Why the CFO doesn't buy your marketing plan (yet)

Hi there!

Happy Easter weekend 🐣

Marketing and Finance ultimately want the same thing: long-term, profitable growth.

So why don't the two disciplines collaborate more? It’s because their mental models are wired differently:

Marketers, like entrepreneurs, are probabilistic by nature. We place bets, guided by signals and insight. Rory Sutherland recently described marketing as a “casino with pretty good odds.” I’m not sure I like that much — but there you are.

CFOs, on the other hand, adore predictability. They mostly deal in absolutes, and — in contrast — are deterministic by nature.

So you see, the two couldn’t be more different. But that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t work together.

The Disconnect in Action

A few years ago, we were embedded in an early-stage startup, brought in to extend their in-house marketing team during the high-stakes go-to-market phase.

In our bi-weekly meetings, the fractional CFO would drop in, set the target — “We need to ship X units this month” — then disappear.

We’d stay behind to figure out how. What to test. What message might spark demand. What channel or campaign bets to place.

Meanwhile, the COO — also from a finance background — was fixated on attribution. He pushed for dashboards packed with blended, data-rich charts.

Impressive? Sure. But they revealed nothing about how customers actually made decisions.

There was no shared view of what was working — just mounting pressure to hit the numbers.

The Cost of Misalignment

New *research from Google x and NewtonX shows how often the disconnect derails planning:

• Only 43% of CMOs say there's shared understanding of marketing strategy — vs 61% of CFOs

• Fewer than 50% of orgs run joint planning or reviews

• Finance says measuring long-term impact is the hardest part

• CMOs say it's linking efforts to financial outcomes

This isn’t just a comms issue. It’s a strategy issue.

Making Bets the CFO Can Back

Great marketing teams don’t eliminate uncertainty — they make it legible. The key? Build a shared model that connects marketing’s bets to the outcomes finance cares about.

1️⃣ Start with shared metrics

Agree on what matters: CAC vs Revenue Per Customer, LTV by segment, ARPU by channel. These aren’t “marketing metrics” — they’re commercial KPIs. Built together, they build trust.

2️⃣ Position research as risk reduction

Discovery work doesn’t just guide marketing. It de-risks product and engineering too. Done right, it reduces OpEx by supporting smarter, leaner product iteration.

3️⃣ Push for flexible planning

*Only 17% of orgs have flexible budgets — but conditions shift fast. Show how you’ll adjust based on outcomes or key results. Finance respects a plan that can breathe.

These aren't soft arguments. They're measurable, investable signals — the kind your CFO already understands!

Why Now Is the Time to Align

Right now, budgets are being reviewed. Plans are being questioned. And right now, everyone’s chasing certainty. You don’t need to defend your number. You simply need to show your logic. 

Bring finance into the why, not just the what. Build the model together.

Speak soon, 

Peter

P.S. If you're working through cross-functional planning challenges — especially with your CEO or exec team — you might find this article on the V-Zone useful. It's about bridging the gap between company priorities and customer needs.