Beyond the Ledger: DEPT's Finance Chief On Agency Life

In advertising, it's inevitable perhaps that creatives tend to take center stage - the bold ideas, the cultural moments, the trophies in the cabinet. But behind every high-octane pitch lives a quieter, equally vital force: the financial steward who translates audacious ambition into sustainable growth.

Meet DEPT’s finance chief, David Neal, whose journey from accountancy recruit to creative-industry linchpin blends rigor, curiosity, and a passion for storytelling.

With a foundation built at Deloitte’s TMT practice, he cultivated an early affinity for media and tech clients, and gradually realized that the numbers behind branding mattered just as much as the brand itself.

From those early days navigating spreadsheets and audit firms to standing shoulder to shoulder with creative leadership, he has refined a philosophy that the role of a modern CFO is less “cost controller” and more “strategic interpreter.” He's formed a strong partnership with DEPT’s global executive leadership, leveraging regular rituals, frictionless communication, and a sense of shared purpose.

In this Q&A, Neal reflects on what surprised him most about agency life - how the pace reshapes expectations annually, how AI is now reshaping governance and storytelling, and why the greatest misconception about his role is that it's all about numbers. For anyone curious about the commercial backbone of creative businesses (and that should be everyone), this is your backstage pass.

How did you get started in your career and what brought you to a role in advertising?

When I was at university, I had very little idea of what I wanted to do next. I tried all the career workshops, but nothing really stood out to me. So when I got near the end of the course, and realised I needed a plan, I started attending some of the events held by businesses searching for new recruits on campus. I ended up meeting some people from Deloitte who encouraged me to pursue a career in accountancy.

While I was at Deloitte, I joined the London TMT practice, because it was obviously the most fun one, and ended up with clients that were mostly in the media and advertising space. And so I got a bit more of a specialism, and went on from there.

How do you effectively maintain contact and work with the CEO/leadership team in the agency?

The framework that Dimi [Albers, Global CEO] has set up for the Exec team at DEPT helps us stay very tight. We have a series of weekly meetings that start the week together on a Monday, as well as topical sessions when they’re needed. But we also get 15 minutes together almost every day, which helps keep everyone current, and also means there’s a close connection - we know we’re going to see each other regularly, and also know we can pick up the phone (or Slack) any time.

And it helps to have a great team!

What do you enjoy most about working in a creative agency that is different from elsewhere?

There is always huge energy in an agency setting. The rhythm of pitching and winning new business, the need to get work out to a timetable, and the kind of inventive and dynamic people stand out as real differentiators. And in DEPT, which also expands to Media, Tech, Experience and Engineering, you also get this great maker mindset, driving innovation at the cutting edge of the industry. It’s a great place to be!

What do you think is the greatest misconception around the FD role?

That it’s all about numbers and costs. There’s a core requirement that certainly sits there, but the strongest CFOs can also bring the numbers to life with storytelling that makes a compelling case for action, can bring creativity to solve business problems, and have experience beyond finance that allow them to contribute to agency strategy. It’s really much more of a rounded leadership role than a finance job.

What’s been the biggest surprise for you about working in the ad sector?

While it’s not so much a surprise to me any more, having been in or close to the sector for 20 years, I still think the pace of change in advertising is pretty extreme. No two years have been the same, and what’s new and exciting now will be old news by next year.

How are you using AI to support your role?

We are pushing ourselves to use AI and automation extensively. Across the finance and operations function, we have set up innovation pods to think outside the box and find pioneering use cases for AI, with some great outputs like automated reports that mix data and AI-generated narrative, pulled from our core systems and delivered through Slack. Personally, I use Gemini and ChatGPT to help with review tasks, developing strategy, planning and governance tasks, Notebook LM for synthesising larger data sets and digging into key points, and the wider Google suite for meeting minutes and in-app tasks.