The CFO'S Perspective

Three years after, we all went remote. What do we keep? What are the workarounds that we are living with but need to have a more sustainable solution for?

Situation:  We went remote without warning and put in coping measures. This accelerated the adoption of paperless/electronic workflows earlier than previously imagined. The return-to-the-office has happened in fits and starts, delayed by new variants and (frankly) resistance from staff who have embraced the opportunity to telework.

And even if your office IS returning to full-time in-person operations, it is doubtful that you will be returning to the "old way" or doing things. And perhaps you shouldn't. On this 3rd anniversary, it is time to reassess your systems and processes and evaluate what we can keep and perhaps improve and what needs to be left behind.

The last decade has seen an unparalleled push for greater efficiency. Increased automation across all business sectors has ushered in a focus on “faster” and “cheaper.” And while these are certainly important pursuits amidst rising labor and materials costs, they certainly should not be a company’s only focus. Chasing faster and cheaper almost always comes at the expense of “better,” which is a shame because “better” can actually go a long way in achieving both.

Back office operations are not always glamorous, but they are some of the most important daily functions for a company. Back office areas like IT, accounting, finance, HR, compliance, legal, and administrative activities work behind the scenes, making up the backbone of a company’s brand promise. Despite being non-customer-facing, the back office portion of an organization is every bit as important as the front office (which is made up of departments like sales, marketing, and customer support).

As such, investing in improving your company’s back office can result in both internal and external wins. Internally back office improvements can increase employee retention and enhance the workplace culture, while externally these improvements can boost profitability and revenue.

But with so many areas falling under the back office umbrella, uniting them under a single set of improvement initiatives is a difficult premise.

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.

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.