Most CFOs boast about top-line growth and revenue wins. But Tony Morreale’s proudest metric isn’t tied to financial performance but to team retention. Since joining the dog dental brand PetLab in 2021, the finance chief hasn’t lost a single team member.
Such stability is increasingly uncommon. Across the industry, finance leaders are struggling to attract and retain skilled professionals. This is one of the most significant challenges for CFOs in 2025, according to a poll by Gartner, second only to driving top-line growth.
The accounting talent pipeline is shrinking. The profession is coping with a wave of retirements and has failed to attract enough new entrants to fill the vacancies. Meanwhile, demand for complementary expertise such as data analytics is rising. As a result, CFOs are under mounting pressure to either source new talent or upskill their existing teams.
“Retention success generally depends on the quality of an organisation’s talent, as well as employees’ commitment to the company,” Morreale says. However, CFOs must still bring fresh ideas to boost the performance and profile of their finance teams, especially if they’re new to the leadership role. Here’s how Morreale built a zero-turnover culture at PetLab.
Trust, autonomy and growth
Morreale attributes his success in keeping people engaged and progressing to his leadership focus on mentorship, trust and autonomy.
He holds weekly meetings with his team and monthly one-on-ones, not simply to track progress but to actively support each individual’s professional growth. Training contracts are available to everyone and every team member is encouraged to contribute to improving systems and designing new processes. “I want to send a clear signal that innovation is part of everyone’s job, not just leadership’s.”
You want to be able to have fun with the people you work with
At the heart of his leadership philosophy is a belief in radical trust. Micromanagement, he argues, has no place in the modern finance function. “A micromanager is not a good CFO,” he says plainly. Instead, decision-making must be democratised. For instance, when PetLab transitioned to a new ERM system, team members weren’t just consulted, they owned the implementation. “From day one, they are 100% involved in the decisions that shape their work.”
This culture of trust has fostered something rare in corporate finance: genuine self-management. “When someone goes on holiday, the team absorbs the workload seamlessly, without hierarchy or hand-holding,” Morreale explains. “I never need to step in – and I deliberately don’t. It’s a system that emerged not through rigid design, but through a simple directive that stuck: we need to capture the work, we can’t let it drop.”
While the headcount hasn’t grown – the team currently numbers 11 – the people have. Roles and responsibilities evolved, career paths advanced and several team members have become qualified accountants under Morreale’s mentorship. As he sees it, retention isn’t about perks or policies: “It’s about letting people grow and trusting them to lead alongside you.”
Leveraging AI to reduce ‘boring work’
Digital fluency in finance departments is becoming a key differentiator, not just for operational efficiency, but for retaining top talent. “Ultimately, CFOs must show their teams that the job is about more than numbers and spreadsheets,” says Morreale.
When he first joined PetLab, the finance team was spending a lot of time on repetitive, low-value tasks, such as reconciling financial transactions. This is the kind of time-consuming and tedious work that saps motivation and stalls career growth. To enable his team to focus on more meaningful work and avoid burnout, Morreale “rolled out an automation tool that integrates directly with our finance system and bank accounts. It now reconciles and posts transactions with 95% automation, leaving just a final check for the team to do.”
A micromanaging leader is not a good CFO
Tools such as this have also led Morreale to rethink junior finance roles. Rather than fearing that AI will hollow out the entry-level talent pipeline, he believes the technology can act as a coach, accelerating learning and helping younger team members engage with higher-value work faster.
Still, many CFOs remain cautious. According to a recent poll by the accounting software provider FloQast, three in four finance executives say they lack confidence in integrating AI into their accounting functions. But Morreale says: “There’s no need to start from scratch. Chances are, someone’s already solved the problem you’re facing. That’s why I encourage my team to stay curious, connect with peers and bring fresh ideas back into the business.”
Building a connected culture
Morreale’s team is fully remote, which creates additional challenges. Some studies suggest that fully remote environments can lead to lower retention thanks to individual isolation and hurdles in collaboration. Recognising the importance of in-person interaction, Morreale has introduced mandatory quarterly offsites, where the entire team comes together for a full-day strategy session. “These days are focused on driving continuous improvement, with particular attention to year-end processes, operational changes and automation opportunities.”
Importantly, he says, team members are empowered to lead these initiatives, thereby fostering ownership and engagement. “Instead of just being seen as the closing function, the team is proactively brought together on a regular basis to influence strategic direction. This has really helped empower them to be bold and take charge.”
The day concludes with a social activity. “It sounds simple, but you want to be able to have fun with the people you work with. I think that’s the key to long-term retention.”
Rejecting the ‘hard-nosed’ stereotype
Morreale has deliberately tried to move away from the traditional image of the CFO. “There’s a long-standing belief that you must be a hard-nosed person,” he says. “In reality, CFOs need to understand people, not just the numbers.” Finance leaders must be empathetic to pick up on nuances in the team and understand how they work, he adds.
Early in his career, Morreale worked under managers who were disengaged and disconnected from their teams. His own leadership style developed in contrast to those experiences. Rather than seeing his team as a function to be managed, Morreale sees them as people whose contributions make his success as CFO possible. “I truly respect my team,” he says. “I’m only as good as the people around me.”
By valuing their perspectives and recognising their efforts, Morreale is building more than just a high-performing finance function, he’s building a culture that lasts.
Most CFOs boast about top-line growth and revenue wins. But Tony Morreale’s proudest metric isn’t tied to financial performance but to team retention. Since joining the dog dental brand PetLab in 2021, the finance chief hasn’t lost a single team member.
Such stability is increasingly uncommon. Across the industry, finance leaders are struggling to attract and retain skilled professionals. This is one of the most significant challenges for CFOs in 2025, according to a poll by Gartner, second only to driving top-line growth.
The accounting talent pipeline is shrinking. The profession is coping with a wave of retirements and has failed to attract enough new entrants to fill the vacancies. Meanwhile, demand for complementary expertise such as data analytics is rising. As a result, CFOs are under mounting pressure to either source new talent or upskill their existing teams.
