How CFO Services Help SMEs Focus on Growth and Start the New Year Strong

As an owner of an SME, hiring a CFO is probably the last thing on your mind. With the budgetary constraints involved in growing a business, it wouldn’t be feasible or sound for you to keep a CFO on the rolls. But what if you could get all the benefits of a CFO at a fraction of the cost?

That’s where outsourced CFO services come into play.

HOW CAN CFO SERVICES HELP ME?

CFO services provide you with a part-time CFO or financial expert with significant industry experience on an as-needed basis.

They can provide you with financial insights and help you identify and mitigate business risks in advance.
They monitor your company’s financial performance and offer a slew of other services such as managing corporate capital accounts and optimising cost centres within your company as and when required.

But most importantly, they free up your time so you can focus on tasks you find most rewarding like growing your brand or building your product.

HOW WILL I KNOW IF I NEED CFO SERVICES?

As an SME, if you currently need assistance in the following areas of your business, your company can benefit from CFO services:

• Accessing your company’s financial performance and benchmarking it to the existing industry standards.
• Creating financial forecasts to acquire funding from shareholders or investors.
• Devising a business strategy focused on maximising revenue for your company.
• Creating effective bookkeeping strategies and processes so paying your taxes becomes less time-consuming.
• Allocating budgets within your company and scaling for growth.

HOW CAN I USE CFO SERVICES TO MY ADVANTAGE?

CFO services will help you leverage the financial aspects of your business thereby giving your company a competitive advantage. Here are a few of the most common ways SMEs take advantage of CFO services:

• Mitigating a cash flow crisis:
  Starting out, small businesses might find themselves facing a cash crisis.
  A seasoned CFO can step in to prioritise which functions can be put on hold temporarily and which are critical to keeping the company afloat. They can also put in place a set of checks and balances to prevent any further crises in the future.
• Restructuring your accounting process:
  A part-time CFO or financial expert doesn’t just bring a wealth of knowledge and experience; they also assist in putting financial and accounting procedures in place that have succeeded in growing other organisations similar to yours. This can help boost the efficiency of your financial department.
• Hand holding stakeholders:
  Funded SMEs know well how demanding investors, shareholders and even your board can get when it comes to justifying spends and budget allocations.
  Some CEOs might not have a commercial bent of mind to field such questions, which is why it probably helps to bring in a part-time CEO to navigate the rough waters and manage essential relationships.
• Financial Coaching:
  For CEOs who are not financial inclined, numbers look like numbers. A CFO can help train you to see beyond the figures, share critical insights and focus on the larger story at hand.

IN SUMMARY

Signing on for CFO services shifts the financial workload from your shoulders to your part-time CFO. You can rest easy that he will oversee all financial strategy and operations and give you objective financial advice when you need it the most. Freeing you up to focus on building the business.

All the expertise you need at your fingertips without the cost of hiring a full-time expert. Now that’s a perfect arrangement. Don’t you agree?