In this episode of CFO Weekly, John Wise, Director of Finance and Accounting at The Armstrong Company, joins Megan Weis to unpack how the CPA designation can become a launchpad for strategic business leadership rather than a lifelong ticket to the back office. John brings a career built across Fortune 500 rotational programs, regional public accounting, and FP&A leadership before landing at The Armstrong Company, a family-held, fourth-generation moving and storage business with roots stretching back to 1957.

With hands-on experience in lease accounting, financial reporting, M&A due diligence, and finance modernization, John shares how he approaches transforming a decentralized, founder-led finance function into a scalable, data-driven operation. He unpacks the cultural growing pains that hit middle-market companies as they scale, the warning signs that a process has been outgrown, and why he believes the traditional linear path from accountant to controller to CFO is being disrupted by FP&A and cross-functional business partnership.