How do you keep innovating and disrupting when you’re already the incumbent? And how do you prevent a $200B+ company from becoming slow and complacent? In this episode, CJ is joined by Sandeep Aujla, CFO of Intuit, who shares how one of the world’s largest software companies continues to operate with the agility of a startup. With QuickBooks, TurboTax, Credit Karma, and MailChimp all falling in the Intuit family tree, serving both consumers and businesses, Sandeep breaks down the company’s platform strategy, explains how he tells a unified story across these product lines, and describes how he prioritizes capital allocation. He also talks about Intuit’s efforts to leverage AI to improve internal efficiencies, insights into the ideal CFO-CTO relationship, tactics for saying no, the benefits of letting stuff break, and how finance helped uncover a major growth opportunity for Intuit in the mid-market. The conversation touches on the company’s 25 golden metrics, why leap years and the Super Bowl affect revenue, and the lesson Sandeep learned from a $2 coffee. — LINKS: Sandeep Aujla: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aujla/ Intuit: https://www.intuit.com/ CJ on X (@cjgustafson222): https://x.com/cjgustafson222 Mostly metrics: — TIMESTAMPS: (00:00) Preview and Intro (02:30) Sponsor – Pulley | Brex | Aleph (07:11) Sandeep’s Career Journey at Intuit (09:41) The Stigma Around CFOs and Seriousness (11:01) Being the Disruptor When You’re Already the Incumbent (14:04) Intuit: Software, Payments, or Services Company? (15:21) Sponsor – RightRev | Navan | NetSuite | (19:00) The Intuit Family Tree (20:14) Cross-Platform Network Effects (21:54) Telling a Unified Story Across Multiple Product Lines (25:24) How Finance Discovered a Mid-Market Growth Opportunity (28:56) Reducing Churn by Keeping Customers on Platform (31:04) How Small Businesses Are Evolving To Leverage Tech and AI (34:11) How Sandeep Prioritises Capital Allocation (37:17) Tactics for Saying No Gracefully as a CFO (39:39) The Benefits of Letting Stuff Break (43:10) Reinvesting Across the Business: Consumer Versus Business (45:36) The CFO-CTO Relationship in the Age of AI (49:45) Tracking Intuit’s Target for Internal AI Efficiency (52:06) Surprising Usage Patterns: Leap Years, Game of Thrones, etc (53:15) The Different Use Cases for AI Internally (55:48) The 25 Golden Metrics That Matter (58:45) Leap Years and Other Surprising Things That Impact the Business (1:00:04) Long-Ass Lightning Round: A Deadline Mistake (1:02:04) Advice to Younger Self (1:03:48) Finance Software Stack (1:04:36) A Bonus Question: Printed Notes (1:05:17) Craziest Expense Story — SPONSORS: Pulley is the cap table management platform built for CFOs and finance leaders who need reliable, audit-ready data and intuitive workflows, without the hidden fees or unreliable support. Switch in as little as 5 days and get 25% off your first year: https://pulley.com/mostlymetrics. Brex offers the world's smartest corporate card on a full-stack global platform that is everything CFOs need to manage their finances on an elite level. Plus, they offer modern banking and treasury as well as intuitive expenses and accounting automation, bill pay, and travel. Find out more at https://www.brex.com/metrics Aleph automates 90% of manual, error-prone busywork, so you can focus on the strategic work you were hired to do. Minimize busywork and maximize impact with the power of a web app, the flexibility of spreadsheets, and the magic of AI. Get a personalised demo at https://www.getaleph.com/run RightRev automates the revenue recognition process from end to end, gives you real-time insights, and ensures ASC 606 / IFRS 15 compliance—all while closing books faster. For RevRec that auditors actually trust, visit https://www.rightrev.com and schedule a demo. Navan is the all-in-one travel and expense solution that helps finance teams streamline reconciliation, enforce policies automatically, and gain real-time visibility. It connects to your existing cards and makes closing the books faster and smarter. Visit https://navan.com/runthenumbers for your demo. NetSuite is an AI-powered business management suite, encompassing ERP/Financials, CRM, and ecommerce for more than 41,000 customers. If you're looking for an ERP, head to https://netsuite.com/metrics and get the CFO’s Guide to AI and Machine Learning. #platformbusiness #innovation #disruption #CapitalAllocation, #FinancialSoftware This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.mostlymetrics.com
