Building Your Deal Team: Chief Financial Officer

John Cox is a Partner at Newport LLC, a business advisory firm helping middle-market companies grow and exit. With over 35 years of senior financial management experience across private industry and government, he advises owners and CEOs on finance strategy, budgeting, capital markets, M&A, due diligence, and exit readiness. John brings an operator’s perspective to helping businesses strengthen financial processes, assess risk, and make informed growth and investment decisions. Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: • [0:00] Introduction • [1:56] John Cox’s career journey from public accounting to CFO and business advisory roles • [7:48] How growing companies should think about building their accounting function • [15:50] John shares his approach to budgeting and ROI calculations • [19:38] Why businesses may need a fractional CFO when raising capital or preparing for a sale • [24:21] A CFO’s role in preparing for and managing a transaction process • [27:41] The lessons that shaped John’s approach to advising business owners • [36:09] What owners should consider as their financial team and advisory needs evolve • [38:00] Preparing early for a future sale and surrounding the business with the right advisors In this episode… As a company grows, its financial needs change. Solid accounting is important, but owners also need a clearer view of what’s ahead so they can make smarter decisions about hiring, investing, growth, and future opportunities. So when is it time to move beyond basic accounting and build a stronger finance function? John Cox, an experienced CFO and strategic advisor, says that the key is adding financial expertise before the business reaches a point where complexity starts creating problems. Budgeting, forecasting, ROI analysis, and better financial processes can help owners make more informed decisions and prepare for bigger moves like acquisitions, raising capital, or selling the business. John also stresses the importance of having the right people in the right roles as a company grows. With stronger financial leadership and solid preparation, owners can reduce surprises, build credibility with investors and buyers, and create more value over time. In this episode of Growth + Exit, Susan Kearney talks with John Cox, Partner at Newport LLC, about building finance functions for growth and exit readiness. John explains when to add finance leadership, how CFOs help prepare for transactions, and why owners may need to upgrade their advisors as the business grows. He also shares lessons from M&A transactions and his family business background. Resources mentioned in this episode: • Susan Kearney on LinkedIn -   / susanpkearney   • Heather Bennett on LinkedIn -   / heather-h-bennett   • Newport LLC - https://newportllc.com/ • John Cox: LinkedIn -   / john-w-cox-8ba44420   | Profile on Newport LLC - https://newportllc.com/partner/john-w... • How I Built This with Guy Raz - https://home.wondery.com/shows/how-i-... Sponsor for this episode... This episode is brought to you by Newport LLC, a national business advisory firm. Newport is a team of over 50 seasoned C-suite executives who have founded, built, bought, and sold businesses. We help CEOs of privately held companies achieve exceptional value quickly and with less risk. We use our proprietary Value Acceleration Program — a set of research-based tools and methodologies — to help growth-stage businesses build and sustain value. To work with us, visit https://newportllc.com/. Powered by Rise25 Podcast Production Company - https://rise25.com/