The CFO'S Perspective

Have you ever tried to find something when you could not adequately describe what you were looking for?

Imagine going to buy a pair of pants and when the salesperson asks what you are looking for all you tell them is “gray pants.” How long do you think it will take to find exactly what you are looking for? And how likely is it that you will end up getting tired and frustrated settling for something that is not really what you wanted? In this example, the best outcome is that you find the perfect pair of pants after an arduous search, and the worst outcome is that you end up with pants that fit poorly or are too formal or casual for your needs.

Now apply that same scenario to hiring and think about how difficult it is to find the right candidate for the role when you do not have a clear vision of what you are looking for and what your expectations are for the role. The difficulty is ratcheted up and the likelihood of a negative outcome is much greater.

When the role you are hiring for is a senior leadership position a bad hire can derail the company’s strategic plans. A CFO is in an especially critical role to support growth initiatives, making a hire into this role even more critical to the overall success of the organization. As a result, a job description for a CFO should be customized to fit the specific needs of the business and incorporate the nuances of the role.

When you want to hire a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) you can hire someone on a fractional basis or into a full-time position. But before trying to understand your options for hiring a CFO, you first need to get to the very nature of the role:

• A CFO is the position at the top-end of the spectrum of financial leadership that is outward-facing and forward-looking.

Once you frame the role in this way, you can start deciding how much time you need someone focusing on that area of your business.

A fractional CFO is basically a part-time or limited engagement CFO. Depending on the company’s needs, a CFO can either perform ongoing high-level financial analysis and oversight on a less than full-time basis, or financial management during a specific challenge or across a predetermined time. However, a fractional CFO may not provide enough support for an organization with more extensive financial needs.

So, when is a fractional CFO a better fit?

Hiring a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is a daunting activity for many organizations. Understanding when to bring someone on board, what kinds of options are available to fill the CFO role, how to look for the best candidate, and what to expect after making a hiring decision are complicated topics that weigh heavy on many CEOs.

This comprehensive guide to hiring a CFO aims to answer the most common questions we hear when working with new recruiting and executive search clients to find a fractional, interim, or full-time CFO.

Companies that understand how finance and HR overlap and foster a relationship between the two are better poised for long-term growth than their less informed counterparts. The reason behind this is simple – knowing when and how to leverage your CFO to assist with hiring and employee retention can improve profit margins, encouraging sustainable long-term growth. Additionally, encouraging collaboration between these two vital areas of the business improves workplace culture across the entire organization.

Business owners in the middle market are all too familiar with the task of trying to optimize cost structures – getting the most efficiency and “bang for the buck” out of facilities, equipment, customer relationships, and many other elements of a successful enterprise. People have always been vital and important to businesses, but over the last several years, we have noticed a shift in attention toward people in a different way.

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 example could be a stable, modestly growing manufacturing business in a small town outside of a major metropolitan area in the Pacific Northwest. It has just outgrown the capability set of its hardworking bookkeeper and needs some expertise in setting up more robust financial oversight and reporting capabilities, but attracting capable, senior-level finance talent to its town with a handsome compensation package seems like overkill.

When your business gets to the point where it needs to hire a CFO, what are your options?

• Full-time In-house
• Interim Outsourced, virtual or in-house
• Fractional Outsourced, virtual or in-house

These days a lot of organizations are looking to hire virtually, which makes “hiring a virtual CFO” a hot topic. Amidst all the remote work buzz it is easy to lose your focus and forget what you were trying to accomplish in the first place by outsourcing the role.

A vital part of a business’s success is the strength of its management team.  This is always true, in good times, and during a crisis.  A successful business needs all oars of the boat pulling together at the same time.  And the boat needs to be headed in the right direction.

The current economic crisis is highlighting the importance of strong financial leadership.  That is undoubtedly true, given the flurry of new government aid programs and the impact of stay at home orders.  But a business owner always needs strong financial leadership.  In a healthy economy, the owner needs to make sure they are operating at maximum efficiency to take advantage of likely higher gross margin opportunities, or to make sure an investment in a new product or service has long term value.

This article points out a few areas to consider in determining if you currently have the “right CFO” and a pointer on “buyer beware” if you are considering making a change in CFO during a time of high unemployment.

In uncertain times businesses need continued access to experienced bookkeepers and accountants to keep cash flowing. Whether the need is part-time, interim, or project-based, a third-party financial professional can offer the information needed to make strategic business decisions. This need does not change when people are working remotely. In fact, with so many businesses temporarily pausing operations, the need for bookkeepers and accountants is likely greater than ever before.

While the future may be uncertain, there is one immutable certainty – businesses still have access to the reputable, qualified bookkeepers and accountants that they need to keep their organizations afloat. These kinds of key personnel aren’t going anywhere and are available to help businesses navigate today’s unique challenges.