How LeadSquared’s Chandra Sahal Is Turning Finance Into A Real-Time Decision Engine

For the second part of The CFO Code, Inc42 spoke with Chandra Sahal, CFO of LeadSquared, about how the company built a real-time finance stack that gives him 95-97% revenue visibility before month-end

Sahal breaks down how LeadSquared measures ROI on AI spend sitting outside finance's own budget, why "growth at all costs" is dead, and how currency and geopolitical risk shape its US and Middle East operations

He also spoke about the mistakes founders make when they delay investing in financial infrastructure, and why the CFO of the future needs to trade the reflexive "no" for a seat at the table early

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For a long time, the finance function in organisations has been a back-office job — close the books, stay compliant, keep enough cash in the bank to survive the quarter. The job rewarded accuracy over foresight, and a CFO’s standing was measured by how few surprises were brought to the table.

The job description no longer holds today, particularly for SaaS businesses, where a small dip in quarterly retention can snowball into a much larger problem.

The role has grown to include almost everything under its ambit, from market research to product R&D and even deciding pricing of products or services, once exclusive to the CEO’s role. 

Simply put: finance leaders are today involved in deciding which market deserves more........

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