Financials Impact Every Aspect of Your Business: Can Your CFO Translate?
Financials are not isolated – they touch every corner of your business. Understanding how the financial aspects of your company are interwoven is obviously essential to managing its growth and success. However, I often see owners and CEOs of small to mid-size businesses struggling with seeing that interconnectivity. Let’s dive into why that often happens.
In a typical company, the business owner leads the company’s overall vision mission and operations, while the CFO deciphers the financials. Often, there’s no one to interconnect those critical pieces of the puzzle. That’s where I come in.
You may have heard me refer to myself as a CFO with a CEO perspective. What does that mean and how is it of value to you?
My experience is unique in that I have an educational background in finance and was co-owner and CEO of a $20 million construction company for many years. This combined experience enables me to provide the owners I work with a holistic view of their business. It takes a load off the owner to know I’ve been in their chair and had to make the kinds of difficult decisions they make.
This brings a depth of understanding that most CFOs just can’t offer. Often coming up through the ranks of a finance department, they have never assumed the risk of owning a business, may not understand how sales and marketing interface, or have the experience of operating a business.
My experience and perspective enable me to help my clients dig deeper into strategic planning – although some small companies consider it something only big companies do. Strategic planning, in conjunction with the development of your profit plan, is essential to understanding your business goals and how you’ll achieve them.
Following are some examples of how my “CFO with a CEO perspective” approach benefits my clients, in their words.
- Rick is phenomenal to work with! He brings deep experience to the financial aspects of our company, but he is also a trusted advisor for our overall business. He shares his guidance and advice and truly has our best interest in mind. We find comfort in Rick’s multifaceted financial knowledge, his friendly approach, and business acumen. – Camilla Manly, Business Development/Operations Manager, Akamai Systems Consulting, Inc. (Note: This business has sold.)
- Rick Arthur has worked with our nonprofit organization since 2013 as our fractional CFO. His depth of knowledge and experience enables him to help us with issues beyond those that are strictly financial. He has helped us structure our accounting processes such that timely, accurate reports are generated regularly, and we always know where we stand financially. Rick’s professionalism is unmatched, yet he quickly develops a personal, trusting relationship with his clients. His commitment to our success includes serving as the Chairman of our Board of Directors. Rick’s work with us has helped elevate the operation of our organization in all areas. – Barbara Myers, Executive Director, Evergreen Service Providers
- Rick Arthur has worked with HEXA as our fractional CFO for eight years. Not only has Rick helped us plan for a future of successful growth, but he has also become a partner in our overall business. Rick helped align our financial goals with our business strategy and works with us to keep those goals on track. Always insightful and responsive, Rick consistently goes above and beyond what even a fulltime CFO might do. He’s very detail oriented yet has a big-picture mindset. Together, we’ve put together a clear financial plan that sets us up for continued growth. Rick is truly a trusted advisor; he even convinced me not to spend money on a company helicopter! – Joe Keller, President, HEXA Inc.
We start with a long-term strategy, back it up to an annual strategy, and then determine what we need to do today.
Strategic planning is not simply about revenues. We may determine that infrastructure needs an upgrade, or systems and processes need to be developed or revised to maintain the ability to provide your product or service. We look at how your staffing levels support current and projected workloads and dig deep into understanding how you’ll be able to fund your growth through any necessary improvements.
I like to take strategic planning a step further by breaking down the annual plan into a rolling budget plan of 90-day increments. As companies grow, it can be challenging to plan for an entire year. Reviewing your position on a quarterly basis builds in the ability to assess the effects of unexpected events, seasonal differences, or economic changes and adapt by adjusting your plan as you move forward.
Common sense but not common practice, this 90-day planning system provides you with more control, enabling you to be responsive rather than reactionary and removes temptations some small businesses may experience to “shoot from the hip.”
In my next blog, I’ll provide you with details on how to create this 90-day method of planning which gives clarity to not only what’s most important, but what is immediately achievable.
Many small and mid-sized businesses face all the same challenges of a larger company in terms of properly integrating your financials with the other aspects of your business. The right fractional CFO provides you with just enough support and direction without the price tag of a full-time CFO.
As a fractional CFO with a CEO’s perspective, I bring financial expertise combined with a business owners’ battle scars to help see into the corners. I’d welcome the opportunity to help you seamlessly connect the pieces of your puzzle and get a strategic plan in place. Contact me for a complimentary, one-hour consultation.
