What is a Fractional CFO?
Many small to medium sized business owners are experts at their craft and focus their efforts on the products and services they provide to their customers and clients. However, they often lack the perspective on their overall business and financial health for decision making. It is not because entrepreneurs don’t care about their finances and compliance matters, or don’t want to know how their business is performing. They are too busy working in the business and focusing the limited time they have available to serving their customers. The average small business owner is spread too thin, putting out daily fires, and doesn’t have the right professional help and guided focus to working on the business’ financial profitability and desired cash flow needs.
A Fractional CFO can be that one trusted resource to help guide the business owner toward what they ultimately want: a growing and more profitable business! So what is a CFO? A CFO (Chief Financial Officer) manages the financial operations of a business by performing three main tasks, regardless of whether they are the CFO of a multi-billion dollar company or a small business:
1. CFOs track profit and cash flow.
2. CFOs analyze the businesses’ financial strengths & weaknesses.
3. And, most importantly, CFOs propose corrective actions.
A Fractional CFO is different from the traditional book-keeper, accountant or CPA, as they use forecasted results to look forward into your business operations and focus on the key drivers to get to the desired budgeted targets. Most accountants and CPAs spend their time and efforts looking back into the past business performance, thus only meeting the company’s tax and accounting compliance needs. A CFO works directly with the business owner and key employees on driving profit and cash flow to desired budgeted results, proposing the best next steps and corrective action to achieve the financial goals. Given the higher cost to hire a full-time CFO, the Fractional CFO program was created to solve a major void in market for the under-served and often over-looked small to medium sized businesses.
If you would like to learn more about what a Fractional CFO does, click the website below to book a free “right fit call” to see if we can help you get to that growing and more profitable business you have always wanted!
- Christopher Umbach CPA – Fractional CFO