In order for a company to realize success, it needs to have financial stability. For that reason, if you’re a business owner or a manager, working with a chief financial officer (CFO) would help you keep the enterprise’s financial health in check. However, hiring a full-time CFO might not always be appropriate or suitable for your business. That could be the case if, for instance, you’re operating a small firm, or perhaps you need them only when a complex financial concern arises. Having an in-house CFO can, in such situations, prove to be rather expensive.
A good solution would be to consider turning to a virtual CFO (VCFO) instead. This may be an independent person or an agency contracted by a company to perform tasks that a CFO would. The main difference between the two is that a conventional CFO physically works with you, while a virtual one works remotely but may show up at your office when needed. The latter doesn’t constitute your staff and doesn’t have full-time responsibilities for your business.
So if your business is experiencing financial difficulties and you aren’t ready to hire a full-time CFO, you might want to look into getting VCFO services. Keep reading to discover some of the benefits a VCFO can bring to your company.
- VCFO Services Are More Affordable
Should your business be nosediving, you’d want to save every penny you possibly can. Hiring an on-site CFO is a costly affair. As a matter of fact, reports show that in the U.S., a CFO’s average annual salary was USD $393,377 as of May 2021. Raising such a huge sum of money in times of financial crisis is challenging.
Seeking the help of a virtual CFO is, therefore, an excellent idea as you’ll only pay them for the part-time services they offer when contracted, which is just a fraction of what you’d give an in-house CFO. As a result, you’ll end up saving a substantial amount you can then utilize in other aspects of your business. Hiring a VCFO may go a long way toward keeping your enterprise afloat.
- VCFOs Have Diverse Industry Experience
Virtual CFOs work with a number of industries at any given time. This allows them to acquire considerable experience across a wide range of business sectors, gaining insight into challenges such industries face from time to time. Hiring one, therefore, might be an advantageous move for your slumping business as they may come with ideas on what you can do to revive it. For example, they can advise you on improving vendor relationships and the best budgeting and accounting measures to take depending on your circumstances.
If you’re a small business, you can implement their advice by creating a solid budget that won’t leave you in a financial dent and at the same time be sustainable. For instance, with a proper budget, you can purchase an affordable and reliable point of sale system (POS) and train trustworthy employees to operate it. You could also reduce risk and protect your business data by implementing cyber security protection.
- Gain From Their Expertise
As already pointed out, virtual CFOs gain a lot of knowledge and skills while working for different industries. Over time, they get more proficient as a result, and when you hire one, they’re in a position to offer expertise and helpful guidance on various business strategies.
An expert VCFO can do everything from providing accounting services for your company to properly organizing your financial documents. They may also help you with matters regarding sales and strategic planning, which would point your business in the right direction toward recovery.
- VCFO Services Ensure Stable Growth
Among a VCFO’s duties is to offer a prediction of your business performance in the market over a certain period. Working with one would therefore ensure that you have a clear idea of the marketability of your products or services in the near and far future. The VCFO would also equip you with strategies you may require to ensure the recovery of your business from the slump, especially if it’s on a tumbling trend.
- Virtual CFOs Give Businesses A Competitive Edge
A VCFO’s services can contribute to the sustainability of your business. Each task they’re assigned to carry out in your company is a critical component of the upward trajectory of your business.
Having a big-picture perspective for your business is crucial as it’ll bring about steady growth for your company. A VCFO would see to it that your company focuses not only on growth rate but on the financial aspects of it, too. They’ll also help you avoid drawbacks you may encounter on a daily basis when handling the business. In a competitive industry, these actions may save a failing business and give it more stability in the long term.
- Work With A Team Of CFOs
When you contract an agency for VCFO services, you not only receive the expertise of one professional but a number of them. On a particular occasion, you may get one VCFO to complete some tasks for you, and on another, their colleague may accommodate you. This means you’ll be able to benefit from the expertise of multiple specialists.
If your company is slumping, there may be a number of reasons as to why it’s happening. Contracting a trusted VCFO agency may be the solution you need as you’ll receive assistance from different professionals time and again, all offering you credible advice on what to do to improve your enterprise’s finances.
- They Have A Rich Network
Most VCFOs have been doing their jobs long enough and thus have a prolific network of pivotal individuals and companies such as lenders, brokers, and even other CFOs. If your business is experiencing some form of financial drawback, those individuals may help bail you out of your predicament.
Conclusion
In times where industries and markets are rapidly changing, it’s an advantage to have a plan at hand regarding how you can regain momentum if ever your business falls into a slump. It’s advisable to hire a VCFO to manage your accounts and oversee your business’ financial operations as part of that plan.
As the article has shown, there’s no reason for you not to request VCFO services if your business truly needs them. You wouldn’t have to recruit a new staff member to fill in the CFO position, which is often a time-consuming and expensive route to take. You also don’t need to manage financial matters yourself or get one of your employees to do it. After all, they have their own tasks to handle, or they might not be qualified to make a proper judgment when it comes to the financial problems your business is facing.
If you truly want your company to thrive in the years to come, you can’t go wrong with partnering with a virtual chief financial officer.
