasting isn’t about perfection. It’s about building a process that gets better over time. This view transforms how finance professionals approach their numbers.
Learn From the Best to Build the Best
Each of these experts shares practical lessons that extend beyond theory. They remind us to focus on the fundamentals: healthy cash flow, confident forecasting, and long-term profit and genuine growth over vanity metrics.
At Creative CFO, we’re big on listening to the right people and the right data, because we believe that learning should never stop and that the best finance teams focus on continual agile growth. With our people, cloud tools, and AI tech, we make sure you have the clarity and confidence to make decisions that help you go the distance (and in the right direction). Why? Because it’s our passion to help SMEs go places.
We’d love to explore how our finance team can partner with you to support your goals and help your business thrive. Book a call and let’s chat.
