High-Low with a CFO: Bogdan Năforniţă

In finance, every decision matters. "High Low with a CFO" is our new interview series that reveals what it takes to lead in today's financial landscape. We talk to CFOs  from various industries and dig into the tools, strategies, and mindsets that power these leaders, offering practical insights for current and future leaders.

In the first of our series, we sat  down with Bogdan, a seasoned CFO who has transitioned from working in large-scale enterprises to co-founding his own AI-driven company, Profluo. From the essential tools that keep his department running smoothly to the career-defining moments that shaped his approach to leadership, Bogdan shared invaluable lessons and advice.

Interview:

CFO Connect: Hi Bogdan! Thank you so much for taking the time to share your expertise with the CFO Connect community. Let’s jump right in and get to a hot topic: tools. Do you have a favorite finance tool or app that you can't live without?

Bogdan: You know, the finance world is full of tools, each doing a job that can help. However, as a CFO, I find it’s hard to find one that perfectly matches your department’s workflow. It's both a blessing and a curse—you can tailor your work with the right tools, but it’s rare to find a comprehensive solution that does it all. Different stages of a company’s growth demand different tools. Startups, for instance, don’t usually need ERP systems, but as they mature, the need for more stable and complex solutions becomes apparent. As the organization evolves, so does the need for more robust tools.

CFO Connect: Who's the MVP in your finance team?

Bogdan: Without a doubt, it’s our chief accountant. She's incredibly reliable—working from home, yet always within reach. No matter what I throw at her, I know it’ll get handled efficiently. That kind of dependability is crucial in a fast-growing environment like ours. So, yes, she’s definitely my MVP at this point in time. Of course, I’m still involved in financial analysis and other tasks, but her role is indispensable.

CFO Connect: What's the worst piece of career advice you've ever received?

Bogdan: It’s easy to fall into a conservative mindset as a CFO—keeping your head down and sticking to the status quo. That’s probably the worst advice you can follow. I can't pinpoint anyone who specifically told me this, but the general vibe from some people is that you should just settle into your role and avoid rocking the boat. However, a modern CFO simply can’t afford to do that. There’s so much strategy involved now, and we can contribute significantly to operations and business growth. It’s about more than just understanding financials—it’s about diving into the operations and truly grasping what drives those numbers.

CFO Connect: If you could automate one part of your job, what would it be?

Bogdan: I’d love to fully automate an intelligent AI agent that can pull, structure, and analyze data from various systems. We’re actually working on something like this. Imagine an AI that cross-checks everything—from reading contracts to flagging discrepancies in invoices. It’s not just about catching errors; it’s about having a machine that can offer specific advice or warnings, like saying, “Hey, that invoice doesn’t match the contract terms. You might want to double-check that.” It goes beyond the basic cross-checks we see in ERPs today, handling unstructured data in a way that a human might miss.

CFO Connect: What book, podcast, or person is currently capturing your interest?

Bogdan: I’m really into Ed Sim’s Sunday threads—his “What’s New in Enterprise VC?” series is fantastic. He’s always on the cutting edge, leading Boldstart Ventures in the U.S., and his advice is top-notch. Another one I follow is Tom Tunguz, who’s well-known in the VC world and has a sharp, insightful blog. Both of them consistently put out valuable content that I find incredibly useful.

CFO Connect: As the CFO role has evolved, how has your purpose in this role changed?

Bogdan: The CFO role has transformed drastically. Even a decade into my career, the role began expanding into operations, and we became something of a shadow CEO. But now, the focus has shifted towards AI. The concept of an “AI CFO” is incredibly exciting. The way we handle transactions and make decisions in finance can be automated in ways we’ve never seen before. With the increasing pressure on CFOs to extract more value from data and deliver more comprehensive reports, AI is no longer just an option—it’s a necessity. The sheer volume and velocity of data today make it impossible to do the job well without it. And it’s not just about intelligence; it’s about cost efficiency too. No one’s going to approve a bigger headcount in the finance department, so we need to lead by example in both smarts and savings.

CFO Connect: What's been the most rewarding moment in your career?

Bogdan: One standout moment was when I worked for a tech company with a huge SAP implementation team. We internally developed a local SAP solution, and it was so successful that it became the corporate template for the entire company. That was back in 2008, and we were doing some pretty innovative things, like implementing an SAP module for revenue recognition that hadn’t even been approved by SAP AG yet. It was a challenging but incredibly rewarding project. Another rewarding experience has been mentoring and watching my team grow—some of them have even surpassed me in their careers, which is incredibly fulfilling. Seeing them excel beyond what I’ve achieved is what it’s all about.

CFO Connect: What is your long term vision for Profluo? 

Bogdan: We’ve gone through some transformations and pivots, but our vision is clear now: we’re becoming an AI-enabled BPO for accounting document processing. We’re focusing on finance processes—like invoices, bank statements, and receipts—and figuring out where we can inject AI to streamline these workflows. We’re not aiming for a generic artificial intelligence that learns as it goes. We’re injecting precise algorithms because accuracy is key. If you don’t achieve over 90% accuracy, the automation effort is wasted. We’re proud to have large enterprise customers, and we’re also excited about the challenges and opportunities around e-invoicing, especially with how it’s changing the landscape in Europe. We’ve even developed the first machine-learning engine capable of correcting e-invoicing XMLs that are incorrectly formatted by suppliers. It’s exciting stuff!

CFO Connect: What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned in your career?

Bogdan: One of my managers at P&G gave me some invaluable advice early on. I was so focused on pointing out issues—telling him this isn’t working or that’s wrong—and he stopped me and asked a simple question…“Why don’t you change your mindset? You sound like a victim. ” Let me tell you, that was a cold shower. But it was exactly what I needed to hear. Once I shifted my perspective to owning the problems and driving change, I realized how much impact I could really have. It was a total game-changer for me.

About the CFO – Bogdan Năforniţă

Bogdan Năforniță, CEO & Co-Founder of Profluo, has over 20 years of experience in the financial and software development fields. His career began in 1996, establishing a strong foundation in financial planning and analysis. Over time, Bogdan has held management positions at renowned companies such as Procter & Gamble, S&T, IBM, Automobile Bavaria, and MHS Holding.