It’s not uncommon for me to hear the question “so what exactly does a CFO do?”. The position of Chief Financial Officer however, has become increasingly more critical in the last decade. CFOs have to be more diverse and knowledgeable than ever before. Often described as the CEO’s “wingman”, CFOs play a crucial role in leading change, driving profitability and helping an organization to achieve its goals. Chief Financial Officer however is a seemingly fancy title and many small to mid size companies don’t feel as though it’s a position that they need or can afford.
Ask yourself these questions related to your business…
If you answered yes to any of the above you could benefit from a fractional CFO.
CFOs can help with any of the following:
There’s not a single company who couldn’t benefit from one or more of the above bullet points. So why then does every business not have a CFO? The median salary of a CFO is over $150,000 a year, which is a severely limiting factor for smaller organizations where business owners may not even be drawing a salary that high. A contract CFO however, is available on a PT basis and for a contracted hourly rate, rather than a set salary. They can work on a project by project basis, or within a capped number of hours. For example, maybe your organization just wants help with budget development and cash flow projections. You’d like the CFO to review these with business owners on a monthly basis. So maybe you use them for 5 hours a month at $100 per hour. The total cost to the business for the year is $6,000, significantly more affordable than a full time executive but still benefiting from the same knowledge and expertise. Like any good business coach, a good CFO should be helping your company to grow and increase profitability beyond the cost of their services.
Christine Gervais
Christine Gervais is a licensed CPA, using her skills to help businesses grow and achieve their fullest potential. Christine has a Master’s degree in accounting from Southern New Hampshire University in addition to holding her CPA license for over a decade. Notably, Christine is a nationally recognized speaker providing education to other CPAs on how to best serve clients as well as instruction on a wide variety of topics for business owners on how to maximize success. Christine prides herself on the value she can bring to clients with her extensive tax knowledge and provides strategic, forward-thinking financial strategies to help clients grow. When not behind her desk, you can find Christine spending quality time with her daughter and stepson or tending to the family’s excessively loved farm animals.
