A CFO will benefit businesses, typically with $1M to $20M in annual revenue, which find themselves in any the following situations:
- The business has a cash/funding issue that prevents the company from growing to the next level.
- The business owner is considering their future retirement, wants to bring in new investors or sell the company in a few years, and wants to introduce business practices and reporting systems that will maximize the price.
- The company is going through a generational transfer and the next generation wants to grow the company and/or introduce a skill now needed that the older generation did not require.
- A larger company may benefit from contracted CFO skills to assist in specific areas of expertise, for particular projects, or when their CFO (and finance department) are overloaded but need a project done they do not have time to do in-house.
- Click here to see other considerations for hiring a CFO.
Controllers’ main functions are operational, rather than strategic or advisory. For example, they prepare accurate and historical financial statements. A Part-Time CFO is involved in analyzing issues or determining opportunities. As an example, he/she will look at what is driving the costs of producing or warehousing your inventory, and advise you on ways to improve profitability.
Accountants prepare year-end financial statements. They assist with tax planning and are rarely involved in operations. Accountants are usually looking back at the year that was. A Part-Time CFO provides tools for maximizing profitability and proactively managing changes in your financial affairs.
Businesses rely on bookkeepers to monitor operations and process financial transactions. A Part-Time CFO can work with your existing bookkeeper to create or streamline processes, design reporting templates and proactively identify issues to manage. A Part-Time CFO can hire and train your bookkeeper, create policies and procedures and manage your financial risk.