Hi there,

Most CEOs don’t think control erodes quietly. They expect financial risk to show up clearly—missed targets, lender pressure, or an obvious cash crunch.

What last week’s CEO Masterclass made unmistakably clear is this:
by the time those signals appear, control has already been compromised.

That’s why the session resonated so strongly with hundreds of executives. And it’s why I’m now opening access to the recording—along with an early’bird offer for leaders who want to start 2026 from a position of unequivocal strength, not recovery.

Here’s what we’re covering in this issue:

• Early Bird now open for the first 2026 cohort of the CEO Financial Intelligence Program

• A full breakdown of the 10 CEO decisions that quietly erode cash, control, and valuation

• The single system gap behind financial surprises—even in strong companies

• Why strategic finance is a leadership discipline, not a technical skill

• Why this is the opportunity to set up 2026 to perform, scale, and compound—without reactivity

Exclusive Access: Masterclass Recording + 2026 Program Launch

The live masterclass has already happened. The leverage from it hasn’t.

For a limited time, I’m sharing exclusive access to the full recording (register to access).

At the same time, Early Bird enrollment is officially open for the first 2026 cohort of the CEO Financial Intelligence Program, starting February 11, 2026.

If you enroll during this window, you receive:

• $500 off with Early Bird pricing

• A private 1-on-1 strategy session with me before the program begins

I’ve helped scale more than a hundred companies from 6 figures to 8 figures in less than 4 years using strategic capital intelligence. That’s the level of strategic expertise and support you can expect inside the 1-1 call and the entire program.

Note however that both bonuses are limited by time and calendar capacity. When this window closes, they’re removed.

The 10 CEO decisions that quietly erode control

These are not inherently bad decisions. They are normal decisions made without seeing the full financial impact.

That’s why they’re so dangerous. Each one seems small but over time, they add up and reduce your cash flow, flexibility, and control.

1. Using EBITDA to judge financial health
EBITDA leaves out cash timing, debt payments, taxes, and spending needed to run the business. When CEOs rely on it, they think the business is healthier than it really is.

2. Growing without checking if the business can afford it
Growth uses cash before it brings cash in. If you don’t plan for that, growth forces rushed and expensive financing later.

3. Approving projects without knowing how long cash will last
New ideas get approved because they sound strategic. The cash impact shows up later, when it’s harder to stop or change course.

4. Hiring before the cash is there
People costs are hard to reverse. Hiring based on hope instead of cash locks the company into fixed costs it may not be able to support.

5. Thinking about financing only when it’s urgent
When you raise money under pressure, you get worse terms. Strong companies plan financing early, when they still have leverage.

6. Cutting prices or extending terms without looking at cash
Discounts and longer payment terms can raise sales but hurt cash. Revenue grows while liquidity quietly shrinks.

7. Expanding before the core business produces steady cash
New markets and acquisitions increase risk if the core business is not already cash-stable. Expansion then makes problems bigger.

8. Treating forecasts as a finance task, not a CEO tool
Forecasts are meant to show problems before they happen. When CEOs don’t use them, surprises replace planning.

9. Letting the board or bank explain the numbers
If leadership can’t clearly explain cash and capital limits, others take control of the story—and the decisions.

10. Believing strong results mean strong control
Many companies look successful right before they run into trouble. Good performance can hide shrinking flexibility.

These are not leadership failures. They are system failures.
They happen when decisions are made without seeing the cash and capital impact first.

These are not judgment failures. They are system failures.

The real issue: visibility, not competence. All ten decisions stem from one underlying gap:

CEOs don’t have a consistent way to see their business the way investors and lenders do—through cash flows, downside risk, capital limits, and valuation impact.

Strong metrics delay alarms. Revenue can grow while liquidity weakens. EBITDA can rise while strategic flexibility collapses. Without foresight, leaders react. With foresight, leaders engineer outcomes. The one shift that eliminates all ten decisions

There is a single shift that neutralizes every risk above:

Developing the financial intelligence to anticipate cash needs, capital limits, and valuation impact before decisions are made.

That is exactly what we build inside the CEO Financial Intelligence Program.

What the program actually includes

The CEO Financial Intelligence Program is a six-week, live executive program where CEOs and senior leaders work directly with me to build a practical decision-making system around cash flow, capital capacity, risk, and valuation.

Through twice-weekly 90-minute live sessions, we work with your actual financials to pressure-test real decisions—hiring, growth, financing, reinvestment, and board-level tradeoffs—so you can see the financial consequences before committing.

Every session is recorded, and you receive lifetime access to all recordings, frameworks, templates, and executive notes, so the program becomes a permanent reference you can return to as your business evolves.

You leave with clear visibility into liquidity and capital limits, a repeatable system for evaluating high-stakes decisions, and the confidence to lead board and lender conversations without deferring, guessing, or relying on last-minute explanations.

Two 90-minute live sessions per week

• Wednesdays: essential leadersip decision frameworks, cash flow and capital strategy

• Fridays: real-world application, financial models, scenarios, and live Q&A

• We work with actual numbers, not generic examples

We enable you to install a repeatable decision-making system you can use for:

• Hiring and compensation

• Growth and expansion

• Debt vs. equity choices

• Capital raises and reinvestment

• Board and lender conversations

By the end of the program:

• You see cash and capital impact before approving decisions

• You walk into board meetings already knowing the answers

• You stop reacting to financial pressure and start leading confident im your approach and frameworks

Investment

• $4,000 for your first seat

• $2,500 for a second seat (CFO, COO, or co-founder)

Exclusive Early Bird Offer: Save $500, Includes a private 1-on-1 strategy session with me

What past participants say

“This program doesn’t create motivation. It creates control. I stopped walking into board meetings hoping I’d be able to answer the hard questions. Now I know the answers before the meeting even starts.” — CEO, PE-backed company

“The CEO Financial Intelligence Program is a must for all CEOs, business leaders who want to take their game to the next level.”

“We avoided a capital raise we thought was unavoidable. That alone paid for the program a thousand times over.” — Founder & CEO, growth-stage company

“I finally understand how investors and lenders look at my business. That completely changed how I make decisions.” — CEO, mid-market services firm

“This wasn’t about learning finance. It was about removing guesswork from decisions.” — CEO, venture-backed company

Plus several alumni have raised capital on better terms, avoided unnecessary dilution, and entered their next growth phase with materially more control.

Why this matters now—for 2026

Most CEOs start the year reacting to inherited constraints. The strongest ones start with foresight.

This program is designed so you don’t enter 2026 guessing.

You enter 2026 with:

• Clear capital boundaries

• Visibility into cash and risk

• A decision system that compounds advantage all year

If you want to start 2026 the right way—and actually crush it, this is the window.

Because, remember…Control is cheapest before pressure arrives.

Once you build this level of financial intelligence as a CEO, the next question becomes:

How do you sustain that level of insight inside the business every day?

How do you ensure the way you now think about cash, capital, and valuation is the way decisions get evaluated across the organization—not just in your head or in quarterly meetings?

How do you avoid slipping back into fragmented models, delayed reporting, and finance acting as a translator instead of a strategic engine?

How do you give your CFO a system that reflects the way investors and lenders think—while giving you real-time visibility without bottlenecks?

And how do you make sure strategy, forecasts, capital planning, and board reporting stay seamlessly connected as the business evolves?

That’s where my company, Financiario, can help.

Not as a replacement for financial leadership. Not as a substitute for the CEO Financial Intelligence Program.

But as the continuously-on CFO-grade brain that operationalizes what you’ve built—enabling CEOs, empowering CFOs, and ensuring financial execution stays aligned with strategy at all times.

The program changes how you think. Financiario ensures the business keeps thinking that way.

Watch a 10 minute DEMO to learn how your company could be transformed in just 7 days and use real-time intelligence and guidance for accelerated value creation. Reach out for questions or onboarding at [email protected]

Warm regards,
Oana

P.S. You can now watch the full CEO Masterclass recording and enroll in the first 2026 cohort of the CEO Financial Intelligence Program. Use code EARLYBIRD0126 to save $500 and secure a private 1-on-1 strategy session with me. This is a limited-time opportunity to set up 2026 with control, foresight, and momentum.