How CFOs build a Goldilocks “just-right” budget – Jeff Epstein ex-CFO of Oracle

Jeff Epstein is an operating partner at Bessemer Venture Partners leading its CFO Council where he helps CEOs and CFOs at their 200- portfolio company share best practices. Epstein, one of the most famous names in finance, is former executive vice president and chief financial officer of Oracle, with a market value of over $200 billion. Prior to joining Oracle, Jeff served as CFO at public and private companies, including DoubleClick (acquired by Google), King World Productions (acquired by CBS), and Nielsen’s Media Measurement and Information Group. Earlier in his career, he was an investment banker at The First Boston Corporation. 

In this episode:

• From Wall Street to first-time CFO 
• Running finance at Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy and Oprah-TV hitmaker King World
• The skills needed to be a top CFO
• The 3 routes to CFO: Auditors, Wall Street or FP&A
  What Andy Gove OKR setting can teach us about budget setting 
• What is the right percentage of time to hit budget goals?
• Balancing between Elon Musk (Papa Bear) and Charlie Munger (Mama Bear) in setting targets 
• Giving people the opportunity to overachieve 
• Best case/worst case/base case at Oracle strategy 
• The delicate balancing act of Wall Street guidance 
• Using a stagger chart 
• Why FP&A is so critical; how  the biggest strategic decisions involve FP&A advice
  Revisiting the  processes as Oracle bought Sun Microsystems
• Merger integration strategy worked on our sales compensation
• Truck drivers and sales commission – a must-listen to story
• How in 1983 at the Washington Post I learned from Warren Buffet and ended up scrambling to buy 4 shares of Berkshire Hathaway. Guess much it’s worth now?

Show notes 

Forecasting 101 and how to build a Stagger chart

Jeff Epstein: How CFOs build a Goldilocks “just-right” budget

Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon

Winston Churchill: My Early Life 

Andy Grove: High Output Management