In this episode of Beyond the Ledger, I sit down with Tom Kirkhart — a CPA who’s served as CFO for Nasdaq-listed and PE-backed companies across manufacturing, construction, and service industries. Tom is known for driving acquisitions, tightening operations, and finding real savings without breaking what makes a business work.
Tom traces his path from Ernst & Young, where early mentors taught him “grace under pressure” and that in accounting nobody dies, to becoming a publicly traded company’s CFO at 38 — the goal he’d chased since he was 25. Then came the harder question: with 30 working years still ahead, what does the next mark of success look like?
We get into how he made himself valuable at every stop, what PE-backed CFO work really demands, why communication is the make-or-break skill for the top finance seat, and his decision to strike out on his own as an entrepreneur and trusted financial advisor to growing businesses.
🎧 Whether you’re aiming for the CFO chair, moving from public accounting into industry, or rethinking what success means mid-career, you’ll walk away with grounded, practical wisdom.
🎯 Key Quote:
“In accounting, nobody dies.”
⏱️ Chapters
00:00 – Intro & Welcome
01:13 – What You Won’t Find on His LinkedIn
01:38 – “Grace Under Pressure” — Lessons From His First Mentor
03:03 – How He Approaches Feedback
03:26 – Learning the Craft on the Starwood Audit
04:54 – Deciding Public Accounting Wasn’t for Him
06:25 – Leaving E&Y When the Timing Was Right
06:44 – How Do You Define Success?
07:06 – Becoming a CFO at 38 — and Asking “Now What?”
09:13 – Making Yourself Valuable
09:37 – Moving Into Industry & FP&A
10:26 – The Realities of PE-Backed Finance Work
14:59 – Why Communication Makes or Breaks a CFO
16:33 – Explaining Numbers to Non-Financial People
17:19 – What’s Next: Becoming an Entrepreneur
18:50 – Choosing to Be Responsive & Proactive
21:12 – Advice for the Aspiring CFO
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Connect with us:
Tom Kerkaert on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomkerkaert-cpa
Double B Foods LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/double-b-foods/
Double B Foods Website:
http://www.doubleb.com
Troy Ashby on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/troyashby/
Troy Knows Talent Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/troyknowstalent/
Troy Knows Talent Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/troyknowstalent/
