Never give up: A CFO tackles tech implementation and triathlons

Becoming a CFO isn’t easy. Neither is completing an iron-distance triathlon. Janice Stucke, CPA, is doing both, and she relies on accounting skills to improve in triathlon and applies triathlon persistence to her role as finance chief.

Stucke is the CFO of CREW Network, the acronym standing for Commercial Real Estate Women. In this JofA podcast episode, Stucke shares her somewhat unconventional path to becoming a CPA, how she developed interest and expertise in technology implementations, and how she has dealt with panic-inducing moments.

What you’ll learn from this episode:

• Stucke’s nontraditional path to becoming a CPA.
• What “your comfort zone will kill you” means for Stucke, who is preparing to compete in a 140.6-mile Ironman triathlon: 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, and 26.2-mile run.
• How Stucke has navigated fear and anxiety before and during competitions.
• Time management and other prioritization advice.
• Details on the spring 2025 CFO Conference.

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 to the Journal of Accountancy podcast. This is Neil Amato with the JofA. We’re glad to have you back for another episode. Today on the show, our guest is a CFO whose areas of expertise include but are not limited to technology and also triathlons. We’ll talk about both of those topics and more right after this word from our sponsor.

Welcome back. I’m pleased to introduce our guest, a CPA who is CFO of CREW Network. We’ll explain what that is in a bit. Her name is Janice Stucke, and we’re glad she’s on the Journal of Accountancy podcast. Janice, thank you and welcome.

Janice Stucke: Thank you, so excited to be here.

Amato: We’re glad to have you on. I’ll kick off with this topic: Why did you want to become a CFO?

Stucke: That’s a funny question. It really shouldn’t be. But I started the first 10 years of my career in refugee resettlements. Just really never imagined I would ever become an accountant. Definitely had no thoughts of becoming a CPA. But as I was abroad living in East Asia, East Africa, I started taking on projects with bigger and bigger budgets.

I was good at it, but I decided I really needed to go back to school to learn how to do it properly and whatever that meant, and that really just took me on a whole different journey in the accounting world. I went back to school, obtained my CPA at age 35, and took on what was my hardest job to obtain, which was my first accounting job. It was very hard to make that career switch and obtain a real accounting title.

Becoming the CFO was actually a much easier job search, surprisingly. And I say that, that companies look at people making career switches as really great candidates with a lot of transferable skills. Once I got into the accounting field, I was just so excited. I’d worked so hard to get my CPA. I really wanted to learn as much as I could, as fast as I could. Really just wanted to lean into every opportunity.

Come in with just a different view on how to solve problems, how to process information and reach solutions in new ways. How to be innovative with limited resources. It just really rose quickly in titles and opportunities and just really wanted to take on bigger and bigger opportunities and reach the CFO title at age 39, which was super-fast — beyond my wildest dreams.

I just really love being CFO. I love to lead. I love transformation. I love putting leading transformation for a company together. I just really love where I’m at in my career and just really look forward to bringing the skill set to CREW Network.

Amato: Tell me something about CREW Network. The acronym is CREW, which is Commercial Real Estate. Then also what’s the rest of the acronym?

Stucke: It’s an association for women in commercial real estate. We have about 14,000 members in all different branches of commercial real estate. Some are CPAs, some are in finance, others real estate, others lending, construction, all the different avenues that I’m currently learning about.

It’s been 90 days. But I’m there to lead a digital transformation, which I’m really excited about. This will be my fourth big company’s digital transformation project. I’m super excited to bring that knowledge to CREW.

Amato: Speaking of that digital transformation, technology implementation, whatever you want to call it, that is one of your areas of expertise. How did it become that? Why is it important to you, and why do you think that skill is going to be important at CREW?

Stucke: I stumbled into that as well. I took a controller position at a tech company. The two women that had picked NetSuite as the new ERP had left, and the project needed to get started. I was hesitant because I didn’t know anything about it, and I was new to the company. But once I got in there, it was really exciting to tackle new systems, learn new ways of doing things. I really got to see a 90 days like what a huge shift it had made in the monthly close process.

It was also a commission-based business. Sales teams are super happy to get commissions sooner. Just the level of transparency and data, which just so much better for executives to make decisions. I really fell in love with implementation at that point. For me, it just allows executives to make better data-driven decisions, and we have so many systems now which are super exciting to implement.

I’m excited to do that at CREW. We’re doing another big digital transformation. I think now a lot of CFOs are very heavy in implementation and choosing systems. I think I’m looking at now is just beyond implementation, but really looking at that full-scale adoption at companies, which I think CFOs are now really pushing implementation, but shifting our focus to adoption is also that secondary lens I’m hoping to bring to CREW.

Amato: Obviously, it sounds like your work is important to you. You’re passionate about it, but it’s not your whole life. We mentioned that other T word, triathlons. You compete in those. How did that all start?

Stucke: It started during COVID when the gyms closed. I’d always been a runner. I was doing a lot of kick boxing at home, and I had obtained my first director of finance title. I had a lot of stress that I was trying to juggle at the time. A friend said, “Have you ever thought about doing a triathlon?” Which honestly had never ever occurred to me in a million years.

I’d never been a competitive swimmer. Wouldn’t even say I was a good swimmer. Had always been a bike rider but never imagined I would be competitive. I had a hybrid bike at the time, but I knew if I could complete my first triathlon, my bad-ass rating would become exponentially high. I kept thinking, if I could pull this together, this would just be super exciting and such a growth opportunity.

I completed my first half Ironman 10 months after obtaining my first CFO title, which was a huge undertaking because I was learning how to swim and compete competitively in open water all at the same time. It was a really big point of growth for me on both levels.

Amato: I think there are some parallels in that. You mentioned open water swimming. That is a lot different than going back and forth in a pool, pushing off a wall, having that rest every 25 yards or meters. I’ll ask this, how does triathlon training and competition apply to being a CFO?

Stucke: I’ve had a lot of time to think about this, and I don’t think I’d be as good of a CFO without triathlon. The journey of being a competitive triathlete and a CFO have been one and the same for me. At first blush, triathlon has really helped me with healthy stress management. Going into that first company, a lot needed to be done. I was really cutting my teeth on a lot of big lessons, and just being able to get out there and swim, bike, and run just helped me process all of that in a healthy way, and I think that’s really key. CFOs, we’re under a lot of stress, and we have to find healthier and healthier ways to deal with it. I think also, too, endurance sports have a lot of meditative qualities.

When I’m swimming, I usually don’t have music. When I’m biking, I don’t have music for safety reasons, so it really just forces me to clear my head. When I’m on a long bike ride, like an issue I’ve really been stumped with, which is also in the technology side of the house, how am I going to get this integration? How can I structure this data? When I’m around mile 45 or 50, that chatter in my head is gone and I really just start to see solutions I really hadn’t thought of before. It’s been really key for having that moment to clear my mind and really think through problems.

Lastly, it’s just really been integral in strengthening my leadership skills. A lot of being CFO is being comfortable with being uncomfortable, and that’s a lot of triathlon. New problems occur in the CFO world. There’s new issues when I’m out on the bike. Suddenly my gear isn’t working. The wind is way stronger than I expected. I lost a bottle, my nutrition is gone, and I’ve got 30 miles to go. Just really constantly having to strengthen that. How to assess the information, where’s really my target and how to redirect and adapt. Both sides complement each other, and being able to do that differently and better each time I go to work or back out their training or at a competition.

Amato: I’m into triathlons. I’ve never devoted anywhere near that time that’s required to do what you’re preparing to do, which is an iron-distance race: 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, and then a 26.2-mile run. How did you learn the time management required, or did you eliminate other things in your life to make this happen?

Stucke: To your point, there is a lot of juggling between work and training and all the different life things that are happening. I have to start every day with being very flexible and adaptable. I might have a rough set, I’d like it to go this way, but it never seems to go that way and just allowing it to be what it needs to be to get everything done has been really key.

Sometimes I get tired of being flexible, and I have to remind myself, “Your comfort zone will kill you.” I have that by my bed, really allowing myself to be uncomfortable and go with the flow, and I think that really is such a key muscle that really taking on this level of training with the CFO role has helped me get better at.

Also, there is just a level of perseverance. There are days I’m tired, there’s a lot of stress. I have a big training load now on Tuesday and Thursdays. I do two hours of cardio on top of work, which is usually biking and swimming, so the logistics of managing both aren’t easy. On LinkedIn, I say, “Never give up,” and I really mean that. I have to really remind myself I can’t give up on the plan. But as they say in triathlon, Ironman is a season. This is a big 90-day training cycle. I have had to take a step back in things. I haven’t been able to see friends as much as I would like. I’ve had to take a bit of a step back in my charity board activities. Just know that the goal is really my focus.

One thing I wanted to add: I’ve had to double down on self-care, and I think a lot of times when we get stressed at work, we think, oh, I’ll skip that healthy meal. I’ll have an extra glass of wine. I’ll manage on 5 hours of sleep. But with this level of intensity, I’ve had to remind myself [that] self-care is key. Good nutrition, good sleep, good mental health practices. If I don’t stay healthy — mentally, physically, spiritually — everything will crumble, I’ll get sick, and nothing will be accomplished then. I think it’s just really pivotal keeping that front of mind.

Amato: I think that’s a good lesson for anyone, not just someone who’s trying to compete in a really long triathlon. Speaking of the event, is there any one part of it — any one discipline, the swim, the bike, the run, the transitions — that you think is more challenging than the other?

Stucke: Like I said, I never was a competitive swimmer. I wouldn’t have said I was even very good at freestyle swimming, and so I really have had to embrace learning a new skill. And I think something we get less comfortable with as we age is the willingness to be bad at something. I just was a bad swimmer. It was really hard for me to learn. Like you said, going from the pool to open water. Open water, there are waves, the water is choppy, there’s current. In the Chesapeake Bay, you can’t see on the water, you’re suddenly touching things. I had to learn to just constantly stay in that growth mindset, keep practicing, keep trying, allowing myself to be bad at it and still get back out there and be bad again in hopes that it would all come together.

The first couple of years, race day would happen, and I’d have a full-blown panic attack, about five to 10 minutes. I’d get away from the dock and think, oh, I’m doing great, let’s keep going, and then a massive panic attack would hit. I’d have to get to a kayak and really just learn how to get better and better at navigating the fear, calming myself down. Speaking to the kayaker — I think of that as like my support group, and the CFO world all like reminding me you’re going to get through this, you can do this.

I did eject myself from one race because I just couldn’t manage the fear and anxiety. I just said, “Get me out of here.” But it really was a lesson in how to navigate those fears, calm myself down, and keep going. Even in my first half Ironman, I had a full-blown panic attack. It took me about 10 minutes to get through it in the water, but I finished on time, met all the targets, and I think that’s a key lesson that all this open-water swimming has taught me that I take into the professional world as well.

Amato: That’s a good story. Thank you for sharing it. Is there a target date on the calendar for this iron-distance event?

Stucke: I’m targeting Ironman California, which is October 27. It will be my first full Ironman distance, and it will be in Sacramento, and I’m really excited about it.

Amato: Awesome. Now, you’re also volunteering time to help other CFOs, serving as a member of the CFO Conference planning committee. What appealed to you about that opportunity?

Stucke: I really love volunteering with AICPA events. It’s really opened up so many opportunities for networking with fellow CPAs, fellow CFOs, staying up-to-date on all things CFO. I really like contributing to the narrative of what is facing CFOs with the AICPA.

My first CFO Conference was like a big hug when I became director of finance. I did not know a single other woman in the role. It was the first conferences that I got to see other people that reflected myself and what I was navigating. When I became CFO, I didn’t know any other Millennials in the role. The CFO Conference has definitely helped me have a sense of community, being there and talking to other CFOs, and realizing I’m not alone in the issues I’m dealing with has just really opened up my career and allowed me to be a better CFO.

Amato: Now, that event has traditionally been in the spring. I guess it’s probably late April. Where is that event, and how is the planning going for it?

Stucke: Planning kicked off last week. The committee is super excited. We’re going to be in La Quinta, California, outside of Palm Springs, and the facility is absolutely beautiful. Lots of exercising opportunities, amazing golf courses. We’re going to have an exciting agenda. It’s going to be in April 23rd to the 25th, and I’m really excited to see the CFOs I met last year, catch up with them, and meet new faces and hang out in Palm Springs. Should be nice weather for April.

Amato: Janice, this has been great. I appreciate your time today. Is there anything else you’d like to add in closing?

Stucke: Just like to say thanks for the opportunity. And to anyone facing a challenge, definitely encourage them to embrace “never give up” and just keep pushing through. We’re all dealing with things, and there’s a network of people to support you through that, and definitely that can be found through the AICPA.

Amato: Janice Stucke, thank you very much.

Stucke: Thank you. Have a great day.