FinPod

In this episode of CFI’s Member Spotlight, we sit down with Alex Murray, a UK-based financial analyst whose path into finance started far outside the typical “cookie-cutter” route. This conversation traces how Alex moved from studying History (with a deep interest in the Renaissance and the evolution of double-entry bookkeeping) to building a career in finance through curiosity, disciplined self-learning, and strong mentorship.
Alex shares how early exposure to banking through his family sparked his interest, why studying history sharpened his thinking about economic cycles, and how he translated that mindset into real-world finance work. We also dig into his hands-on experience in ESG and impact investing, his transition into a full-time role, and what surprised him most about finance once he was inside the function: the shift from reporting numbers to using them to drive decisions.
You’ll hear how Alex uses CFI training in his day-to-day workflow, what changed after completing the FMVA, and why he’s now focused on building a long-term career in FP&A and strategic finance. The conversation also touches on the modern toolkit for analysts, including Power Query, Power BI, dashboards, and AI tools used for analysis and structured thinking.
This Member Spotlight is for anyone early in their finance career (or considering a pivot) who wants a realistic look at how strong fundamentals, better questions, and practical training compound over time.
Learn more about CFI’s programs and certifications, including FMVA and FP&A training, and explore how thousands of professionals are building job-ready finance skills with Corporate Finance Institute.

In this episode of Corporate Finance Explained on FinPod, we break down competitive moats and the financial mechanics that allow a small subset of companies to sustain outsized profitability for decades, while most competitors see margins eroded.
A moat is a structural advantage that interrupts the normal economics of competition, where excess returns attract entrants and pricing power erodes over time. When a moat exists, it shows up directly in the numbers: durable pricing power, persistent margin resilience, and consistently high ROIC (return on invested capital).
This episode moves past the shorthand use of “wide moat” and focuses on what actually creates defensibility and how to spot moat strength, or moat erosion, before it becomes obvious in the stock price or the income statement.
In this episode, we cover:
Why profits are naturally competed away and what it means to disrupt that process
The core moat types that create durable advantage: switching costs, network effects, and scale advantages
Why Visa’s two-sided network effect compounds defensibility over time
How Apple’s ecosystem creates switching cost friction that supports pricing power and customer lifetime value
Why “scale” can be a moat, but also becomes a liability when the competitive terrain shifts
What Blockbuster and Blackberry reveal about moat erosion, paradigm shifts, and the scale trap
How finance teams quantify moats using ROIC durability, churn, and pricing power under stress
Why moat strength changes valuation through lower risk in long-duration cash flows and terminal value assumptions
How capital allocation decisions either deepen a moat or leave the business exposed to commoditization
This episode is designed for professionals who want a more analytical way to evaluate defensibility, whether you’re investing, building strategy, or supporting leadership decisions. The key question isn’t just what a company earns, it’s why it earns it, and whether that advantage is compounding or deteriorating.

In this episode of Corporate Finance Explained on FinPod, we examine dynamic pricing and why pricing is one of the most powerful and misunderstood levers in corporate finance. While often viewed as a marketing tactic, pricing decisions sit at the core of margin protection, cash flow management, and capital discipline.
This episode breaks down why pricing is frequently the fastest lever available to management when financial performance is under pressure. Unlike cost reductions or capital projects, price changes can impact operating profit immediately. We explore the financial logic behind the “1% rule,” which shows how small improvements in pricing can generate disproportionate gains in operating profit due to fixed cost structures and margin flow-through.
Using real-world case studies, we analyze how companies apply dynamic pricing to balance supply, demand, and profitability across industries with very different economics.
In this episode, we cover:
Why pricing is fundamentally a finance problem, not just a marketing decision
The math behind the 1% pricing rule and margin amplification
How airlines pioneered yield management for perishable assets
Why rideshare surge pricing functions as a market-clearing mechanism
How Amazon uses dynamic pricing to accelerate cash conversion rather than maximize unit margin
The role of working capital and negative cash conversion cycles in pricing strategy
How hotels use revenue per available room (RevPAR) to manage fixed costs
Why price elasticity determines whether dynamic pricing creates or destroys value
The JCPenney case and how ignoring consumer behavior undermined rational pricing models
How dynamic pricing is evolving in SaaS and usage-based business models
This episode also highlights the limits of algorithmic pricing. While data and models can optimize margins, successful pricing strategies must account for customer behavior, perceived value, and long-term relationships. Pure arithmetic optimization without behavioral context can rapidly erode demand and brand trust.
This episode is designed for:
Corporate finance and FP&A professionals
Pricing and revenue management teams
Finance leaders responsible for margin and cash flow performance
 🔹 Professionals evaluating business models with high fixed costs or volatile demand

In this episode of Corporate Finance Explained on FinPod, we examine economies of scale, why growth strengthens some businesses while destroying value for others, and how cost structure ultimately determines whether scale becomes an advantage or a liability.
Economies of scale are often treated as a vague benefit of getting bigger, but this episode breaks the concept down to its financial mechanics. We focus on fixed cost leverage, variable cost intensity, and operational leverage to explain why companies like Walmart, Amazon, and Costco become more efficient as they grow, while others struggle despite rapid revenue expansion.
Using real-world examples, we show how scale changes unit economics, pricing power, margin resilience, and capital allocation decisions. We also explore the limits of scale and why growth alone does not guarantee profitability when variable costs dominate the business model.
In this episode, we cover:
What economies of scale actually mean in financial terms
How fixed costs and variable costs shape margin expansion
Why fixed cost leverage lowers unit costs as volume increases
How purchasing power and logistics scale reinforce competitive advantage
Why Amazon accepted years of losses to build scale-driven efficiency
How Costco uses scale to support a membership-based profit model
Why Blue Apron’s cost structure prevented profitable scaling
The role of operational leverage in amplifying upside and downside risk
How finance teams evaluate breakeven volumes and capacity utilization
Why scale must reduce costs faster than complexity increases them
This episode also explains how finance leaders use these concepts in practice. Decisions around investing ahead of demand, expanding capacity, pricing aggressively, or slowing growth all depend on whether scale is improving unit economics or simply increasing exposure.
This episode is designed for:
Corporate finance professionals
FP&A and strategic finance teams
Investors and analysts evaluating business models
Leaders making capital allocation and growth decisions

In this episode of Corporate Finance Explained on FinPod, we examine corporate scenario planning and why it has become a core capability for finance teams operating in volatile and uncertain environments. As interest rates, input costs, and demand conditions shift faster than traditional planning cycles can absorb, single-point forecasts increasingly fail to support effective decision-making.
This episode explains how scenario planning differs from conventional forecasting. Rather than producing one “most likely” outcome, scenario planning evaluates multiple plausible futures and translates those outcomes into concrete financial and operational decisions. When used properly, it allows finance teams to anticipate pressure points in liquidity, covenants, margins, and capital allocation before those risks materialize.

In this episode, we cover:
The difference between forecasting and true scenario planning
Why precision can be a trap in volatile markets
How base, upside, and downside scenarios should be used as active decision tools
How sensitivity analysis identifies the variables that actually drive risk
Why liquidity and covenant breaches matter more than missing a forecast
How companies like Microsoft use scenarios to dynamically reallocate capital
How Procter & Gamble manages cost volatility and pricing pressure
How Delta used scenario planning to survive the collapse in air travel
Why Amazon slowed its expansion after modeling demand normalization
What Peloton’s failure shows about ignoring downside scenarios during boom periods
This episode also shows how scenario planning shifts the role of finance teams. Instead of acting as scorekeepers who explain variances after the fact, finance becomes a strategic navigation function that highlights where the business breaks, where flexibility exists, and where decisive action is required.
This episode is designed for:
Corporate finance professionals
FP&A teams responsible for forecasting and planning
Finance leaders involved in capital allocation and risk management
Anyone responsible for making decisions under uncertainty