The CFO'S Perspective

In the early days of your business, you might have managed your books single handedly or hired an outside accountant to take a peek at regular intervals. As you scale and grow your business, your financial management needs expand as well.

One of the keys to success in just about any sector is strong financial planning and management. This requires taking more than just a backward glance at what just happened during the past month, quarter, or year.

While a full-time bookkeeper can give you some of the controls you require, the truth is that you will need to dedicate more resources to the sound financial management of your business. So, just what is financial management, and where do you begin?

Here are some common questions and answers about key financial processes as they relate to your business.

Why Audits Matter

For many middle market, closely-held businesses, the annual independent financial statement audit is an important part of the financial reporting process.

Lenders, investors and the company’s board of directors rely on audited financials to validate the interim financial data they are receiving as well as provide a sense of security as to the assets they have at risk.

As a result, many loan and shareholder agreements require annual audited financials.

In the best run businesses, the audited results should not differ from the unaudited internal financials.

That’s because the finance and accounting team is closing the monthly books on an accurate and timely basis. The team is also staying abreast of potential accounting issues that may need to be dealt with before year end.

In many businesses, incentive compensation plans may be tied to audited results.

This means that a well-managed company can ill afford to provide the management team with financial data subject to significant audit adjustments. Accordingly, it is in everyone’s best interests that the audit be conducted in an effective and efficient manner.

Change comes more from managing the journey than from announcing the destination.”  -  William Bridges

Change can be hard to navigate under the best of circumstances. When things aren't right within the financial arena, it can unknowingly create a delicate situation. CEOs should tread lightly, and yet, must still be effective leaders.

The inclination of many CEOs is to assume that because financial teams tend to be more analytical than, for instance, a marketing team, they can make changes without understanding the potential ramifications. This may not be the case. Here are some best practices for navigating change in your financial waters.

CEOs and business owners often experience a disconnect between themselves and their finance departments. CFOs, controllers, and accountants often experience the same disconnect with the CEOs and business owners they support. Gaining understanding and building ongoing rapport are keys to the success of the business.

Carl in accounting receives an urgent email from Erica, the company CEO. 

The unusual email captures Carl’s attention, so he verifies that it is from Erica’s email and notes how the tone and writing style is consistent with her other email messages.  The CEO is requesting a wire be sent immediately to the bank displayed in the email.  Since Erica is out of town, Carl complies and sends the wire as requested. 

Think of giving not as a duty but as a privilege.  -  John D. Rockefeller Jr.

Being recognized for Corporate Philanthropy has long been thought of as a nice PR benefit of business giving. However, “giving” just isn’t enough. Even being a good corporate citizen can be improved upon. Being a socially responsible business should be the goal of every company's giving program.

Corporate Social Responsibility makes good business sense.

Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing. - Warren Buffett

One of the pillars of a CFO's responsibilities is risk management. From overall financial compliance to the IT department, a fractional or full-time CFO is the first line of defense in establishing and maintaining adequate risk management and mitigation for today's organizations.

The threats may come in many forms - from lack of internal controls to cybersecurity in a privately held business or social enterprise. The CFO is charged with understanding and mitigating the risks that your organization faces.

Most of us believe we are prepared for the everyday kind of disaster at work:  We carry extra cash, safety pins, and a cell phone.  We keep a granola bar (or five) in our desk.  In Seattle, we never, ever, let the coffee pot run out. But while all these things are good (especially the coffee pot), most of us never think about what we would do if a true disaster struck during the time we are at work -- the place/s where we spend more waking hours than anywhere else.   

Let's take the case of an earthquake, since that's our most likely Puget Sound area disaster, and the basic things to prepare for if one occurs during our workday apply to many other scenarios as well.