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BENEFITS OF VIRTUAL CFO SERVICES: WHY IS IT A GROWING TREND?

Posted on 20/03/2024

Outsourced virtual CFO Services will oversee your current bookkeeping and controller staff in the startup.

There is a common misconception that a bookkeeper and an accountant are enough to run the financial aspects of the company. 

The role of a bookkeeper is limited to maintaining the daily transactions in the organization. Sometimes, the bookkeeper can extend their services during the accounting season but with limited expertise. 

The role of an accountant is to get the data from the bookkeeper and work at the end of every financial year to tally the accounts and help the company save from paying a huge tax. 

The roles mentioned above contribute to the successful daily operations of the organization. However, when it comes to the bigger picture to sustain the organization for a longer period, a financial expert is required to manage the cash flow, create budgets, analyze expenses, understand profitability, predict financial risks, and devise a winning financial strategy. 

And who plays these roles? A Chief Financial Officer, a.k.a. A CFO. 

Business owners who wear multiple hats often sideline these tasks for the end and endeavour at the last minute to fix things. But, little did they realize that the financial department is the lifeline of an organization. It needs attention and planning daily. 

Regardless of the company’s size, the CFO is mandatory if you want to maintain an organizational balance. From ensuring compliance to financial planning and deciding investments, your company needs a CFO to scale the growth. And a CFO will require a hefty compensation. However, if you do not have the budget to compensate for the CFO’s monthly salary requirements, we recommend hiring a virtual CFO (v CFO) and getting the best virtual CFO services for startups.

Who is a Virtual CFO? 

A virtual CFO (or a vCFO) is a financial service provider, an operational and financial professional that executes the duties of a conventional CFO. The only difference between a traditional CFO and a virtual CFO is that the latter works remotely, on a contractual, part-time basis. 

Working with a virtual CFO is like outsourcing your finance department to an expert outside your company. 

Virtual CFOs are a great option for companies that may not be able to match the salary demands of a dedicated, full-time CFO. A virtual CFO works no less than the in-house CFO. Your company will benefit equally as your virtual CFO will be at your financial department’s helm.

Benefits of Outsourced Virtual CFO Services 

Today, with new technologies booming often, data is easier to accumulate. It has quite loosened up the time of accountants to draw multiple interpretations of the data and produce reports for each. The accountant’s expertise ends there. For the company’s financial well-being, a CFO has to step up and work on the insights to drive the business forward and make operational decisions. No other executive other than the CFO could see the story behind the numbers and arrive at a decision that would serve the welfare of the company. Only a (virtual) CFO can generate value in strategic and operational ways. 

Here are a few of the services a virtual CFO might provide:

• Assistance with determining annual financial and strategic goals

• Communicating financial goals to the stakeholders

  • Financial planning that will entail
  • forecasting and cash flow management
  • analyze and identify opportunities 
  • scenario modelling
  • planning and annual budgeting
  • Opportunity identification
  • Forecast creation
  • Financial statement creation, evaluation, and reporting
  • Financial risk management that will contain
  • cost-benefit mapping
  • contingency planning
  • Cost management that includes
  • Productivity and talent evaluations and direction
  • supply chain analysis and insights
  • capital-investment review and due diligence
  • Funding calculation and management
  • Debt minimization and administration
  • Organizational transformation
  • Fundraising support

Does My Business Need a Virtual CFO?

Now that you understand who is a virtual CFO and what are the best virtual CFO services, it is time to identify if your business needs one. It is a direct answer, however, we will get to the specifics and tell you when your business needs virtual CFO services. 

– Your business is intensifying

When it was just a handful of you, probably your finances would have been manageable. 

Eventually, when your resources, contacts, and administration are intensifying, financial components will add to it. It is an indication that your bookkeeper or an accountant wouldn’t suffice to provide you with a financial solution to handle the complexity. 

– Your business is growing 

Planned growth is one, and rapid growth is another. When you are growing as planned, you have everything in your control. With rapid growth, your finances will be at a breakneck speed. Getting the best virtual CFO services will help you navigate in control through unprecedented growth. Besides, a virtual CFO will also help you plan the next episodes of your business in a streamlined manner. Your business’s pulse and cash flow will be in control to handle the revenue influx. 

– You want to explore untapped areas of your business

The economy is on a roller coaster. There are changes every day, and it depends on how you want to utilize that change for your business’s growth. A virtual CFO will help you understand if you should utilize that volatility or bolster your present situation during economic distress. 

– Your financials are undergoing apocalyptic proportions

Financial catastrophes are inevitable. The solution is to be cognizant of the situation and comprehend why it is happening. And, if you don’t have an answer for it, a virtual CFO will be able to address that gap. He will also help you sail through the financial distress safely. 

– You lack financial comprehension 

A business is all about making decisions and eventually growing to make informed decisions. A virtual CFO can help you control your business’s decision-making handgrip from the beginning. From managing your books and ledger transactions to guiding your mergers, virtual CFO services will help. 

11 benefits of virtual CFO services

1. Flexibility and customized services

When you outsource virtual CFO services, you are defining the terms, time, and cost only for the work hours. You can scale it either up or down based on your requirements. In the end, you will only pay for the deliverables and time spent on your business. 

2. Broad Experience

Virtual CFOs work with diverse industries. They would have more knowledge, experience, expertise, and insights into different business scenarios. That knowledge will translate into a custom perspective for your business. 

3. Accounting Expertise

You can be demanding in hiring a virtual CFO who holds an accountant degree. In addition to their CPA degree requirements, they would have a myriad of knowledge and expertise working with other businesses. Besides, they will be updated about the latest market trends because their profession demands so. 

4. A Different Perspective

As a business owner, you will be laser-focused, unknowingly limiting yourself to seeing things from a different perspective. 

Hiring a virtual CFO for your business can give you new ideas that will overhaul your finance departments and also identify other growth opportunities. 

5. Ability to handle challenges

A virtual CFO with an accountant degree can bring the knowledge, expertise, and problem-solving skills required for managing complicated accounts. You can hit the brief of two jobs with a virtual CFO.

Virtual CFO: Get Access to the Expertise of a CFO at an Affordable Cost

6. Expert reporting

An experienced virtual CFO knows how to create streamlined and well-organized reports. In addition, his accounting skills will serve as an auxiliary to create customized client reports that will give comprehensive deets required to make informed and well-thought-out business decisions. 

7. Software and systems recommendations

There is a lot of financial software available in the market for organizations today. The choices are plenty and only an expert can decide what is best for the company.

A virtual CFO will have had his hands-on on diverse products and systems. They should be able to give you experiential advice on which systems, software, and products will match your business requirements. It will save you from making the expensive mistake of engaging with a wrong choice.

8. Well-established reputation

Onboarding a virtual CFO means you are bringing in an expert who has established his expertise in the market with diverse clients. This way, you are finding means to gain access to your virtual CFO’s other clients. Besides, he will be the right person to connect you with business leaders if required. Refine your hiring process right to enjoy the benefits.

9. Better problem-solving skills

Every business will have its share of problems as they expand. A virtual CFO can help you deal with financial catastrophes and emergencies in a way you could not have solved. The problem-solving abilities will be a lot better, refined, and efficient to bounce back sooner, if not immediately.

You can enjoy the advantage of skipping a few grave mistakes by leveraging the virtual CFO services.

10. Faster resolutions

Virtual CFOs are known for bouncing back quickly from issues and providing quicker, yet intellectual resolutions to the problems. Over the years, they will have built the experience to enter a crisis mid-way and take it to resolution from there. From a financial point of view, they will be able to quickly assess the problem, gather information, refine financial reports, implement efficient accounting practices, scale towards completion, and forecast the results.

11. An experienced team player

Virtual CFOs possess emotional intelligence, and leadership skills, and exhibit team-player qualities that will help them work with various individuals. They put forward financial expertise and assist your team members to achieve success as an entity. 

How to get started with a virtual CFO?

We can give you the best virtual CFO services, best practices, and excellent results. Our virtual CFO services entail budgeting and forecasting, financial reporting and analysis, strategical goal alignment, and service provider relationships.

Engagements with our virtual CFOs can range from one day a week to 4-5 days a week with the versatility to stop the contract at any time, we recommend at least six months. Ideally, this time frame will be required for a business to understand the progress it makes.

Outsource your finance department to us and let us help you grow your business. Contact us today to learn how we can alleviate your financial burdens and help you understand your business’s growth potential.

Topics: Accounting

Pramod

Pramod

Manager

About the Author:

Pramod has over 11 years of experience relating to finance and accounts in diversified industries. He is an expert in resource and process optimization resulting in greater operational efficiencies.

Author can be reached at [email protected]

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