What is an Outsourced CFO & What Do They Do?

Outlined below are a few reasons a company would need to seek the assistance of vCFO. During this meeting, the CFO works to thoroughly understand your business’s financial situation, goals, challenges, and opportunities. This assessment helps identify areas where financial expertise is needed. The role of an outsourced CFO goes beyond traditional accounting functions.

Amid growth, small business owners may ask, “Should I always sell directly to the customer, or pick up retail partners to help distribute our product? ” In a traditional corporate structure, a CEO may consult with the CFO, the company’s resident financial expert, to field these questions. However, with the median CFO salary in the U.S. starting around $419K, some small businesses may not be in a position to hire one outright. In these cases, a quickly growing business may turn to a virtual or outsourced CFO. Essentially, the CFO oversees the financial initiatives and well-being of a company, as well as the team responsible for executing the day-to-day accounting and financial tasks.

Transform Working Capital in M&A with Virtual CFO Services

Since everything is cleaned up, we can move forward and look to the future instead of being stuck in the present. For example, while many people refer to a CFO’s “First 90 Days,” our clients can move through the contract phase to be fully onboarded within two months. (With weekly and day-to-day accounting being handled within the first week the contract is signed).

What does an outsourced CFO do?

Our expert accounting services will handle your bookkeeping and accounting, providing clear financial insights for informed decision-making. We take the time to understand our client’s businesses inside and out and work closely alongside you to develop customized financial strategies and develop action plans that align with your business objectives. With years of industry experience, we have the knowledge and skills to address various economic challenges and opportunities, helping you navigate complex financial matters confidently and clearly. Whether during periods of growth, financial restructuring, or strategic planning, you can adjust the level of CFO support accordingly. We provide outsourced CFO, fractional CFO, and temporary CFO, Controller, and operational Accounting services that suit the needs of your business.

Benefits of Outsourced CFO Services:

This collaborative approach ensures alignment between their financial management efforts and broader business objectives. By continuously monitoring financial performance, the CFO can proactively identify opportunities and risks, you can make timely and informed decisions to drive success. This scalability provides access to the right financial expertise at the right time without being tied down by inflexible, long-term contracts. Outsourced CFO services provide flexibility outsourced cfo to scale up or down based on business needs. The benefit is access to this level of expertise without the expense or legwork of hiring a full-time executive.

The purview of a Virtual CFO can be vast and customized to include everything from audit preparation to contract evaluation. Whether a business uses a vCFO for organizing finances or strategic advice, there are a few things we’ve come to expect from most vCFO services. Hiring a CFO with the right qualifications is vital to a business’s future growth. Finding the right partner can be tricky and if help is needed, Decimal can connect you with the ideal partner. Once a business has decided upon a Virtual CFO, it is important to consider the following about potential service candidates.

Established agencies have reputations to protect and thus follow industry best practices. Individual fractional CFOs may or may not perform, and vetting candidates is challenging for non-experts. Our team ensures you receive and maximize the tax credits you are eligible for.

• The purview of a Virtual CFO can be vast and customized to include everything from audit preparation to contract evaluation.
• Therefore, they might oversee your entire accounting and finance department and manage your human resources team while also handling special projects.
• They’ll get everything organized, so you’re not wasting time on manual tasks.
• It can help to know that an outsourced CFO is not the same as an interim CFO.

We’ve set a big revenue goal this year, and we want to make sure that we are on track to meet that. The role has a variety of titles (Virtual CFO, Part-time CFO & Fractional CFO) but each provide the same solution; complete strategic guidance at the fraction of a full-time CFO salary. Get the free daily newsletter with financial industry insights and practical advice for CFOs. Though there has been some improvement on the talent front for companies with strong external and internal marketing practices, the shortage of talent in the accounting space remains a challenge. This needs to change, says Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital’s CFO Jessica McClain, who oversees the finance function of the largest Girl Scout Council in the country.

Private equity firms may also continue showing interest in large public accounting firms, which face rising labor costs, deteriorating partner compensation structures and initiatives to implement technology at scale. Just as you would guide your mountain guide based on your comfort and capability, provide your fractional CFO with constructive feedback to improve your working relationship and overall financial performance. Whether you’re climbing Kilimanjaro or Denali, a seasoned guide makes the difference between a successful summit and an ill-fated expedition. The same holds true when navigating the challenging landscape of business finance.

We were able to find the skillsets we were looking for, and NOW CFO was able to find our unicorn. An innovative accounting team to make sure that bookkeeping and reporting is done right. We offer founders innovative financial insight, world class financial technology and peace of mind. The in-house CFO is like a permanent guide who knows every nook and cranny of your mountain—your business. They are wholly committed to your cause, always present, and fully immersed in your business culture.

Improving Cash Flow

A growth barrier is any obstacle that stands in the way of your business development, expansion or ability to scale. This provides a more immediate solution than hiring internally, plus outsourced CFOs are self-managed and any HR needs are normally looked after by the company taking the onus off of you. “To have a full-time CFO, we didn’t think that we could attract the right caliber of talent to be able to do that, being that we’re a small business.

The key difference is that a Virtual CFO (or vCFO) offers their services remotely and often on a part-time or contract basis. VCFOs can operate as an individual or as a team and work separately from the business as a whole. VCFO services are cost-effective ways to get tailor-made financial plans for specific business needs without the cost of an in-house CFO. With an outsourced CFO at your service, you can better focus on core business activities and strategic objectives while leaving financial management to experts. As financial experts, we understand the significance of having sound financial systems. They facilitate everything from better cash flow control, to increased efficiency, to accelerated business growth.