# From Public Accounting to CFO: The Leadership Wake-Up Call

By Troy Ashby · Published 2026-02-24 · Updated 2026-06-26 · Business Services on MarketScale
Canonical: https://www.marketscale.com/industries/business-services/from-public-accounting-to-cfo-the-leadership-wake-up-call
Creator hub: Beyond the Ledger

> Melinda Lawrence on the leap from audit partner to CFO, and why the seat is about leading growth and people, not just the numbers.

## Key points

- The CFO role involves leading people and growth.
- Audit expertise is just the starting point for a CFO.
- CFOs must step out of their technical comfort zones.

On this episode of Beyond the Ledger, host Troy Ashby talks with a leader shaping accounting and finance. Watch the full conversation above.

What really happens when an audit partner becomes a CFO? Melinda Lawrence unpacks the leap from public accounting to leading growth, people, and transformation.

Tags: AI in finance, CFO leadership, corporate finance, executive leadership, finance transformation, people leadership, public accounting to CFO

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