The CFO'S Perspective

Risk isn't just for actuaries! As a business owner, there are risks everywhere, and a financial assessment can help identify areas where your company might be vulnerable to risk, determine your company's attitudes towards risk, reinforce your strengths, and ensure that you are able to take advantage of valuable opportunities.

The key focus of a financial risk assessment is a deep dive into a company's financial preparedness and it includes pieces of other areas as they relate to financial stability. The assessment can point out areas that are working and those that are not, in time to make necessary course corrections.

Every business owner should think about performing a financial risk assessment of their company on a regular basis. The cadence is different for every industry, size, and type of company, but at a minimum once per year.

The results of a financial risk assessment will feed into the strategic planning process and budgeting. A consistently profitable company who is not worried about potential risks may still be missing something that could either blow up or cause them to miss opportunities.

After purchasing three homes in Portland in the past 15 years, I have come to a firm conclusion that houses choose us!  Not in some mysterious way or anything, but rather, just practically speaking.  As a home buyer, we don’t exactly drive around and pick a house off the street that meets our specifications and strike a deal.  Often, buyers must submit offers on several houses before a match is found.

Becoming a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is often the ultimate executive goal for those who have made finance their career. The position offers challenges, variety, and opportunities for growth. A good income is frosting on the cake.

Large, established companies usually have a full-time Chief Financial Officer (CFO) as an integral member of their executive team. Your business might not be in a position yet to add a CFO to your executive suite. Or you might be ready but finding just the right person takes time. Perhaps you’re not quite sure what to expect from a CFO, and you need to learn more about what they do before hiring one.

All organizations, both for-profit and nonprofit, use accounting software. All have varying degrees of complexity and features. Regardless of the available features, most of us still rely on exporting data into a spreadsheet to improve adjustability. In fact, most of us over-rely on this process. There are better ways to improve your accounting software capabilities.

For many owners of growing companies, the choice of a bank is a crucial decision.  A solid relationship with a bank can make or break a company.  Banks provide relatively cheap capital to fund expansion as well as the everyday transactional and payment services that enable everyday operations. 

A poor relationship with your bank can hinder growth plans and even put you out of business.  Still, many business owners simply stumble into doing business with a bank because of convenience or with the mistaken assumption that all banks are all the same.  A wise business owner puts effort into developing and maintaining a relationship with their bank, just like they do with key customers and suppliers, to ensure their long term success. 

Whether you are in retail, the supply chain, or are a manufacturer you have inventory. Ensuring that your inventory is “fresh” is a key to achieving profitability. Obsolete inventory can adversely impact your bottom line.  Today we are discussing how to analyze the various inventory phases to eliminate or reduce your obsolete inventory.

For business owners and executives working toward an exit from their company, a CFO who is skilled in the entire lifecycle of a business transaction is invaluable. An experienced CFO will take the steps needed to increase the value of the company. By focusing on the drivers that increase value today, the business will become worth more to a buyer in the long-run. As a result, the owners will be able to exit with more profits than those who take a short term or last-minute approach.