5 things you should expect when hiring an external CFO

What is an external CFO?

The upsides of hiring an external CFO

• • The best of both worlds – An external CFO gives your business access to the skills and expertise you need without the cost of a full-time C-suite employee’s salary. They can quickly get up to speed and begin tackling problems with minimal disruption.

• • Access to specialized knowledge – As your business scales up, the nuances of your particular industry may necessitate specialized knowledge. Many external CFOs have a specific industry focus, so you get access to that specialization and industry relationships that you might not otherwise be able to tap into.

• • Taking on additional duties over time – Your business may grow through mergers and acquisitions. This may involve an IPO, purchasing or selling a portion of a firm's book of business, or acquiring a team or office from another company. An external CFO can work with your team on such projects and the duties they entail, like comparing potential investment returns, assessing financing and earn-out strategies or structuring a deal. Finance tasks stemming from expanded operations can also be done by the outsourced CFO.

• • Future readiness – An external CFO will prepare your company to move beyond analyzing cash management and keeping financials in order. They will help build a solid position for your company’s future as it grows. Also, financial planning involves many different facets, from deciding on new locations, sales growth and diversification, lease versus buy decisions, hiring key employees and more. Because they possess expertise in such areas, an external CFO is uniquely positioned to help pull those together for your business.

• • Hands-on mentorship – Many firms use CFOs to mentor internal staff for development. Smaller organizations may not have the internal expertise or resources to develop a finance and accounting person. Leveraging the skills of a fractional CFO to mentor employees can be a great option.

Want more? Escalon has helped over 5,000 companies across a range of industries to utilize the experience and knowledge of financial experts to tailor their financial strategies and solutions. Talk to an expert today.

Authors

Kanika Sinha

Kanika is an enthusiastic content writer who craves to push the boundaries and explore uncharted territories. With her exceptional writing skills and in-depth knowledge of business-to-business dynamics, she creates compelling narratives that help businesses achieve tangible ROI. When not hunched over the keyboard, you can find her sweating it out in the gym, or indulging in a marathon of adorable movies with her young son.