Outsourced CFO Services: All You Need to Know

Outsourced cfo

Enlisting the help of a professional outsourced CFO can make it easier for companies to achieve their goals and resolve accounting and financial issues for a wide range of businesses. 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. Whatever your business’s financial goals are, NOW CFO can help you get there. Paying for a certain number of hours with a fractional CFO allows you to get the benefits of working with an experienced finance leader, at a much lower cost than hiring a full-time CFO. For small companies like startups, this can mean having access to a resource you otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford.

Eisner Advisory Group LLC and its subsidiary entities are not licensed CPA firms. We provide expertise to U.S. subsidiaries of foreign entities and to international businesses considering U.S. expansion, including complete access to all of our outsourced services. Our practitioners coordinate U.S. federal and state tax registrations, help establish the proper entity structure, and assist with U.S. employee and related compliance requirements. A negative cash flow might happen in the early stages of starting things up. A CFO makes sure you stay in positive cash flow, but they’ll also make sure that your organization is utilizing things correctly.

Outsourced CFOs have considerable experience in high-level corporate financial roles. They’ve often worked as CFOs for a variety of public and private companies at many stages of growth and in multiple industries. The average CFO makes over $300,000 in annual salary, plus additional compensation in bonuses, equity, and perks. For many startups, that kind of hiring investment simply isn’t possible. Even if the company can absorb the expense, the opportunity cost can be prohibitively high – that’s money that isn’t going into the rest of your business.

Gaurav leverages his analytical skills and a results-driven mindset to analyze and help business owners optimize complex business models and processes. It’s hardly unusual for companies to rely on third-party providers for things like logistics, marketing, or web development. Forecasting can be a difficult and time consuming task for any business owner, especially if you have never done it before. Our team of experienced CFOs will help you get a financial roadmap for your business and gain the visibility you need to make smart decisions, improve profitability, and plan for growth capital. Worried that a virtual CFO may not give the same experience as an in-person CFO? With advances in technology and the increasing popularity of remote workplaces since the 2020 pandemic, the traditional rules of engagement have changed.

Fractional CFOs most commonly partner with companies to help overcome financial challenges, achieve growth, optimize strategy, implement financial systems and rigor, raise capital, or navigate an audit or transaction. PKF O’Connor Davies is the lead North American representative of the international association of PKF member firms. PKF International is a network of legally independent member firms providing accounting, tax and business advisory services in more than 400 locations in 150 countries around the world. Outsourcing will help you save time, and it can also give you access to strategic insights that you may not have had on your own. There’s never a bad time to consider CFO outsourcing, and the sooner you implement these services, the sooner you can plot a new course for your organization’s future.

You also need a system for converting leads (or upselling your existing accounting clients). Finally, you need a system for delivering a high-quality CFO service each month. If your needs aren’t overly complex and your finance plan is costing you more than 2% of your revenue, ask yourself why? 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.

How far can you go with an outsourced CFO?

VCs also want to know that the CEO can access reliable financial information to make informed, data-driven decisions. Business owners make decisions every day, but they are not optimal if they are based on insufficient or incorrect inputs. You need a capable translator to help you interpret the data and take appropriate action. If you do not have that translator on your staff, an outsourced CFO could be the right solution.

Our experts have reached the pinnacle of their profession; they have extensive credentials coupled with decades of experience. Since they work virtually or remotely, you’ll need minimal overhead. A lot of the work a CFO does is tracking metrics so they know what’s going on in your business. They also need to tell you the stories they see but in ways, you can easily understand without your own CPA.

Outsourced cfo

We develop a custom approach for each client that includes a monthly project plan. Our teams communicate when changes arise and provide full transparency when it comes to cost and budgets so there are no surprises. Everybody likes to think that they are unique and special—which is true—but an outsourced CFO has years of experience with a multitude of financial situations.

Forecasting and Planning

As fractional CFOs work remotely or virtually, the analytical place will be to perform an online search. You are likely to have these questions surrounding an outsourced CFO. In this guide, we’ll answer each of those questions so you can get perfect outsourced CFO solutions. Finance team talent is critical to productivity, business continuity and cost effectiveness.

While the cost of outsourced CFO services may vary depending on several factors, it’s essential to consider the value they bring to the business in terms of financial performance and growth. Overall, outsourced CFO services can be an excellent option for businesses looking to enhance their financial operations and achieve their financial goals. EisnerAmper’s extensive list of outsourced CFO clients include growing companies, companies with or considering an international presence,  public companies, and those backed by venture capital and private equity firms. Our practitioners are seasoned leaders of accounting departments who can serve as liaisons with attorneys, payroll/PEOs, banks, auditors and insurance providers.

  • Dashboard compilation should put all the crucial KPIs into a format you can glance at and they can walk you through them.
  • Outsourced or fractional CFOs are financial experts who can manage a wide range of activities, so their day-to-day priorities will depend on your needs.
  • While there is no crystal ball, having a well designed financial forecast will allow you to use the best available information to make smarter business decisions.
  • He joined the Toptal network to resolve diverse FP&A, M&A, buyouts, and strategic analysis challenges.
  • A CFO has finance-related qualifications such as a Master of Business Administration (MBA) or a Master of Science (in Finance or Accounting) degree.
  • As an experienced entrepreneur himself, he has served in various C-suite leadership and advisory roles across a wide spectrum of industries.

The CFO has a comprehensive understanding of finances and finance-related laws. Outsourced services provide updated, high-level financial analysis of your cost and profits to help you strategize financial solutions. A CFO ensures that your finances are well managed, and even more importantly, they ensure your financial strategy supports your goals. Every business that wants to be successful should consider the benefits of outsourced CFO services. Outsourced or fractional CFOs are financial experts who can manage a wide range of activities, so their day-to-day priorities will depend on your needs. For instance, CFOs typically assume responsibility for a company’s administrative, financial, and risk-management operations.

Short and Long Term Forecasting

They will also be the primary point of contact for external financial partners, like your tax advisor, bankers, and investors. A lot of people who engage the services of an outsourced CFO ask them to do their business’s day-to-day bookkeeping and accounting. This is a bit like having a samurai sword and using it to cut vegetables. CFOs usually command a high price for their time, so using them for basic accounting tasks can be an expensive and ineffective use of their expertise.

So I would highly recommend Escalon to small businesses and startups. Having control over your time means that you decide when you work. You’re no longer at the mercy of waiting on clients to provide you with documents. Your working capital ratio (also referred to as your current ratio) and cash conversion cycle are important measures of your company’s liquidity. ORBA Cloud CFO can replace the equivalent of one full-time employee (plus, we often see an additional 20-30% savings in the finance department). For example, we also work with in-house CFOs, but recently one of our client’s CFO left and we simply increased our scope of work with the client to absorb the CFO’s former responsibilities.

And also, there’s far less mistakes, so it’s a big relief to all my board of directors. I highly recommend any real estate company to call Escalon Tax Services. We really feel that there’s a roadmap for a future expansion with Escalon as well.

Outsourced cfo

They ensure that you and your internal accounting team understand your tax obligations. They develop a very strong awareness of your company’s strengths and weaknesses, while also identifying external opportunities and threats. They understand what’s happening inside your organization in particular and with your industry in general. Then, they leverage this perspective to create financial forecasts that help you make better decisions. Generating basic financial reports is easy when you have accurate bookkeeping records, but to truly understand your business, you need to go beyond the basics.

Financial Analysis and Tax Management

He joined the Toptal network to resolve diverse FP&A, M&A, buyouts, and strategic analysis challenges. Every business needs a financial strategy as a key component of the goal setting and decision making processes. A financial strategy establishes how a business will use and manage financial resources in order to meet its goals. Lastly, it shows whether goals are realistic and is the actionable roadmap for the business. Outsourced CFO services allow you to tap into guidance that will help you boost efficiency, increase profitability, and grow your business.

So Ink Factory, which already had an in-house accountant, turned to a local outsourced CFO firm. Last summer, ORBA Cloud CFO Services paired it with chief financial officer Kimberly Stanley. It is possible that your needs run deeper than just CFO-level insight. If you are not 100 percent confident that your finance department is providing your organization with a competitive advantage in your industry, you may want to consider a more comprehensive solution. Start with a very specific search and widen it if you don’t find what you’re looking for. Keep in mind that there may be CFO service providers with expertise in your industry which may not be obvious from a Google search.

CFOs are more experienced in M&A transactions, strategy and long term financial growth than Controllers or Accounting Managers. A CFO will have at least 10 years of experience in a leadership capacity. The TGG CFO team has a depth of experience without having become rigid in one industry. The TGG Way™ provides reliable accounting structures that allow for more flexibility in problem solving and collaboration by our CFOs. The solid accounting processes support clear decisions and confident forecasting and future-pacing for the companies we work with. Consultants possess valuable viewpoints in several areas of business.

Setting up a cash reserve is many times not at the forefront of this process. The cost of locating, interviewing, and ultimately hiring a full-time, in-house CFO can be daunting. The most qualified professionals often command a substantial salary. CFO median salary is approximately $132,000 (Payscale.com) and Outsourced cfo can go north of $200,000 depending on experience. CFOs that have additional designations, such as in business valuation or forensic accounting, can pull from other resources and experiences to help the company. Over the course of this guide, you must have got an idea of what a CFO can do for your business.