Influential Finance Professional Program
Your team works hard.
But hard work isn't the same as influence.
Most Finance teams are technically capable. They produce good work, meet deadlines, and answer the questions they’re asked.
But their opinions don’t always get heard.
Finance often gets called in after the direction is set.
And some team members have a stronger reputation than others, which means that the team’s influence depends on who’s in the room, not on the quality of the work.
That’s not a capability problem; it’s a culture problem, and culture changes when everyone moves together.
The All Blacks don’t develop individual players in isolation. Better people make better All Blacks.
Every Finance leader in an influencing role – Heads of Finance, Business Partners, CFO – goes through the program together.
Over eight months, the team builds the habits, language and decision-making presence that turns a capable Finance function into a strategic enabler to the business.
This is for CFOs who know their team is capable of more – and want to change how the organisation benefits from better and earlier Finance involvement.
Where does your Finance team sit right now?
Most Finance teams operate between Report-Centric and Informed Participant. The Influential Finance Professional Program moves the whole team to Trusted Advisor and Strategic Enabler – and keep them them there.
Outcomes you can expect:
By the end of this workshop, your team will:
- Influence outcomes, even where finance has no formal authority.
- Turn technical analysis into plain-language action.
- Show up confidently in conversations that shape direction.
- Build team-wide habits that raise visibility and drive impact.
You can report the past – or help shape what comes next.
This session turns your team into bridge builders – translating numbers into action and earning influence before decisions are made.
Report-Centric
Accurate but overlooked
Informed Participant
Input offered, not always heard
Trusted Advisor
Insights shape thinking
Strategic Enabler
Decisions change because of you
This programme is for CFOs who want Finance shaping decisions before they’re made – not reporting on them after the fact.
Eight months. Every finance leader in an influencing role.
One shared language, one shared approach.
It’s not for teams looking for another training day.
It’s for CFOs who want a permanent shift in how Finance contributes to organisational performance.
Places are limited to ensure every team gets the attention the program requires.
Why Matthew
I’ve been where your team is. As a former CFO, I know the tension between technical confidence and strategic influence.
This workshop isn’t theory. It’s the framework I wish I had earlier – built from experience, tested in real teams, and delivered in plain language. It’s supported with leader-led follow-up, so the impact sticks without adding cost or complexity.
What I’ve seen work
Hi! I’m Mathew Needham
Over the last few years, I’ve worked with finance teams across sectors – and here’s what I keep seeing:
The numbers are right. The reporting is solid. But when decisions are made, finance isn’t always in the room – or in the conversation.
That’s not about skill. It’s about how we show up.
This session helps your team become bridge builders – connecting insight to action. When finance makes that shift, it becomes central to decisions, not peripheral.
We work through your team’s real challenges – practically, simply, and in language that lands.
And what I’ve seen work is this: when finance shows up differently, it gets seen differently.
And that changes everything.