Deciding to employ a Chief Financial Officer is a big decision for most companies, and, potentially, a big financial commitment.

“Do I need a Chief Financial Officer?”

“Will they fit with our company culture and way of working?”

“Will they fit with me as Chief Executive?”

“Is there enough work to keep them busy full-time?”

All are perfectly valid questions that people ask before hiring a Chief Financial Officer.

Commissioning a part-time Chief Financial Officer through Indigo Accounting gives you access to an individual with years of financial and management experience, at a cost you can afford and for the time you really need.

Working with you on an on-going basis, you will have a partner who really gets to know your business and can help you to clarify and then deliver your business objectives.  You will also have a truly independent ‘sounding board’ who knows your business, something many business owners struggle to find.

Together you can achieve better results, faster.

In essence the difference is that the role of a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is forward looking, whereas your accountant is focussed on what has already happened.

Your accountant, financial controller and finance director are focussed on managing the books and records, ensuring everything is correctly recorded and documented.  This is fundamentally important work, that has to be got right, however by its nature it is mainly backward looking.

With the evolution of the CFO role over recent years, the CFO now not only has ultimate responsibility for those backward-looking ‘gatekeeper’ activities, they are also expected to participate in driving an organisation forward.

You will be working with someone who can hep you develop your business and achieve your business goals.

They will be totally candid with you, no matter how hard the truth may be to hear.  You won’t get any value out of someone telling you want you want to hear, instead of the truth.

They will then work with you to address any issues that they’ve identified, to ensure your business flourishes.

The areas you should be expecting to be being looked at are:

• Cashflow:  working with you to manage and improve current cashflow and cashflow forecasting;
• Banking:  working with you to identify how to make the most efficient use of your banking facilities, whilst paying as little as possible in fees, interest, etc.;
• Profitability:  identifying which parts of your business are (the most) profitable, and any that aren’t.  Discussing with you how resources should be deployed in future, to maximise profitability;
• Reporting:  reviewing your current business plan, budgets, forecasts and reports (if any), and identifying areas and processes for improvement;
• Planning:  working with you to identify your goals and key milestones, to create a focus and direction in the business, and a set of metrics that can then be measured against; and,
• Systems & Processes:  reviewing your current systems and processes to ensure they are as efficient as they can be, whilst still being compliant.

As you get larger you will also need to be looking at:

• Internal Controls:  ensuring you have robust and reliable internal controls, that can be scaled efficiently as you grow, and will stand up to scrutiny if you are audited (e.g. as part of funding due diligence);
• Risk Management:  working with you to identify, document and mitigate your business risks, and building core competences in your staff for managing risk;
• Fundraising:  working with you to identify what is the best type of fundraising for your business and stage of expansion, and the right time and process to raise funds; and,
• Exit Planning:  working with you to identify potential routes forward, so that you are ready when the time is right to exit.

Interested in seeing how our services could benefit your business, or know someone who may be interested in our services?

Please get in touch and let’s workout how we can support you in building your business, and help you achieve your business goals.