How CFO-Level Finance Helps Restaurants Survive
June 2, 2026
In this episode of CFO Weekly, Anne Napolitano, CEO and Founder of Anne Napolitano Consulting, joins Megan Weis to explore how food and beverage operators can move beyond basic bookkeeping to leverage finance as a true competitive advantage, drawing from her experience as a former Hermès Controller, working chef, and decade-long advisor to restaurant and bar owners navigating thin margins, cash flow challenges, and growth decisions.
In this episode of CFO Weekly, Anne Napolitano, CEO and Founder of Anne Napolitano Consulting, joins Megan Weis to explore how food and beverage operators can transform their financial function from a back-office necessity into a true front-of-house competitive advantage. Anne brings a rare perspective shaped by more than two decades of experience in corporate accounting and financial leadership, including her time as Controller for the US operations of Hermès, where she led financial reporting and operational oversight for a globally recognized luxury brand.
With a background that bridges high-end corporate finance and hands-on kitchen experience as an accountant turned chef turned accountant, Anne shares how her firm helps restaurant and bar operators gain clarity, control, and confidence in their finances. Currently serving as CEO and Founder of Anne Napolitano Consulting, Anne discusses why so many food and beverage businesses run on gut feel and bank balances instead of real financial data, and what it takes to move from reactive management to proactive, data-driven decision-making.
What You’ll Learn:
- Why food and beverage operators are making decisions based on gut feel and bank balances instead of real financial data
- How dashboards and visual reporting replace traditional financial statements for operators without finance backgrounds
- The three most common financial blind spots in restaurants: payroll percentage, unchecked comps and voids, and cash flow forecasting
- Why prime cost is the one weekly metric every restaurant owner should obsess over
- How the timing gap between revenue and expenses creates cash flow crises even when sales look strong
- When food and beverage businesses need to move from basic accounting to controller-level and FP&A support
- How finance is evolving from back-office compliance to front-of-house competitive advantage in the food and beverage industry
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Previous guests include:
Tom McDermott, CFO at Career Certified,
Claire Bramley, CFO at Teradata,
Chris Miles, Founder of Money Ripples,
Ranil DeSilva, CFO & COO at CARE,
Jordan Grumet, Financial Independence Expert & Host of Earn & Invest &
William Washington, Global CFO at Baker McKenzie
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