Centage

06/08/2026

Most finance leaders never become CFO.

Not because they lack technical skills — but because they've never truly owned a P&L.

Karl Pichler, Fortune 1000 CFO, puts it plainly: you can always hide behind the CEO. But the professionals who rise to the top are the ones who've had nowhere to hide.

Real commercial accountability changes you. When leadership is breathing down your neck about margin and growth — you either develop the instincts of a CFO, or you don't.

That's the difference between being technically competent and being a credible C-suite candidate.

Full P&L ownership. Full exposure to the CFO stack. No shortcuts.

🎙️ Catch the full conversation with Karl on The CFO Review with host Paul Lynch — link in the comments. 👇

06/04/2026

A public company CFO. Under 40. $2.1B in revenue. $4.5B buyout.

When Karl Pichler looks back at what built that career — his answer isn't what you'd expect from a finance leader.

Invest. Early. And not just financially.

Karl's advice to his 26-year-old self isn't about the CFA, the MBA, or the technical grind (though those matter). It's about understanding that your most valuable asset is the compound interest on the decisions you make in your 20s and 30s — in your brain, your network, your equity participation, and your breadth of experience.

Most finance professionals spend the early part of their career optimising for the job. Karl's insight is to optimise for the consideration set. Get into the room where the decision gets made — and make yourself a candidate worth seriously discussing.

Because here's the truth he shares that most people don't say out loud: Whether you actually get the job often comes down to circumstance. What you can control is whether you're worth hiring when the moment arrives.

If you're a VP of Finance trying to figure out what strategic finance really looks like — and how to make that leap into the C-suite — this conversation is for you.

Episode 1 of The CFO Review with Paul Lynch is live now. Link in comments.👇

06/03/2026

The CFO role is not a finance promotion. It's a leadership transition.

Most people don't realize that until it's too late.

Karl Pichler did... but only after a Gallup assessment told his future employer he had zero leadership qualities.

He became CFO of Rackspace anyway. Here's how he thinks about the role now, and what he'd tell every VP Finance under 40.

Our CEO, Paul Lynch, dropped a full recap of Episode 1 of The CFO Review in his latest blog.

Check it out: https://www.centage.com/blog/karl-pichler-didnt-plan-on-becoming-cfo-thats-part-of-what-made-him-good-at-it

From $80M to $2.1B in revenue. One IPO. A $4.5B leveraged buyout. Here's what the Rackspace CFO learned along the way.

06/02/2026

We're so excited to announce The CFO Review is officially LIVE! 🎙️

Our CEO, Paul Lynch has launched a brand new podcast — and we couldn't be more proud of what he's built.

The CFO Review is a long-form interview series featuring real, candid conversations with CFOs and senior finance leaders who've made the leap to the C-suite — and are willing to talk honestly about what it actually took to get there.

Episode 1 is out NOW — Find The CFO Review on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.🎙️ Go give it a listen. You won't regret it.

Read the full press release: https://www.centage.com/news-and-events/centage-ceo-paul-lynch-launches-the-cfo-review-podcast

06/01/2026

📢 We are thrilled to announce that "The CFO Review Podcast" is live!

Episode 1 features Karl Pichler, former CFO of Rackspace — a conversation about the journey to the top of the finance function, the moments that shaped his career, and where he sees the CFO role heading.

Hosted by Centage CEO, Paul Lynch. 🎙️

Available now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube.
Link in the comments!👇

05/26/2026

Last week, our Head of Customer Advocacy, Desiree Norquist, took the stage at the IMA San Antonio chapter.

The topic? "Moving Beyond Excel Affordably"

Because here's the thing: most finance teams already know something's off. The spreadsheets are getting too big, too fragile, too slow. But the jump to modern FP&A tools can feel out of reach — especially for mid-market teams watching every dollar.

Desiree broke it all down: how to name the tipping point, what "beyond Excel" actually looks like in practice, and the real question everyone's afraid to ask out loud, "what does it cost?"

Thank you IMA San Antonio for having us. 🙌

05/26/2026

Most SMBs don't lose on the proposal.

They lose in the delivery.

The contract is won. The work begins. And somewhere between award, staffing, billing, and reporting — things start to slip. Not because the team isn't capable. Because the tools aren't connected.

We've seen it on the financial planning side for years.

That's why we're excited to announce that Centage has entered into a strategic partnership with BizBone, LLC. 🤝

BizBone is a purpose-built ERP for bid-driven SMBs — helping teams manage the full contract life cycle with less chaos and more control. Together, our platforms give finance and operations a shared foundation: clearer planning, tighter ex*****on, and real visibility from budget to delivery.

This partnership is about making sure growing businesses have the tools to match their ambition.🎉

🔗 Read the full press release in the comments.

05/25/2026

This Memorial Day, we pause to remember and honor the courageous men and women who gave their lives in service to our country. 🇺🇸

Their sacrifice will never be forgotten. From all of us at Centage, we wish you a meaningful and reflective holiday.

05/12/2026

Finance doesn’t have a talent problem.

It has a work design problem.

Too many companies hire brilliant analysts and strategic finance leaders… only to bury them in:
👎 Spreadsheet maintenance
👎 Manual reconciliation
👎 Broken formulas
👎 Endless consolidation work

Then leadership wonders why retention is so difficult.

The reality is simple:
People don’t leave because they aren’t valued. They leave because they were hired to think — and ended up doing the work of a machine.

The best finance teams today aren’t winning because they discovered some secret hiring strategy.

They’re winning because they changed the nature of the job itself.📈

They automated the repetitive work. They modernized the infrastructure.

And they gave finance professionals the space to do what they were actually hired for: Analyze. Advise. Strategize. ✅

You can’t hire your way out of an infrastructure gap.

At some point, strategic finance requires strategic systems.

05/11/2026

Ask any CFO what keeps them up at night, and fragmentation usually makes the list.

Different departments. Different tools. Different versions of the truth.

Sales has one number. Operations has another. Finance is stuck trying to reconcile them all while leadership is waiting for answers.

When your planning and budgeting processes are fragmented, it's not just inefficient — it's dangerous. Decisions get made on incomplete information. Opportunities get missed. Risks go unseen until it's too late.

A unified finance process isn't about controlling everything. It's about making sure everyone is working from the same foundation — the same data, the same assumptions, the same direction.

When that happens, something remarkable shifts. Finance stops being the department that slows things down and starts being the team that lights the path forward.

The right planning and budgeting software makes that unity possible — without the politics, the manual workarounds, or the 47-email chains.

Here's how to bring it all together: https://www.centage.com/blog/planning-and-budgeting-software-unify-teams-fragmented-processes

How planning and budgeting software unifies fragmented finance processes into one platform—improving collaboration, accuracy, and strategic impact.