Introduction

You’re not an accountant.

You’re a busy entrepreneur who’s juggling dozens of chores altogether which need to be completed shortly. So you shouldn’t feel like you have to handle all the finances in your small business.

Financial services are considered the single most important part of any small business plan that can not be ignored. Though, digging into the books, handling accounts, checking on taxes, and looking into many other accounting responsibilities can become overwhelming for small business owners.

That’s where the CFO comes in!

Outsourcing your accounting can unload a lot of burden from your shoulders. Outsourcing accounting functions to specialized accounting firms improves quality, reduces processing time, and offers advantages such as cost savings, access to the latest tech tools, security, and confidentiality, among other features.

But, what exactly is a CFO service?

Is my company ready for CFO service? What are their benefits? How much does it cost?

You are likely to have these questions surrounding an outsourced CFO. In this guide, we’ll answer each of those questions so you can get perfect outsourced CFO solutions.

What is an Outsourced CFO and their Services?

An outsourced CFO is a finance leader outside of your organization with advanced accounting, management, and strategic experience. An outsourced CFO can work full-time, part-time, or on a contract basis for your company. As they work remotely or virtually, they are also known as virtual CFOs and fractional CFOs.

Outsource Services Are

1 – Cash Flow management – To help you manage cash flow with an eye on big-picture strategy.

2 – Profitability management – To help you identify paths toward strong profitability.

3 – Budgeting – To keep you on track with smart budgeting strategies.

4 – Forecasting – To see your business’s potential clearly with expert forecasting.

How To Search For Best Outsourced Accounting Services?

Where to start? How to find an outsourced CFO? Is my business qualified?

These questions come first into our minds while deciding to outsource your accounting.

Before diving into these questions, business owners need to understand their goals and hope to accomplish them by hiring a Virtual CFO.

1. Identify business goals.

Before hiring the fractional CFO, a business owner must get a clear idea of their requirements, and where they want their business to go.

Every entrepreneur’s business goals are different, some want a significant sum of net income every year, while others want to sell their business for 3x revenue.

No matter what the goal is, it needs to be clearly defined.

2. What does the small business owner want to accomplish?

After identifying the goal, what does the business want to achieve by hiring an outsourced CFO? Do you need help understanding financial statements or assistance in cash flow management? Or do you need to turn over all strategic financial analysis to a CFO?

Mapping out what you want from the service will help you better understand and make a decision on who to hire.

3. Internet Search

After establishing both goals and needs, now the third step will be to find a qualified individual or firm. As fractional CFOs work remotely or virtually, the analytical place will be to perform an online search.

Consider searching online using different terms such as Virtual CFO, Outsourced CFO, CFO Services, Interim CFO, Fractional CFO, Contract CFO.

4. Qualifications & Experience

It is a tough process of determining the qualification of a CFO, the easiest way to determine is to check for the appropriate certifications and licenses required to handle the responsibilities you are asking of them.

Also, get the references and ask if the accounting firm has handled the books of other businesses similar to yours. Check references and contact entrepreneurs who have done business with them to ensure that there are no red flags.

How Much Outsourced CFO Services Cost?

The rate of outsourced CFO Services varies depending on the size of the company, the number of employees, and the monthly transactions flowing through your accounts.

The pricing factor also depends on the type of services needed and the experience of the professionals. Monthly pricing also gets impacted from short-term problem-solving to full-time service.

According to Salary.com the median compensation for a CFO in the U.S. as of May 2021 is $393,377 per year and base compensation is $417,329.

What Are Some Benefits Of Outsourced Accounting Services?

1. Save Cost

Outsourcing accounting service gets you to access expert accountants, finances, and bookkeepers at a much lower cost. You can save on hiring and training employee costs and paying employees’ salaries. You can also eliminate extra costs related to hardware and software while still keeping up with technological advances and software upgrades.

2. Flexibility and Scalability

Outsourcing accounting services enables you to adjust the resources according to your business needs. You only have to pay for the time and service you need. It is best to outsource your accounting services as it helps you get the right software and expertise to scale as your business grows.

3. Latest Rules and Regulations

A specialized accounting outsourcing company can help you secure compliance with varying financial and tax regulations when it comes to a city, state, and federal laws. That can help you avoid tax penalties and maximize tax benefits leaving you on top of the new tax or accounting requirements.

4. Data Security and Confidentiality

The team of experts put measures into place to prevent the data security threats that exist, with tight security systems keeping your data safe and confidential. Thus, outsourcing helps you mitigate the risks of a data infringement, compromised safety program, or internal fraud.

5. Save Time

Outsourcing can free up your valuable time for managing and growing your business, as they handle your accounting functions so you can stay focused on value-added and revenue-generating tasks.

What’s the Next Step?

Over the course of this guide, you must have got an idea of what a CFO can do for your business. If you think your business would be a good fit for outsourced CFO services and want help to run your business with ease, we’d love to talk.

Swartz & Reeder Advisors is a small business and family-focused CPA firm offering outsourced CFO services.

Let us be your Outsourced CFO. Contact us today.