While it’s true that the more strategic insights a business gets from a CFO (even a part time CFO) or VP of Finance have a significant impact on the future of the organization, it’s important to remember that they first need a solid base of knowledge to pull from. Without those seemingly small, daily tasks and contributions from bookkeepers and accountants, financial leaders are markedly less effective.
In other words, a business needs those bookkeeping tasks to be handled with just as much care as the CFO’s strategic vision.
Bookkeepers
A bookkeeper sets the foundation which all other financial functions build upon. They need to be able to perform a number of tasks related to the financial standing of the business, such as entering daily transactions, balancing the bank accounts and credit accounts, handling accounts receivable/payable, filing things and documenting, and reconciling the books monthly. This is, of course, essential from a business function standpoint, but it is not necessarily going to move the needle very far when it comes to the financial future of the company.
Controllers
A few steps up from those tasks is the controller, who is in charge of the internal financial systems used to keep everything running smoothly. (I.e. the systems that those bookkeepers and accountants are going to be using daily.) They are responsible for strategic cash flow management, dynamic forecasting, budgeting analysis, and more. If you have a great controller, you can be confident that all of the bookkeeping tasks and financial reports are going to be handled in a way that your business can leverage strategically. Therefore, their future impact on the business is greater than that of a bookkeeper or accountant even though they are touching fewer transactions on a daily basis.
CFOs and Part Time CFOs
The CFO sits at the top of this funnel, taking a leadership role and setting the tone and strategy for everyone below them. From bookkeepers to VPs of Finance, the CFO (or part time CFO) has an influence on every other finance function. They touch base with investors, ensure you have the right accounting team, verify that systems are set up in the best possible manner, create internal controls that mitigate risk, and keep operations compliant, among other responsibilities.Even though they’re not as involved with the minutiae of the monthly books and are much more concerned with high-level strategic thinking, they have the greatest impact on the financial future of a company because their reach extends all the way down the line.
This is why having someone performing these tasks can make such a difference for your business. For many businesses who can’t yet justify bringing someone on full time, a part time CFO can be the right answer.
Fox & Partners: A Strategic Ally
Fox & Partners offers outsourced, part time CFO services that can help you fill in the gaps and make sure that you have the right financial strategy and processes in place from the foundation of your financial operations all the way to the top, setting your organization up for success. We act as true partners for your business, optimizing and improving your financial practices and overall strategy.
To learn more about what we can do for your organization, set up a meeting with us today.
