Good to Great: How to Scale With an Outsourced CFO

CFOs fill a pivotal role within a business, and they’re positioned to lead performance out of COVID. Through all the monumental changes of the past year, most businesses have carried on, making adjustments as needed and using communications tools to keep teams functioning.

Instead of continuing to use patched-together processes created on the fly, CFOs are embracing transparency and proven strategy techniques to engineer a strategic recovery. In this article, we’ll first review the advanced responsibilities of a CFO and then look at ways CFOs can drive growth in the coming year.

Advanced Responsibilities of a CFO

Long gone are the days when CFOs simply delivered reports to decision-makers. Today, CFOs are a driving force in the strategy and health of the organisations they guide.

Performance Reporting

Your business may have just experienced a year like no other. With unexpected closures, cash-flow disruptions and personnel changes, your financials might look foreign to you.

Our CFO services can provide you with accurate visibility into your financial position. With clarity on where you stand, you can make informed tactical decisions about how to move forward.

Business Strategy Planning

Many industries have changed substantially in a short time. Additionally, businesses have had to alter the way they strategise and plan.

A healthy business strategy provides strong underpinnings for organisations. If you’re wondering where to go from here, look to our Business Strategy services. We can help you outline viable pathways toward your goals, even if the coronavirus knocked you temporarily off track. With a clear-cut roadmap to guide your actions, the day-to-day work becomes clear and straightforward.

Cash Flow Management

You’re not alone if the pandemic impaired your cash flow. Between supply chain disruptions, employee absences and forced closures, the delicate balance between income and outflows took a beating.

Instead of playing defence, go on offence. Look ahead by planning your cash flow and managing from the front-end. Our Cash Flow Management service paints a data-driven portrait of your finances, complete with budgeting, planning and forecasting. We don’t know what challenges lie ahead, but when your cash flow is reinforced by thoughtful planning, you’re more likely to withstand interruptions.

Cloud Accounting

If during COVID-19, you’ve had employees scattered in various locations instead of working together under one roof, you know how important it is to access real-time information from anywhere.

Here at Altus, we’ve been using a cloud accounting and ERP system since 2008, so we’re well-acquainted with the Cloud’s advantages and features. A CFO is perfectly positioned to bring your accounting system up to today’s standards by moving it to the Cloud.

Organisational Restructuring

Has your business scaled up or down in the past year? Do your employees work in different locations? Have you changed the way teams collaborate and communicate?

Employees must be motivated, knowledgeable and equipped to succeed. With our Organisational Design and Restructuring service focusing on the individuals in your operation, you can enjoy the power of more productive employees.

How CFOs Can Drive Growth in the Next Year

Despite the setbacks of the past year, CFOs can drive growth in the future. In fact, some of the innovations adopted during COVID-19 might prime your business for unforeseen progress.

Provide Capital Flexibility

Industries and the overall economy continue to fluctuate in the wake of COVID-19, and chances for growth could present themselves unexpectedly. CFOs can prepare businesses to invest opportunistically in several ways.

Ensure Balance Sheet Strength

With interest rates as low as they are, banks are operating under thin margins. If you face increased competition for funding, you’ll need a strong balance sheet. CFOs can prepare their organisations for a competitive atmosphere by bolstering their financial underpinnings.

Set Decision-Making Criteria

CFOs can also prepare their organisations for opportunity by setting the principles, criteria and metrics for cost/value decision-making. When executives have this information at the ready, they can quickly come to conclusions and move forward with confidence.

Enhance Transparency and Insights

Recovering from the COVID era requires leadership that understands and proactively plans for changing economic conditions. CFOs can implement tools that monitor costs, adjust pricing and make policy changes as needed.

CFOs can also help their businesses identify ways to free up capital for investments. Data analytics, econometric modelling and scenario planning provide data and insights that increase transparency and help decision-makers with their strategy.

Provide Data-Driven Optimism

It’s been a rough year. Realistically, not every strategy will work out. Some acquisitions don’t live up to expectations. Some internal investments flounder. When it comes to recovery and future growth, CFOs must remain optimistic, celebrate successes, and learn from mistakes.

Today’s CFOs view organisations through a strategic lens instead of merely focusing on the financial. Weighing risks and opportunities, they consider the organisation’s long-term potential, goals and strategies.

In uncertain times, a CFO can help drive recovery and prime your business for growth. Our CFO services are cost-effective and scalable. We can make sense of the chaotic past year, streamlining and automating many of your processes, including budgeting, invoicing, payroll and reporting. It may be the perfect time to upgrade to a cloud-based accounting system or make needed changes to your organisational structure.

We’re here for you. Together we can coordinate a post-covid recovery that will position you to grow this coming year. Reach out to us at Altus for a consultation.