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Navigating Growth: Leveraging financial reporting for strategic decision making

Apr 23, 2025 · Authored by Will Vogelsang, Jeff Epstein, Bessemer Venture Partners; William Atkins, FLG Partners; Sindy Wilson, MEM Enterprises

From the 2025 Technology Finance Symposium - West

A panel of seasoned finance leaders gathered to discuss how financial reporting can serve as a strategic tool for growth-stage companies.

Moderated by Baker Tilly’s Will Vogelsang, the session featured Sindy Wilson, CFO of MEM Enterprises and Advisor (and former CFO) of Kickstarter; Jeff Epstein, head of corporate development and operating partner at Bessemer Venture Partners; and William Atkins, partner at FLG Partners. Together, they unpacked how finance teams can go beyond the numbers to inform critical business decisions.

The conversation opened with a scenario: a SaaS company targeting $100 million in revenue, currently at $50 million. What financial reporting would the panelists want to see before stepping into an investment or CFO role?

“I want three years of audited financials – balance sheet, income statement, cash flows – and I’m going to read all of the disclosures,” Wilson said. “I want to understand what kind of decisions you’re making. Really what I’m looking for is an understanding of value.”

Wilson added that she wants a three-year forecast – at minimum – with a clear breakdown of sales by product. She emphasized that historical data paired with forward-looking forecasts set the foundation for meaningful strategy conversations.

Atkins echoed the importance of baseline financials but added that operational metrics matter just as much. “I like to look at the whole quote-to-cash cycle,” he said. “Because that identifies a whole bunch of issues or advantages the company may have. Not just in terms of accounting, but in terms of pricing, discipline, whether sales are properly coordinated with the rest of the organization.”

The panel also discussed the cadence of financial reporting and the operational heartbeat of a growing tech company. Epstein noted that the investor's perspective sharpens when it comes to metrics. The four key metrics they look for are net renewal rate, cash payback period, cash conversion score, and customer acquisition cost. Epstein explained: “If you have a company with a net renewal rate above 100%, a cash payback of 18 months, and a cash conversion score better than 100%, please call me—we want to invest in that company.”

When it came to the evolving role of the CFO, the panelists aligned around one theme: today’s finance leader must be both operationally grounded and strategically curious. “A strategic CFO isn’t just reporting the numbers,” noted Adkins, who added that the new-age CFO is intellectually curious, embedded in operations, and providing a holistic view of what the numbers actually mean for the business.

The session also touched on risk management in decision making. Wilson described using a “pre-mortem” approach during acquisitions, where teams outline all the ways a deal could fail before moving forward. Epstein shared a cautionary tale about a personal investment derailed by Google’s market entry, underscoring the importance of anticipating competitive threats.

Finally, the conversation landed on artificial intelligence’s role in finance. While automation has long supported transactional processes, Wilson framed AI as “a step in your data journey.” She urged companies to prioritize clean, accessible data now to fully leverage AI’s potential in the future.