{"id":7594,"date":"2020-11-01T12:24:58","date_gmt":"2020-11-01T17:24:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/?p=7594"},"modified":"2026-02-12T04:58:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T09:58:22","slug":"finance-futurists-tiffini-masessa-learn-and-grow-as-a-cfo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/finance-futurists-tiffini-masessa-learn-and-grow-as-a-cfo\/","title":{"rendered":"Finance Futurists: Why 25 years later, Tiffini Masessa is still eager to learn and grow as a CFO"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tFinance Futurists: Why 25 years later, Tiffini Masessa is still eager to learn and grow as a CFO\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\tLauren Pearson<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Finance <\/span><\/i>Futurists<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/i>are<\/span><\/i> an elite group of leaders who embrace constant evolution as a necessity in the ever-changing world of finance. <\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than number-crunchers, these leaders represent a new era for finance\u2014one defined by a shift from pure analytical expertise to emotional intelligence and strong communication skills as well. Here, we spotlight one of this year\u2019s <\/span><\/i>futurists<\/span><\/i>, <\/span><\/i>Tiffini Masessa<\/span><\/i>, CFO <\/span><\/i>Forward Merch<\/span><\/i><\/a>, and what <\/span><\/i>s<\/span><\/i>he believes the future holds for the finance function.<\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For <\/span>nearly<\/span> a quarter century, Tiffini Masessa has cultivated her impressive finance experience at <\/span>Forward Merch<\/span>, a New Hampshire-based business that creates, produces, and sells official merchandise for a number of music\u2019s most renowned acts, including David Bowie, AC\/DC, Pink Floyd, and Phish to name a few.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now serving as <\/span>Forward Merch<\/span>\u2019s CFO<\/span> and owner<\/span>, <\/span>Tiffini<\/span>\u2019s<\/span> <\/span>worked to increase and optimize budgets while incorporating key technologies to improve workflows, payment processes, and analytical capabilities. Beyond those more typical finance functions, Tiffini also works closely with <\/span>Forward Merch<\/span>\u2019s marketing team to ensure customers receive the most well-rounded support possible.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We recently chatted with <\/span>Tiffini<\/span> about h<\/span>er extensive finance and merchandising experience, how her role as a CFO evolved in light of COVID, and <\/span>why <\/span>female empowerment and corporate social responsibility are two <\/span>defining factors <\/span>informing her current approach as CFO<\/span>.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did you start your career in finance, and what about it appealed to you?<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tiffini Masessa: <\/span><\/i><\/b>I started with <\/span>Forward Merch <\/span>in 1996 after working at one of the fleet banks that turned into Bank of America. I was a business banker and got to know the president of <\/span>Forward Merch<\/span> at the time. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before interstate banking came along, bands and artists would come in with boatloads of cash. <\/span>In music merchandising, we manufacture anything you buy at a concert. <\/span>So,<\/span> a<\/span>ny time a tour came through, they\u2019d drop <\/span>off <\/span>a lot of cash. Unless they had a bank account in every state, they had no place to process all of that cash. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I started with <\/span>Forward Merch<\/span>, I would go to venues and fill up a backpack with <\/span>this<\/span> cash<\/span> and come home in the middle of the night. That was the start of my journey to becoming CFO at the company.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s the initiative or accomplishment you\u2019re most proud of throughout your career?<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

TM: <\/span><\/i><\/b>T<\/span>he empowerment of women in my business. A majority of our managers are women. I\u2019m not taking credit for their abilities, but I feel really blessed that I work for a company that empowers women in leadership positions. That\u2019s the most rewarding, personally. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But professionally, it\u2019s also super rewarding just to see our business grow. When I became an owner, the budget wasn\u2019t really on track. Things were happening that I didn\u2019t really approve of. I\u2019m just really proud that we\u2019ve gotten all of those finances in order and we\u2019re on a trajectory for growth.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many industries struggled to maintain growth during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.  How did you adapt to its economic impact? <\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

TM: <\/span><\/i><\/b>Naturally, there\u2019s a fine line \u2013 you have to be tough, but you also have to be responsive to your employees\u2019 needs. <\/span>For instance, the working from home <\/span>\/ <\/span>childcare scenario. We\u2019ve become very good at finding that balance.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From a business standpoint, b<\/span>ecause our major revenue was from shows and tours, we really had to pivot and find new revenue resources. The bands are pivoting<\/span>,<\/span> too<\/span>\u2014w<\/span>e\u2019re all in it together.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My role has changed completely, and it\u2019s not just number-crunching. Now I\u2019m working with a smaller team <\/span>on <\/span>getting funding, seeing what grants and programs are out there, and keeping those connections with the industry. The industry is so <\/span>small,<\/span> <\/span>but<\/span> we\u2019ve been really good about sharing resources with other companies like ours. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re international\/national, so we have no local clientele. But we felt compelled to support local businesses \u2013 we printed t-shirts for all of the local companies and they were able to sell them at a profit.<\/span> <\/span>We also got into branding masks from each artist <\/span>and <\/span>sales are skyrocketing.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/span>How have you worked to incorporate technology into your company\u2019s finance department<\/span><\/b>? <\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

TM:<\/span><\/i><\/b> <\/span>We recently moved from Magento to Shopify for its user-friendly analytics. That\u2019s made us more unique and willing to try new things.<\/span> <\/span>I\u2019m working on marketing and learning to understand that feedback may not necessarily result in sales. There may be a lot of likes, but it doesn\u2019t really result in any revenue. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/span>With these analytics and that insight, <\/span>I\u2019m learning what works<\/span> and <\/span>what doesn\u2019t work and where to spend the marketing budget<\/span>. <\/span>With COVID-19, I thought I\u2019d hoard my company\u2019s cash but actually the opposite is true<\/span>\u2014<\/span>I\u2019m spending it in different avenues<\/span> and in new ways to bring the company revenue<\/span>.<\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/span>What future opportunities are you most excited about?<\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

TM<\/span><\/i><\/b>: <\/span><\/i><\/b>I\u2019m excited to make this wholesale and retail market work for our business. Financially, I\u2019m pleased to see it\u2019s more profitable than it\u2019s been in the past<\/span>.<\/span> Once the tours are able to open, I think it\u2019s really going to set us up. We\u2019re going to have that base that we didn\u2019t have before on top of the tours.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

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The Finance Futurists are an elite group of leaders who embrace constant evolution as a necessity in the ever-changing world of finance.   More than number-crunchers, these leaders represent a new era for finance\u2014one defined by a shift from pure analytical expertise to emotional intelligence and strong communication skills as well. Here, we spotlight one of this year\u2019s futurists, Tiffini Masessa, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":995,"featured_media":7628,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[158],"tags":[396],"business_type":[40,312,41],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[57,54],"persona":[100],"imagine_tag":[],"coauthors":[606],"class_list":["post-7594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-accountants","tag-cfo-3-0","business_type-small-business","business_type-accountants","business_type-growing-business","industry-financial-services","industry-retail"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-us","author_name":"Lauren Pearson","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/11\/blog-banner_1675x1100_v4_10-tiffini-masessa.jpg","imagine_tags":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice US","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/995"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7594"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7594\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/7628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7594"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=7594"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=7594"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=7594"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=7594"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=7594"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=7594"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=7594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}