Interim CFO

As a business owner or Managing Director, you are faced with many choices.  If you’re in start-up mode, you are managing just about everything in your business, from bookkeeping to sales, and probably even some HR.

There comes a time in your business when having someone on your team at the C-Level to oversee your company’s finances is a vital component to your success and growth

and maybe..that time may be..NOW.

One of the tasks most often overlooked in a small business, especially in start-up phase, is making sure that your financial house is in order.

That doesn’t mean just hiring a bookkeeper or accountant.

It means having an experienced financial professional looking at your “big picture” goals and the company’s intended outcomes, from the financial point-of-view.

But in many cases, hiring a CFO may not be a great fit for your company, at least in the beginning stages and here are a few reasons why:

Your company may still be refining it’s direction so it may be too soon to bring on someone to “captain the financial ship.”

A CFO may not see eye-to-eye with your objectives as the owners or entrepreneurs who started the company.

It might takes months (or longer) of sifting through resumes or interactions with executive search firms just to find a handful of potential candidates that may or may not be the right fit for you.

Many CFO candidates are not willing to brave the uncertainty of a start-up company.

The simple answer could be hiring an outsourced CFO.

These are just some of the many advantages to using this potentially powerful strategy:

Having someone on your team with experience and expertise to get your financial plan organised and on track.

Interim CFOs tend to be more motivated by doing the work required in a start-up; putting into place those building blocks to assure a solid foundation.

They are trained in designing accounting and reporting systems that can greatly increase the accuracy and interpretation of financial results

They understand regulations, GAAP best practices and how to put all the rights policies and procedures in place from the beginning.

Hiring an interim CFO is substantially less expensive than hiring the wrong “in-house” candidate.

There can be a downside as well, but the pros far outweigh the cons.

For example, management effectiveness can be limited because he or she may be perceived as an “outsider” or “short-timer” from your staff’s perspective,

But a solid candidate for interim CFO will also have the ability to enrol your team into his vision.

There are always pros and cons to any executive hire, whether internal or outsourced.  One of the biggest advantages of hiring an interim CFO is that is gives you time to make the right long term decision regarding your ideal CFO candidate

Making the right choices to hire an outsource interim CFO may be the difference between success and stagnation in your business.  Consider it carefully.