Hi {{first name|there}},
If you’re selling an initiative to a board, lenders, or major stakeholders, you’re not “pitching.”
You’re asking for capital, credibility, and permission to take risk on behalf of the enterprise.
And most proposals fail at this level for one reason: they don’t meet the standard of an investable thesis. They read like departmental requests—not capital allocation decisions.
Here’s what we’re covering this week:
Upcoming live masterclass to help you scale revenues and enterprise value without losing control
Upcoming CEO Panel to show you exactly what changes when CEOs and CFOs start leading with financial intelligence
The 6-step practical framework CEOs and CFOs should use to secure board approval, confidece and respect.
Upcoming Business Scaling Masterclass
The Scaling Masterclass — Feb 5, 9:00 AM PST / 12 PM EST / 5 PM GMT - Register Here
Learn how to grow your company without scaling into a working-capital wall, overbuilding overhead, or financing growth with avoidable balance-sheet stress. Join live to ask me all your burning questions and get real-time answers during the session. Plus a Bonus only available to live attendees.
Upcoming CEO Panel
The CEO Panel — Feb 10, 9:00 AM PST / 12 PM EST / 5 PM GMT - Register Here
Hear how prior partcipants are applying the CEO Financial Intelligence Program to grow their companies, their impact and their valuations. Join live to ask questions and engage with our panel.
Seats are limited by our webinar platform and these live sessions are always popular. So make sure to secure yours now before we run out of capacity.
Before we dive in, a quick note.
Enrollment closing soon for The CEO Financial Intelligence Program
The CEO Financial Intelligence Program is designed for CEOs, Founders, CFOs, COOs, Board Members and other executive leaders who want to achieve predictable financial results and lead financial conversations with boards and capital providers - without requiring translation and without relying on someone else’s judgement.
We give you the exact system to get your decisions funded, manage risk effectively, and scale your business successfully without losing control.
Over 100+ leaders from 20+ countries have already completed this exclusive program and they have achieved incredible results and transformations.
Read their testimonials on the CEO Program website and follow their lead. Don’t sleep on this career and business transformation opportunity. Enroll before we close it down on Feb 10.
Here is a cheat sheet for upskilling in 2026: Join your finance peers at the 2026 AFP FP&A Forum to level up on agile planning and forecasting, leveraging AI and analytics, transforming finance processes and integrating technology into your workflows.
You’ll hear real examples of automation in action, learn frameworks to make planning more responsive and build strategies that help you lead through change with confidence.
Between interactive roundtables, industry meet-ups and receptions with 400+ practitioners, you’ll walk away with insights and connections to tackle your biggest challenges this year. Learn more.
The 6 Step Framework for CEOs and CFOs to secure board approvals and credibility
Here’s a fundamental reality not many leaders grasp. Board approval is tactical. Board respect is strategic.
High-performing CEOs and CFOs consistently earn both by how they think, frame decisions, and govern outcomes.
They do not walk into the boardroom asking for permission. They walk in with a decision the board can approve with confidence—and defend later if results shift. That means the proposal is not built around activity. It is built around capital, cash, risk, and accountability.
Here’s the framework you can follow to copy exactly what they do and get those same results:
1) Start with the decision the company needs to make
Boards are not buying a project. They are approving a decision that uses capital, leadership attention, and risk capacity. Start by stating the decision clearly, in one sentence, so there is no ambiguity about what is being asked.
Example:
“Today, we are recommending to invest $4 million over 18 months to modernize our billing platform so we can reduce churn and improve cash collection.”
Next, make the trade-offs explicit. Boards want to understand opportunity cost, not just upside.
Example:
“If approved, this means delaying the international expansion by one year. If we do not approve it, churn remains flat and working capital pressure increases as we scale.”
Only after that should you explain execution. When the board understands the decision and why it matters, the details land with much more clarity.
2) Focus on value creation, not day-to-day benefits
Stakeholders are not evaluating whether the initiative makes operations easier. They are evaluating whether it increases the value of the business.
Example:
Instead of saying, “This system will automate reporting and save the finance team time,” say:
“This initiative improves revenue quality by reducing churn by two points and improves margin durability by lowering rework and credit losses.”
Tie the proposal to the few levers boards care about: repeatable revenue, margin strength, capital efficiency, and cash generation.
Example:
“This investment increases average customer lifetime value, improves gross margin by stabilizing pricing leakage, and frees up $6 million in working capital over two years.”
If value creation is not explicit, the board will treat the request as discretionary spending.
3) Be clear about cash and timing
Boards underwrite timing as much as returns. A strong outcome in year three is irrelevant if the company struggles with liquidity in year one.
Example:
“Cash outflows peak in quarters two and three, totaling $2.5 million. Cash inflows begin in quarter four through faster collections and lower churn, with breakeven reached in month 16.”
Spell out what happens in the gap between investment and payoff.
Example:
“During the first year, free cash flow declines by $1.2 million. Liquidity remains above our minimum threshold, and we stay within covenant limits even in the downside case.”
This level of executive clarity is what ultimately separates serious proposals from optimistic ones.
4) Use return logic boards and investors recognize
Saying “this will pay for itself” does not help boards prioritize capital. They need returns framed in a way that allows comparison across initiatives.
Example:
“This initiative generates a 22% internal rate of return, compared to our hurdle rate of 14%, and is strategically well aligned.”
Then show what drives the outcome.
Example:
“The projected return is most sensitive to churn reduction and billing cycle time. If churn improves by only one point instead of two, IRR drops to 16%, which is still above our threshold.”
By naming the few assumptions that actually drive results, you demonstrate solid financial discipline and grounded executive judgment.
5) Show what you will measure and when you will act
Boards trust proposals that come with control. They want to see that you will manage the investment actively, not just report after the fact.
Example:
“We will track three success metrics: churn rate by cohort, days sales outstanding, and operating cash flow margin.”
Add early indicators so the board does not have to wait a year to know if things are working.
Example:
“Within 90 days, we expect to see billing error rates drop by 30%. If that does not happen, we pause phase two.”
Commit to specific review points where you will confirm traction—or change course.
Example:
“If targets are met, we proceed. If performance is mixed, we adjust scope. If two consecutive checkpoints miss thresholds, we stop further investment.”
6) Lead with risks, then show how you will manage them
Boards assume bias. So naturally, their trust increases when you bring risks forward first, and without minimizing them.
Example:
“The main risks are slower customer adoption, higher integration costs, and temporary strain on working capital.”
Be specific about financial exposure.
Example:
“In the downside scenario, leverage increases by 0.3x and free cash flow remains negative for an additional two quarters.”
Then explain how you manage those risks.
Example:
“We mitigate adoption risk by piloting with our top 20 customers. If adoption lags, we delay the full rollout and cap further spend.”
When you manage the downside with discipline, the upside becomes believable—and your leadership becomes harder to question.
The shift to remember
Selling to a board is not about persuasion. It is about putting forward a decision that the board can approve with confidence—and defend with accountability.
When your proposal is framed as disciplined capital allocation, built on cash flow, risk-adjusted returns, and clear governance, you stop sounding like you are asking for permission.
You sound like a leadership team that protects the enterprise, deploys capital intentionally, and builds value without surprises.
If you want this level of board readiness embedded into how your company operates—through board-grade modeling, decision narratives, return frameworks, and stakeholder-ready reporting, that is exactly what we build inside the CEO Financial Intelligence Program.
The CEO Financial Intelligence Program is the only executive program that equips CEOs and CFOs with an end-to-end system for cash flow strategy, risk visibility, and effective capital allocation—implemented in just 18 hours over six weeks (with lifetime access to all recordings + access to The Executive Finance Community).
The next cohort starts February 11 and right now you can still join with an exclusive one-on-one 60 minute strategy call with me as a bonus.
They all gained the confidence to make the right decisions with their boards, investors, lenders, and leadership teams watching. They stopped reacting and started leading with financial intelligence. And they started showing up completely different as CEOs and CXOs from Day 1 of the Program.
If you are ready to set a higher standard for how you lead, make 2026 your strongest year, and step into a new leadership identity built on financial command and confidence, this is the program that gets you there.
Warm regards,
Oana
PS. Remember to register for the upcoming free sessions on February 5 and February 10 before we run out of capacity.
