The three formats, and what each is good for
Be clear about what you are buying. The CPD requirement, a genuine skills gap and a network are three different purchases, and paying for one expecting another is the usual disappointment.
| Format | What it is genuinely good for | |
|---|---|---|
| CPD sessions | Run through CA ANZ, CPA Australia and accredited providers. Usually short and technical. | Meeting the CPD requirement and staying current on Australian standards, tax and audit changes. Not designed to build leadership capability. |
| Executive education | Multi-day paid programs through business schools and specialist providers. | Genuine commercial breadth when you cannot get that exposure in your current role. Expensive, and worth it only if the gap is real. |
| Peer groups and roundtables | Often free, frequently hosted by advisory, accounting or software firms. | The room rather than the agenda. Other people's specifics on problems you are currently facing, which no curriculum covers. |
| Podcasts and long-form | Free, self-paced, no CPD credit. | The career-path question: how finance leaders actually reached the seat. The most underserved need at the levels below CFO. |
Where to look in Australia
- CA ANZ and CPA Australia. The default source of structured CPD, including technical updates on Australian standards, tax and audit. Reliable for the compliance requirement and for technical currency.
- University executive education. AGSM, Melbourne Business School and similar run short executive programs. Useful when the gap is genuinely commercial breadth rather than technique.
- Advisory and Big Four roundtables. Often free, usually a business development channel, and still worth attending for the room rather than the content.
- Industry and peer groups. The format that most reliably helps with the ambiguous parts of the job, because the value is other people's specifics rather than a slide deck.
Where the development gap actually is
There is a real imbalance in this market. There is so much learning and development content out there for CFOs, but very little for everyone at the levels below.[1] If you are a Financial Controller or Head of Finance trying to reach the CFO seat, you will find plenty of content pitched at people who already got there and not much aimed at the journey.
That gap is why I built The CFO Track. The whole idea behind the podcast is to give up-and-coming finance leaders the learnings and development they might not have had the opportunity to get otherwise,[2] through conversations with Australian CFOs about the challenges, decisions and lessons that shaped their finance functions.[3] It is free, it is Australian, and it covers the part nobody runs a seminar on: how people actually got there.
Every episode of The CFO Track is here, along with where to subscribe here.
An honest note on what a seminar will not fix
The things that decide whether a finance leader succeeds are not seminar-shaped. The CFO role transcends financial reporting into strategic advice, challenging decisions and critical business input, and if the CEO does not instinctively trust or enjoy working with the CFO, technical ability becomes irrelevant.[4] No course teaches that relationship.
The same applies to the operational reality. Numbers matter, but trust matters more, because without it even the best reporting will not get used.[5] If your gap is influence rather than technique, spend the training budget on exposure to decisions rather than on a venue.
Where structured learning does pay off is breadth. My advice to senior finance leaders is to build breadth and adaptability now to stay competitive, because market cycles will eventually turn.[6] If a program genuinely widens your range rather than deepening what you already do well, it is worth the time.
If the gap is the leadership step rather than technical knowledge, I go through what actually changes here.
Common questions
What CFO seminars are available in Australia?
Three broad categories. CPD sessions through CA ANZ, CPA Australia and accredited providers, which cover technical currency on Australian standards, tax and audit. Paid executive education through business schools such as AGSM and Melbourne Business School. And peer or roundtable formats hosted by advisory, accounting and software firms, which are often free and where the value is the room rather than the agenda.
Are CFO seminars worth the money?
It depends entirely on which gap you are closing. For CPD compliance and technical currency, the professional bodies are the efficient answer. For genuine commercial breadth you cannot get in your current role, executive education can be worth it. For the things that actually decide whether a finance leader succeeds, influence, trust with the CEO and judgement under ambiguity, a seminar is the wrong instrument. That budget is better spent on exposure to real decisions.
Where do CFOs in Australia get CPD credits?
Primarily through Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and CPA Australia, both of which run structured CPD programs, technical updates and conferences that count towards annual requirements. Many accredited external providers and the larger advisory firms also run sessions that qualify. Check the credit treatment before you book, because free industry roundtables frequently do not carry credits.
What development is available for finance leaders below CFO?
Less than there should be. There is a great deal of learning and development content aimed at sitting CFOs and comparatively little for the levels below, which is exactly where the career questions are hardest. That gap is why The CFO Track podcast exists: conversations with Australian CFOs about the challenges, decisions and lessons that shaped their finance functions, aimed at giving up-and-coming finance leaders development they might not otherwise get.
References
- Tom Hunter on the development gap in finance: there is so much learning and development content out there for CFOs, but very little for everyone at the levels below that.
- Tom Hunter on The CFO Track podcast: the whole idea behind it is to give up-and-coming finance leaders the learnings and development they might not have had the opportunity to get otherwise.
- The CFO Track: through conversations with some of Australia's best CFOs, the podcast covers the challenges, decisions and lessons that shape finance functions in Australian businesses.
- Tom Hunter on the CFO remit: the role transcends financial reporting and covers strategic advice, challenging decisions and critical business input; if the CEO does not instinctively trust or enjoy working with the CFO, technical ability becomes irrelevant.
- Tom Hunter on trust in finance leadership: numbers matter, but trust matters more, because without it even the best reporting will not get used.
- Tom Hunter's advice to senior finance leaders: build breadth and adaptability now to remain competitive, because market cycles will eventually turn.