In this episode of Behind the Numbers, hosts Marc Cohen and Rich Sweeney sit down with Joshua Lacer Watkins, CFO of Ice Age Management Inc., a McDonald’s franchisee group operating more than 50 restaurants across North Carolina.

Joshua shares how focusing on margins, cash flow, and operational KPIs drives sustainable growth and how tools like Restaurant365 empower both finance and operations teams to make smarter, faster decisions.

Key insights include:

• Why cash flow is king in restaurant operations

• How technology improves financial transparency and decision-making

• The growing role of fractional CFOs in the restaurant industry

• How connecting financial data with real operations drives better results

• The importance of empathy and communication between accounting and operations teams