The CFO'S Perspective

There is no doubt that hiring in accounting and finance right now is harder than ever before. And yet, despite today’s challenges, companies still need CFOs, which means that simply going without a CFO is not an option.

So, how do you overcome today’s hiring challenges to win the talent war? When you are hiring a CFO, it is going to be important that you focus on finding someone that meets all of your most critical needs first, before trying to check any boxes on your wants list. While this may seem like obvious advice for organizations that are keenly aware of the difference between their wants and needs for the role, many companies struggle to draw a distinction between the two. To complicate matters, what may be a need for one organization might be a want for another even if both are in the same industry or business stage. Even within a single organization what may have been considered a nice-to-have the last time the role was vacant could very well be a must-have this time around.

Let’s take a look at some of the criteria that organizations use to determine their needs and wants when hiring a CFO:

Whenever I read about a company embroiled in accusations of fraud, my first thought is, "Where was the CFO?" As I've written, risk mitigation is a critical element of the CFOs' responsibilities. What could be riskier than being an officer of a company engaged in fraudulent activities?

Much is written about embezzlement or malfeasance, generally carried out by a single individual with access and need. While these cases can run into significant amounts of money, they are nothing compared to systemic fraud that the entire executive team of a corporation may carry out.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) help measure the performance and effectiveness of different areas within a company. KPIs are very specific to each industry and company. The best KPIs will depend on the company's specific goals and objectives. In a manufacturing context.

Here are some widely used KPIs:

I've been pondering the narrative around an economic recession for this entire year, along with many of you. Candidly, the discussion reaches back into 2022. Economists were wrestling with whether the consequence of the US Fed's economic tightening would lead to a recession. Or if the economy had so much momentum, while economic activity would slow, we wouldn't enter a technical recession.

(Ed: I won't spend much time offering technical rationale in this post. Ultimately, it's not the point I'm discussing. However, to frame the article, I'll define an economic recession as two consecutive quarters of declining GDP growth.) 

Flash forward to the end of Q2 2023, and I'd offer a recession is likely, though probably not declared until Q1 2024.

“How do you build a three-year financial model?” It’s a question we get (and answer) a lot.

A financial model is a type of financial projection that pulls together important data to allow organizations to analyze their current financial position and predict their future financial position. While effective financial modeling takes significant time and expertise to complete, the considerable benefits provided make it well worth the investment. Financial modeling is an essential tool used to manage risk, allocate resources, make smart investments, secure funding, and develop long-term growth strategies.

Some projections are over a longer time horizon while others only cover a short time horizon. However, whether your financial model covers two, three, five, or ten years, it’s important to understand what it should accomplish, why you should do one, and what it should include. Find out now why you need financial modeling and how to build a financial model for your organization that will offer the insights needed to make key strategic decisions.

We’re trying something new today by giving our readers access to insights from an internal conversation we’ve been having! In a recent team meeting our experienced CFOs were discussing what organizations can do to get ready for a recession or economic downturn. The list of tips that our team came up with to prepare your business for a recession offers great advice for for-profit and non-profit entities alike, no matter what the future holds. Below is the result of that brainstorming session.

Invoice factoring, also known as accounts receivable financing, improves cash flow by selling your company's outstanding invoices to a factoring company for a fee. As with any financial strategy, it's crucial to understand these risks and weigh them against the potential benefits. Invoice factoring can be a powerful tool for improving cash flow, but it needs to be used wisely as part of a well-considered overall financial strategy.

In this article, we review and answer the following questions:
(Each links to your question/answer of interest.)

1. Factors to consider when deciding whether to use invoice factoring?
2. What are the risks when using invoice factoring?
3. What is the average cost of invoice factoring?
4. What types of businesses use invoice factoring?
5. When should a company use factoring?
6. Do factoring companies check credit?
7. How do you get your company approved for factoring?
8. Why is factoring so expensive?
9. How do I get out of a factoring company agreement?
10. Do you need a CFO to get invoice factoring?

Hiring a fractional (part-time) CFO is becoming increasingly popular because this type of employment engagement offers significant cost benefits. Outsourcing their CFO role allows an organization to bring someone in for a fraction of the cost because they do not incur expenses related to benefits, bonuses, payroll taxes, etc. As Michael Newsome explains when talking about utilizing fractional service providers,

“Searching for ways to optimize human capital, while fighting the inefficiencies of talent markets, is an ever-present challenge for businesses in the middle market. The human capital corollary to the engineer’s triangle (fast, cheap, reliable – pick two) seems to be availability, relevant experience, and compensation expectation... An increasingly popular way for businesses to address this issue is using fractional service providers, which have proliferated significantly in their breadth and depth of service offerings in the middle market... A fractional solution can offer a way for a business to access additional capability at a lower total cost than bringing on a full-time hire.”

And while the cost savings are clear, many companies remain resistant to hiring a fractional CFO. Their biggest fear is that doing so requires that they sacrifice on quality in a role that requires the utmost proficiency. Leadership with these types of reservations will typically ask questions like, “Is a part-time CFO as good as a full-time CFO?” or “Can you really trust a fractional CFO to perform at a high level?”

Organizations that question whether a fractional CFO can truly get the job done well for less should consider how a fractional CFO can: