Change Brings Chaos – But an Interim CFO Keeps Finances in Check
Is your company in transition right now? If so, you’re probably navigating the pitfalls of change: instability, loss of focus, loss of productivity, and other serious problems. It doesn’t matter what kind of transition you’re facing. Downsizing, rapid growth, and losing key business players can all rock the business boat, creating sticky situations that are tough to navigate. These challenges can be particularly hard on the company’s financial operations. Who is watching your books during your transition?
The answers is simple: an interim CFO.
Interim CFOs exist to help companies in transition keep their finances in check. They watch over financial operations and identify areas of weakness while finding ways to improve. They ensure records and statements are still being kept and generated in a timely manner. And they monitor critical cash flow.
Working with an Interim CFO: What to Expect
Whether you’re planning a short-term engagement with an interim CFO (such as filling a vacancy until you hire a permanent CFO) or a longer-term engagement to help guide your company through to the end of its transition, you can expect your interim CFO to perform all the usual CFO functions, including:
- Financial strategy, planning, and implementation
- Management of financial operations
- Budget, cash flow and debt management
- Identification of areas of weakness and improvement
- Audit preparation
- Trend and profit analysis
- Financial statement and reporting oversight
- Decisions related to accounting software
- Preparation for and interaction with banks and investors
But interim CFOs are unlike in-house CFOs in a number of ways:
- An interim CFO can offer advice without any agenda, bias or preexisting notions about your company or you
- Interim CFOs are available as needed
- Contracting an interim CFO is much less expensive than maintaining the salary of a full-time, in-house CFO
A Shared CxO interim CFO operates both as an extension of your company and as an advisor to you as a business owner. You can expect to learn from the engagement, so you’ll be more adept at making key financial decisions going forward.
You can also expect your interim CFO to offer honest second opinions to help you make the difficult decisions that affect your company’s finances. Even though our CFOs operate at a distance, they feel close to your business, because they’re dedicated to working with you and stay connected to you through modern technology which was painstakingly selected to make communication and sharing effortless.
Interim CFOs are Tough When Necessary
In my experience, few business owners relish making hard financial choices. In fact, few business owners have the experience to identify when a choice has to be made, either because the company is operating at a loss or because there’s an opportunity for an additional profit to be made.
Interim CFOs come on board to enact necessary change and to guide a company through sometimes painful periods. They are professional and friendly, but they know when it’s time to make a cut or to change a process, and they aren’t afraid to act. And they don’t shy away from decisions that will have far-reaching, long-term consequences, even though they’re only likely to be with you for a short period of time.
At the same time, an interim CFO will cooperate with existing executives for the ultimate benefit of your company, and be a business owner’s partner in wrangling finances and planning for the future.
Our interim CFOs, quite simply, do what’s best for your business and your bottom line.
A Good Interim CFO Sets the Stage for Scale
Because Shared CxO’s interim CFOs are deeply invested in our clients’ success, they aren’t just interested in helping companies survive the present. They want to set clients up for growth well into the future. So they will look at operations, budgets, accounts and more with an eye on taking your business to the next level.
By the time an interim CFO’s engagement with a company is finished, the company should be in a completely stable financial position or have a practical strategy in place to swiftly achieve stability. This allows business owners to complete transitions and to move forward without worrying about the company finances.
Is It Time for an Interim CFO?
If you think the time is right for a Shared CxO interim CFO, browse or packages and rates or get in touch with us to discuss your need. You can also learn more about our services at our CFO Outsourcing and Advisory page.