Ajey Mehta

Most CFOs think about tax compliance. Few treat tax incentives as a strategic lever. In this CFO-led conversation, identify and use specialty tax incentives like R&D credits, energy incentives, and cost segregation to improve cash flow and fund growth initiatives. Expect true stories, real numbers, and a candid look into a CFO’s decision-making process – including practical screening questions for all industries. DAY 1 Breakout session presented by Capstan Tax Strategies 📍 Spring 2026 CFO Leadership Conference 📅 June 3–5, 2026 | Boston, MA RSVP: https://lnkd.in/ehJ5A8iF

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CFOs, are you tackling a business combination? 🤝 Be sure you are getting the accounting right. ASC 805 lays out the framework, but the details can be complex. This high-level guide breaks down key steps, from identifying the acquirer to measuring assets, liabilities, and noncontrolling interests. Get the insights you need to stay compliant and confident. Read here 👉 https://okt.to/uxLUNp #CFOInsights #BusinessCombinations #CFOLeadership

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CFO confidence took a 21-point hit this quarter—but finance leaders aren’t standing still. Despite tariffs, labor concerns and market uncertainty, 78% still expect profit growth. How? By doubling down on tech, rethinking costs and optimizing supply chains. In uncertain times, those focusing on long-term results while managing short-term challenges will come out ahead. How is your company adapting? Download our Q1 2025 CFO survey report for actionable insights and strategies. https://gt-us.co/3DUpDzq #FinanceLeaders #CFO #DigitalTransformation #TechInvestment #BusinessGrowth

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Big-company CFOs aren’t waiting for the future, they’re actively building it. A new survey of 655 senior finance leaders at $1B+ firms reveals where they’re investing, what’s keeping them up at night, and how they’re engineering transformation from the ground up. https://lnkd.in/gv3fwYZg

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CFO turnover is at a decade high. In this article former chief financial officers share their advice on what matters most today for securing the top job in finance. CFOs must possess experience and skills that go well beyond traditional expertise in budgeting, planning, and risk mitigation. CFOs now serve as board advisers. “The job is hard, so you have to have a passion for it,” says Karen McLoughlin, former CFO of Cognizant Technology Solutions. #CFO #leadership #executivesearch #boardmembers https://loom.ly/PCwqkHU

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Recko | A Stripe company's $150M acquisition proved that India Talent can build world class software. Here are the top learnings from my podcast with Saurya, Co-founder, Recko: 1. Recko was founded in 2017 by Saurya and Prashant to fix the complex and broken process of financial reconciliation in fast-growing B2C companies like Flipkart and Blinkit. 2. Getting the product off the ground was really tough. Early customers openly said they didn’t need it, and investors thought the idea was pointless. Recko was trying to build in a new category where there were no benchmarks or clear paths to follow. 3. Their first big break came from Myntra, who reached out just when Recko was down to their last $500. Over the next 3 to 4 months, they worked closely with Myntra’s finance team to solve huge reconciliation problems involving millions of data rows. That work earned them the credibility to build the product. 4. Indian VCs passed on Recko for several reasons: Lack of investor-focus on B2B during 2017-18 , the perception that back-office products were unsexy and the pressure for fast hockey stick growth. In some cases, even customers denied they had the problem Recko was solving, which confused potential investors further. 5. Saurya shares that India’s B2B ecosystem has “over-indexed” on cost advantages and marketing-heavy models. But to truly compete globally and reach higher valuations, companies should start with a solid product that offers real value through Tech and product superiority, not just by being cheaper. 6. For early-stage B2B startups, the most important metrics is not ARR, but product shape & product usage- how often the product is used and how critical it is to the workflow of the business. If your product becomes part of a company’s core workflow, it’s much harder for them to stop using it- even if it’s tough to sell at first. 7. Stripe's acquisition of Recko was primarily a product acceleration and product suite completion strategy. With financial operations closely tied to payments, Recko brought deep expertise in that space- something Stripe's customers were already asking for. 8. Recko was acquired at a 75X revenue multiple of $2 million ARR - A result of the product's unique strength, very specific domain knowledge, and "thickness" in its product layer. This contrasts with companies offering easily replicable solutions or operating in crowded, benchmarked categories, which give them lesser leverage in acquisitions. 9. The acquisition process took about six months, with four of those months spent on intense due diligence. Founders must manage conflicting expectations from investors and employees while maintaining highly confidential communication throughout. 10. Saurya advises founders to prioritize long-term relationships over attempting to "squeeze the last drop" of money during an acquisition, as future collaborations are likely. 

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Finance teams are accelerating, and the numbers prove it. - 62% close the books in 9 days or less - 80% have bigger M&A expectations since Jan 2025 The finance playbook is changing. Is your team ready to keep pace? Read the full 2025 CFO Survey report to uncover what’s driving finance leaders this year: https://bit.ly/4gkwC39 #CFOTrends #FinanceLeadership #AIinFinance

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What an honor hosting Gokul Rajaram Thanks Gokul for spending time with the Antler Embark founders from 🇮🇳 🇸🇬 And sharing your insights gathered from decades of leadership at Doordash, Square, Coinbase, Pinterest, Google and Facebook! - with Gowri Shankar Nagarajan ⚡️💡Some great points captured by the group.. * Selling before building - even more important now in the world of AI * Each sales call is a product dev call * Visualise your GTM as narrow hyper-focus, then concentric circles * Compound products will become more important - the first product might not be the best wedge, but the 2nd/3rd might be * Impossible to build something great without founder-led sales for the first $1M-$10M * Be the second startup that hires from corporate work at :) (don’t be their first startup journey) * Big difference between hunters vs talkers / people who are only convert existing demand gen at large cos * Create your personal Advisory Board of 5 founders (incl. those who sell to the same customer but not competing) * Customers between the coasts are much less pinged by tech startups - get on a ✈️ ! * SaaS in the #AI age is “service as a software”, in selling, quickly get to the labor spend / pools you can replace * Sales cycles are shortening as more connection with labor cost savings * With AI, the trilemma of speed, cost, quality no longer unsolvable * Just ask - don’t worry about being too polite! Antler Karan Prasad Rajiv Srivatsa Jivitesh Jadwani Yoeven D Khemlani Rishabh Goel Dinara A. Moksh Garg Rebhav Bharadwaj Kanishka Thakur Ronak Massand Ayush Agarwal Vaibhav Saxena Yue (Lawrence) Xu Gaurav Pansari Anurag Ram Chandran Sayanta Ghosh

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From our PearX S25 cohort, meet Pravāh, the AI-native operating system for the electric grid When Mohak Mangal, Dhruv Suri, and Aman Gupta looked at the strain on the U.S. electric grid, they saw a system pushed to its limits. Exploding demand and unpredictable supply have made blackouts increasingly common. This costs the economy more than $150B a year, a number that could 10x in the next five years. Mohak Mangal and team founded Pravāh to help fix it. Their platform helps utilities and grid operators make real-time decisions on load, generation, and congestion, reducing blackout risks, optimizing power procurement, and bringing much-needed stability to the backbone of modern life. We’re proud to support the Pravāh team as they take on one of the toughest and most important infrastructure challenges of our time.

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Magic wands aren’t standard issue in finance. but we asked CFOs to use one anyway.🪄 The results are in 👇 Payroll compliance is the one thing most of you wish you could automate. When every minute counts, automation isn’t a luxury. It’s a lifeline. Whether it’s journal entries, payroll compliance, reporting, or contractor onboarding, your choices pointed to a clear theme: Finance teams don’t want more hours. They want fewer headaches. And remember: If you’re still manually onboarding contractors, your spreadsheet may be eligible for museum status.🗽

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Are you ready to accelerate your finance transformation journey? Many FP&A teams are still managing outdated tools and disconnected processes—trapped in reporting cycles when they should be driving strategic impact. Our guide shares the 3 critical phases of finance transformation to evolve your team into a force for efficiency, agility, and collaboration across the business. 💡 Inside, you'll learn: 🔹 A practical framework to move from spreadsheets to continuous forecasting 🔹 How to empower FP&A to drive strategic business influence 🔹 Warning signs your finance processes are holding you back 🔹 Where AI and automation accelerate transformation Start your roadmap to a more efficient and strategic finance function. Get your copy: https://lnkd.in/ewuZb7ix

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AI in finance is evolving fast. But not in the way you might think. 👀 CFOs aren’t chasing full automation. They’re doubling down on control, visibility, and real-time insights. In this month’s Finance Labs report, 100+ finance leaders shared where they see AI going next. And what they really want from future investments. Top priorities: ▪️Fraud and anomaly detection ▪️Personalized insights for smarter decisions ▪️Proven ROI and seamless ERP integration ▪️Evolving roles with more room for analysis and strategy Curious what it takes to move from early AI adoption to measurable impact? Full report in comments. Real insights. No hype. As always. 💚

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Finance leaders say they’ve automated. The data says otherwise. • 98% of CFOs say they have invested in automation. • 41% say only a quarter or less of their processes are truly automated. • Just 1% have automated 75% or more. The gap? Partial automation. Digitisation, scanning invoices, and using OCR aren’t automation. Without end-to-end integration, from supplier onboarding to payment execution, teams are still stuck in manual workflows. True AP automation delivers: • Seamless ERP integration for accurate, real-time data. • Unified workflows from invoice to payment reconciliation. • Time back for finance leaders to focus on strategic decisions. Partial automation creates more tools, more complexity, and more workarounds. End-to-end automation creates efficiency, accuracy, and scalability. It’s time to reassess: Is your finance team fully automated or just partially there? Read our President Robert Israch's latest article with Business Reporter here: https://lnkd.in/gVmd_yyS

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