Why finance leaders don’t need to have all the answers

Sponsored by AICPA Member Insurance Programs

With CFO responsibilities continuing to expand beyond finance, Janice Stucke, CPA, discussed the challenge of leading in areas where expertise and certainty aren’t guaranteed. Stucke, speaking at the Future of Finance Summit in National Harbor, Md., shared her perspective on acknowledging weaknesses, balancing data with judgment, and learning to listen before jumping to solutions.

She recently wrote a JofA article on the changing remit of the CFO. And, in a previous podcast appearance, alluded to in this conversation, Stucke recounted the resilience lessons learned from competing in difficult endurance events.

What you’ll learn from this episode:

• Why CFOs have to become comfortable with leading beyond their expertise.
• Why making a data-backed decision might not always be the best path.
• What authenticity as a leadership trait means to Stucke.
• Her answer to the question, “Do you want to be a CEO?”
• What Stucke means when she talks about having “1% more.”
• The career paths Stucke sees opening up for those in finance leadership.

Play the episode below or read the edited transcript:

— To comment on this episode or to suggest an idea for another episode, contact Neil Amato at Neil.Amato@aicpa-cima.com.

Transcript

Neil Amato: Welcome back to the Journal of Accountancy podcast. This is Neil Amato with the JofA, recording, at the Future of Finance Summit, some late summer recordings set to air later in 2026. Joining me for this episode is Janice Stucke, a JofA author, a repeat podcast guest, and a Future of Finance Leadership Advisory Group member. You’ll hear my conversation with her right after this word from our sponsor.

[Sponsor message]

Amato: Welcome back to the show. As I said, Janice Stucke is our guest. Janice is a CPA. She is the CFO at the Council for Professional Recognition. Janice, we are glad to have you back on the podcast. Thanks for being here.

Stucke: Thanks so much, Neil. And, uh, the JofA is documenting my whole professional journey in finance, which is really exciting.

Amato: Yeah, and we’ll be sharing some of those links in the show notes and also discussing that most recent, I guess, professional journey advice in article form. And we’ll get to that article in just a little bit. First I’ll ask you, it’s near the end of day two of the Future of Finance Summit. What are some of the themes you’re hearing, some of the messages that are sticking with you?

Stucke: I always love being at the Future of Finance. I think a key theme is always just like being amongst friends and having that fellowship together. We’re all dealing with a lot, and it’s just so great to be comforted and share and be honest with others. Obviously, AI is a huge topic and how can we start creating frameworks that measure ROI and deal with the burnout and the pressure and the financial stress of needing to implement AI from the CFO seat.

But I think also with that changing role of the CFO and needing to take on more and needing to enter into more uncomfortable spaces where you don’t have that expertise, there’s been a lot of focus on leadership style. I did a business transformation course, and a large portion of that was on leadership style. And I really hadn’t thought about my own until I created that course.

But here there’s been a lot of discussion about shifting in leadership style and paradoxes in leadership. And the changing demographics of just such a wide range of ages and personalities, and now we have just so much we’re trying to capture as leaders besides being able to take care of ourselves. It’s really just been a journey, just even thinking from being at the conference in December to my own leadership style, even in August, because we’re just taking on more and needing to shift quicker.

Amato: Yeah, it hasn’t been that long since the last Future of Finance Summit. It used to be a December event. It’s now an August event, but it seems like a lot has changed just between December and August. You mentioned that word “paradox.” We’ll get into some of those paradoxes in the conversation. You recently wrote an article about the growing remit of the CFO, where finance is not even close to the whole job anymore, it seems. That article, to me, brought up some interesting points, one of which is when you’re taking on new roles, you have to expect there are going to be mistakes. So, tell me more about that aspect of leading in functions that weren’t traditionally under the umbrella of finance and accounting.

Stucke: I think that is becoming just a greater focus at conferences, like needing to be able to succeed and fail or stumble all at the same time in the same project. And we’re used to in accounting, we’re reporting on the past, and we have systems to make sure that’s done very systematically.

But when you’re taking on operations, you’re taking on risk, you’re taking on IT, you don’t necessarily have expertise in those areas. And there may be parts of it that you’re doing really well and you’re able to rely on their team. And then there’s others where you just don’t have the foresight to know if it’s going to go well and there will be stumbles. And you’re going to have to be able to hold that paradox in yourself and still be able to show up and lead and be confident. And I think that was the interesting part in several sessions here is you can be succeeding and failing at the same time and still need to show up and put on your game face and push forward and bring your team with you.

And that is not easy to hold within yourself and it’s not as easy to learn how to do until you’re in it. And definitely having to hold that paradox has made me grow as a leader.

Amato: Another point I found really interesting about the article, with all the data at our fingertips. I’ve heard the mantra, as I’ve covered accounting now for close to 15 years, “We’re going to make a data-based decision,” that kind of stuff. One of your conclusions was saying that leaders need to trust their gut sometimes on decisions. How as a CPA do you balance data-backed decision-making versus making a decision just on how you feel?

Stucke: I was just discussing that this morning. we have more data than ever. We all know we’re drowning in data. So you may have a dashboard, but it may not encompass the right questions or the right indicators. Or you may not even be looking at where tariffs are at and the impact of inflation in various categories and not in others. I mean, there are just so many indicators that may not be in that dashboard that you really have to gut-check yourself and say, am I really looking at the right data? Am I asking the right questions? And at the end of the day, you have to be able to own that decision, whether it succeeds or fails or [is mediocre].

And the CFO world often just has this confidence about it. And there’s this expectation to show confidence at all times. But I think the shifting role of the CFO is being authentic and saying, I’m confident about this and my blind spots are here, and these two things are at the same time, and I’m going to make the decision based on all these points. And it may or may not work and I’m going to have to own that and hold that. But that’s a new style of leadership, but it’s very real as we take on all these new tasks and new risk ventures, essentially, in the role.

Amato: So continuing to talk about adding new layers to a role or taking on new roles, you’ve ascended from being a controller to CFO to a CFO and COO. I mean, the role has grown for you. You’re now a CFO in your current job. I just want to know, do you want to be a CEO someday?

Stucke: I’ve been asked that question a lot, Neil, and it’s really made me think. I’m a people person and I like public speaking. And wherever I work, I really embody the brand. And I think that’s kind of the attributes often of the CEO role. I’ve been definitely comfortable in finance, and that’s my safety spot. Since I’ve come into the finance world, I’ve been very authentic in sharing about the successes, the struggles, how hard this role is.

And I’ve been criticized for that. Like, a CFO should be confident. A CFO should lead with exactness. A CFO should have a very clear plan. But I think whether it’s the CFO or the CEO, there’s a new expectation of authenticity, and going back to being able to hold the paradoxes of like, I’m confident and not confident at the same time.

I would like the opportunity eventually, and I don’t know what timeline that is, that, you know, to be able to be that kind of leader, to hold those spaces. And I think leadership today requires a greater focus on finance and ROI and all the things that we’re being tasked with, which are the hallmarks, I think, of a great CEO.

Amato: One moment that stands out to me as I think about this topic is two Future of Finance Summits ago, San Diego, we’re sitting outside at lunch and Kimberly Ellison-Taylor is talking about being on a board. And you are asking her these very specific questions. And I thought at the moment, I was like, “Oh my gosh, she is learning. Janice is learning. She is thinking about these times that she is going to be a CEO and having to answer to a board from that role as opposed to CFO.” I mean, I don’t even know if you remember that, but that just popped into my head as something I’m going to bring up and say that was part of her learning on the path to CEO.

Stucke: You know, I remember that moment because I asked a lot of questions, and it made some people uncomfortable. Because when I go to things, I want to learn, so I put my hand up and I ask the questions that are on my mind to help me to grow. And I know often that can be uncomfortable for others because it doesn’t necessarily align exactly with the topic we’re discussing. But I’m there to solve for the challenge I’m facing, and I want to be able to apply those lessons and move forward.

And I do that real time. I’m not very good at holding it back, and that’s a good and a bad quality, but I learn and I grow. And even here, I’m just thinking about like, how do I want to do it differently? Like just even just in today’s learnings. I was even thinking today as a leader, like, I want to own my blind spots more with my team and with my executive team and really tell the CEO, like I’m confident about, you know, 65% of my blind spots are here and just make that clearer. And I think I can do that better.

Amato: So interesting you use the phrase “blind spots” because my next question is, if you’re going to be a CEO someday, what skills do you think you need to develop more to get there?

Stucke: I think one of the skills I’m noticing, and this parallels to triathlon and particularly Ironman racing is when you’re on the course and you don’t know how you’re going to continue on or how you’re going to finish. We’ve all had those moments where you’re ready to abort yourself. There are times when I’ve been sick to my stomach, I’m dehydrated, my legs hurt, I don’t even know how I’m gonna run. And you have to dig deep and say, is there 1% more in here for me to keep pushing?

And as CEO, there are times when revenue’s going to be down, you’re going through a [reduction in force], the board is unhappy with decisions, and you have to ask yourself, do I have 1% more in here to keep pushing forward? And I think those are the kind of parallels that I’m getting stronger. Where is that 1% and how to garner that 1% and keep pushing forward when things are not always going well? And I think that’s needed, that ability to lead when times are tough and stay centered and grounded and through exercise and through conferences, I try to keep that 1% strong.

Amato: Yeah, I think that’s a skill you have is pushing forward when times are tough, given those races and some of the situations you’ve been in. So, one skill I think is very important in leaders today, and this is a question I’ve been asking people some this summer. It’s not really tied to any particular path I’m trying to go down, I’m just asking it. How good a listener are you?

Stucke: I was actually talking today with a fellow coworker about being on another podcast and how the most important part about being on a podcast is active listening. Because I am prone to be thinking about my response before I hear the question, and that actually gets me in trouble in meetings with my staff or coworkers because I’m already thinking about the solution before I really hear what they have to say.

It’s a skill I’m working on, and I know that I am not the best at, and I have to constantly remind myself, and I think, I do meditate, and I constantly have to remind myself when in conversations, “Calm down, breathe, breathe, listen,” because I want to jump ahead. I’m an action person, but that’s not the way that you garner respect. You show authenticity and compassion and empathy, I mean, and connection. Connection is derived from listening and responding accordingly. And it’s something I have to work on.

Amato: I think that’s a great answer. What else from this event or the past few months, the seven- to eight-month span between these events, would you like to say as a closing thought today?

Stucke: Just in the eight months, a lot of my friends come into this conference, there’s just a huge amount of shifting in CFO land, particularly amongst female CFOs — people changing roles, people moving to fractional roles, people moving from finance to solely focusing on AI. Just being here and hearing about people’s journeys, the options are just getting ever broader. Even thinking about going from CFO to starting your own business, there’s just so many more options.

And I think greater focus will be had over time as to what even the greater breadth of options are beyond just being CFO and focusing on IT or operations. Like, there’s just a lot more verticals to move into, and I think that’s exciting. CFOs now can see themselves in so many different ways. And I think also people are changing roles faster. So really just trying to up their skill base quicker in order to make those pivots. And I think it’s an exciting time for this role and really just finance and accounting in general.

Amato: Definitely an exciting time for the finance and accounting journey and your particular journey. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on it and thanks for being on the JofA podcast.

Stucke: I’m always happy to be here. Thanks for having me.