As your organisation grows, so does the complexity of your accounting needs. Your bookkeeping spreadsheets will give way to complicated balance sheets and accounts receivable reports. A Chief Financial Officer (CFO) doesn’t handle day-to-day reporting, but they can use your reports to develop an overall strategy and look for growth opportunities.
A virtual CFO works off-site. They can help you manage costs, look for ways to bring in new business, and analyse financial strengths and weaknesses. And a virtual CFO does it all without needing to be a full-time employee. You can benefit from a CFO’s knowledge at a fraction of the cost when you go virtual.
7 signs your business needs to hire a virtual CFO
Are you ready to bring a CFO on board? Here are some signs you’re ready to hire a virtual CFO part-time.
1. Your business is growing quickly
Your business is growing quickly, and faster than you anticipated. Your bookkeeper is there to help you process payroll and manage your bank reconciliations, but what about strategy? A CFO can analyse your industry and make recommendations about how quickly to scale and when to hire new employees. A fast-growing business needs someone to head up the financial department. You can do this more affordably with a part-time CFO who joins by video call when you need them.
2. Your financial needs are changing
If your finances are becoming more complex and time consuming, you need additional financial insight. A CFO can figure out where you might be wasting money, savvy ways to grow the company’s value, and more. As your needs change, a virtual CFO can be there on an as-needed basis to offer practical advice.
3. You lack detailed financial knowledge
Let’s be honest. You know your products and services like the back of your hand. How to track cash flow? You’re not an expert. Luckily, you don’t have to be. A virtual CFO will have a level of expertise that surpasses yours. With their assistance, you can make more confident decisions, especially about the big picture of your organisation’s finances.
4. You want to improve the ROI of your bookkeeping
If you’ve already been staying current with your bookkeeping, but you need help identifying opportunities in your financial records, a virtual CFO can help. Many businesses could benefit from hiring a virtual CFO to identify growth opportunities to maximise profits and find new revenue sources.
5. You want to outsource and automate
Financial processes can be more efficient with outside help. If you know you’re ready to outsource some of your essential tasks, start with reliable books; a CFO adds most when the numbers underneath are current and reconciled. Once your new financial expert tells you where you can cut costs and where you should spend, you’ll have a better idea of what else could be outsourced.
Your CFO can also help you streamline processes, including automated reports. Most cloud accounting software can pull transactions from your business bank accounts automatically through bank feeds, usually daily, so your reports can be built on current numbers.
Read more: 10 questions to ask outsourced bookkeeping providers
6. You want to maximise your CFO ROI
When you hire a virtual CFO, you’re getting all the expertise of a seasoned executive without the hefty price tag. An experienced CFO may also bring useful connections, such as lenders and advisers. All of this without having to clear out an office in your building.
Your return on investment, or ROI, can be higher when you go virtual. Many virtual CFOs are willing to operate on a more flexible, part-time basis, and you don’t have to provide the same full-time benefits or equipment that you typically do with permanent employees.
7. You need improved financial reporting
Accurate records are what every financial decision rests on. Accounts payable reports, bank account reconciliations, and your general ledger are difficult to juggle. If one of them hits the floor, so could your strategy. If your current reporting schedule is a little helter skelter, your new CFO can transform your financial processes. While your bookkeeper will implement new processes, your CFO can help do everything from vetting accounting software to analysing reports.
A virtual CFO and online bookkeeping both help make your finance function more efficient, but they are not the same thing, and not every business needs a CFO.
Virtual CFO or managed business performance support?
A specialist CFO (part-time, fractional or virtual) suits work such as raising capital, complex financial modelling, lender negotiations, acquisitions or restructures. Tax planning and tax advice for a fee sit with a registered tax agent (often your accountant).
Many growing businesses need something simpler first: accurate books, a clear monthly read of the numbers, and someone to talk it through with. Visory runs bookkeeping, payroll, accounts payable and receivable for growing businesses, with a dedicated team and our AI, Delphi, overseen by that team. With Visory Insights, a Business Performance Partner walks you through a plain-English monthly read of your numbers and helps you decide what to do next. If you later need specialist CFO work, your books will be organised so that a CFO can have an impact right away.
Book a discovery call to work out which kind of support fits your business.
About this article
Written by The Visory Team. Published . General information for Australian businesses, not advice for your situation.
