Inside the mind of a CFO who connects the entire business

In this episode of Liquid: How CFOs Outperform, Thomas Gavaghan sits down with David Smith, CFO at RevSpring, to unpack how a truly 360-degree career—from CLO-driven private credit and PE, to operating as a turnaround CEO, and now back in the CFO seat—shapes a disciplined, collaborative finance playbook. David shares how to build a “top‑of‑the‑pyramid” perspective that connects operations, commercial strategy, and investor expectations; why a 13‑week cash flow is non‑negotiable in good times and bad; how to partner with sales to say “yes” without losing financial rigor; and practical ways to use AI for directional analysis and faster decisions. He also dives into leading through restructurings, motivating teams to think like owners, and the personal routines that sustain high‑energy leadership.

What you need to know

David Smith, CFO at RevSpring, brings a rare 360-degree lens, from CLO-driven private credit and private equity, to the CEO chair, to leading finance today. His through-line is simple: the CFO’s job isn’t just to report results; it’s to connect the dots across the company, build operating discipline (especially around cash), and help leaders make better decisions faster without losing financial rigor.

“Top-of-the-pyramid” CFO view (connecting the whole business)

David describes the CFO as sitting at the top of the pyramid with a 360-degree view across functions. The job is to connect cause-and-effect across sales, operations, HR, and legal so leaders understand tradeoffs and make better decisions, not just close the books.

13-week cash flow discipline (even when you have cash)

David argues a rolling 13-week cash forecast is non-negotiable whether the company is cash-rich or cash-constrained. The goal isn’t perfection; it’s preserving frugality and flexibility while creating early warning and options before liquidity becomes urgent.

“Personal CFO” partnership model (finance serves every leader)

David’s philosophy is that CFOs don’t just work for the CEO; they work for every business leader, acting as a “personal CFO” who helps solve problems rather than police decisions. To make that scalable, finance needs a strong core team to run the close and the capacity to engage where it drives the most value.

AI in finance: directional speed over perfect ROI math

David sees AI as an immediate advantage when applied to clear use cases like market analysis, where a “materially correct” answer can accelerate a decision. Instead of waiting for perfect upfront ROI math, he recommends testing small, learning fast, and scaling what proves useful.

Additional topics covered in this episode

• Creditor transparency and why early communication preserves options in tough quarters

• Making hard decisions early in restructurings (cash focus, expense control, decisive action)

• Partnering with sales on pricing and terms: getting to “yes” while keeping guardrails

• How investor + CEO experience changes decision speed, clarity, and expectations

• Building discipline through process, leadership development, and empowerment (so finance isn’t the bottleneck)

• Coaching finance teams beyond “what/why” variance analysis to “what do we do about it?” (owner mindset)