Ben Boehm is the CFO of Fintech, a B2B payment processor. It first started out processing payments for alcohol and beverage companies, before expanding into retail and hospitality. Boehm has been with Fintech for 16 years.
CFO Brew spoke with him about seeing recession signals before everyone else, preparing to become a CFO and taking on extra responsibilities as CFO.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
How do you think the CFO role has changed over the past five to 10 years, both for you, and in general?
CFOs spend less time in spreadsheets than 10 years ago, and more time collaborating with business leaders, talking strategy, and ensuring data and analysis are used in all areas of the business. In those collaborations, as I’ve evolved over the years, maybe five to 10 years ago, I’m just giving them the answers. “Just do X.” But that’s not necessarily the right approach if you want to grow your company. It’s more about helping them think through it, and empowering them to make good decisions and setting the boundaries.
What’s something we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile?
My LinkedIn profile only lists my title, so I would guess it would be functions that might be covered at our company by the CFO that may not be covered by CFOs at other companies. If there’s something in your organization that isn’t covered, it’s probably coming to the CFO’s desk, and then I’ve got to make that decision: Is that just something I do to get it done with, or can I find someone else to be responsible for this forever?
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How are you preparing your company for a recession?
We’re fortunate—since we do payments for 250,000 retail locations, we do have leading indicators on how healthy some of our customers are. We know if the payments went through or not…Sometimes we’ll see favorable trends or unfavorable trends before you hear about it in the market. So that’s helpful.
What advice do you have for future CFOs?
It is important that you understand your business and that you are at a company or in an industry where you feel you can contribute. My history as a Fintech customer and working at Fintech over the years allows me to understand the business in a unique way that allows me to be successful. The job can be stressful and can demand a lot from you, so it goes without saying that you need to surround yourself with great talent to take on those challenges with you.
If you weren ’t a CFO, you would be…?
For me, I have enjoyed each of my past roles, as I have felt that 1) I had purpose, 2) I was empowered to problem-solve, and 3) I contributed to the success of the company. I think most jobs that have these attributes would appeal to me.
What is your favorite piece of technology?
Well, it’s not my phone.