May 15, 2024

The Future is Fractional with Michael Stier

On this episode of the Gross Profit Podcast, James Kennedy sits down with Michael Stier, Area President and Fractional CFO at Focus CFO. Michael unveils the transformative impact and growing trend of fractional work in today’s business landscape.
The Gross Profit Podcast
The Gross Profit Podcast
The Future is Fractional with Michael Stier
Loading
/

Show Notes

In this episode of the Gross Profit Podcast James Kennedy catches up with Michael Stier, Area President and Fractional CFO at Focus CFO. Michael unveils the transformative impact and growing trend of fractional work in today’s business landscape.

About Michael Stier: Michael Stier is an accomplished Fractional CFO and Area President at Focus CFO, a national leader in embedded fractional CFO services. With a mission to guide entrepreneurial leaders to sustainable, transferable business value, Michael and Focus CFO empower business owners through sound financial management, forward-thinking insights, and proactive financial strategies. His work primarily supports businesses with revenues between $3-$30M, helping them overcome common challenges related to business insight, performance, cash flow, and growth.

What You’ll Learn:

  1. Understanding Fractional Workspaces: The concept and benefits of embedded fractional CFO services and how they fit into modern business structures.
  2. Impact on Business Owners: How fractional CFOs empower business owners with actionable insights, improved cash flow, and increased business efficiency.
  3. Future of Fractional Services: Trends and predictions for the role of fractional executives in business growth and value creation.

Episode Highlights:

  • “Michael, can you share how fractional CFO services have specifically impacted one of your clients?”
  • “What challenges do businesses typically face that lead them to consider a fractional CFO?”
  • “In what ways do you think the fractional model will evolve as businesses continue to grow and change?”
  • “How does Focus CFO tailor its services to meet the diverse needs of different industries?”

Beyond providing fractional CFO services, Michael Stier is actively involved in expanding Focus CFO’s reach, seeking new team members to support growth in various regions. FocusCFO’s approach not only includes providing financial expertise but also building a partnership that aligns with the client’s strategic goals.

This podcast is tagged under:

The Gross Profit Podcast

More Episodes

Merushka Chetty

Wendy Laxton – Fund Accounting Explained: Why Grant Money Gets Spent Wrong

In this episode, James Kennedy sits down with Wendy Laxton, founder of Laxton CFO Services, to unpack the “modern” version of fund accounting – how nonprofits manage restricted vs. unrestricted funds, align grant requirements with real-world operations, and avoid credibility-killing misallocations. Wendy shares how the 2008 recession unexpectedly led her into fractional CFO work, why niching down to nonprofits was a defining move, and what she’s learned from guiding organizations through system complexity – from overbuilt ERPs to intentionally “resetting” in QuickBooks and rebuilding structure over time.

Listen Now »
Merushka Chetty

Kerry Peters – Microsoft MVP Exposes the #1 ERP Mistake Companies Make

In this episode, James Kennedy sits down with Kerry Peters, Microsoft MVP and Co-Founder of New View Strategies, to unpack why so many ERP implementations fail – and how businesses can finally get the financial clarity, process efficiency, and operational visibility they were promised.

Kerry shares how her unique blend of corporate controller experience, ERP expertise, and a passion for business process has helped hundreds of companies turn struggling implementations into scalable, high-performing systems. From a publishing company with 21,000 general ledger accounts to organizations stuck in endless month-end closes, Kerry explains the root causes, the fixes, and how to prevent the pain in the first place.

She also reveals how she unintentionally built a thriving fractional CFO practice – simply by helping companies bridge the gap between software, people, and process.

Listen Now »
Merushka Chetty

Shane Bender – Agency Finances Are BROKEN – 3 Blind Spots Killing Your Profits

In this episode, James Kennedy sits down with fractional CFO Shane Bender, founder of Bender CFO Services, to dig into the financial realities of running a marketing or digital agency. Using his love of weather models as a metaphor for forecasting, Shane explains why most agency owners are flying blind on margins, cash flow, and growth targets – and how better data, simple models, and discipline can turn chaos into clarity. From client-level profitability to weekly cash planning and “smarter” goals, this conversation is a practical roadmap for agencies that want to grow without blowing up their finances.

Listen Now »