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This text compares and contrasts the obligations of a CFO versus a Controller, Accountant or Bookkeeper. Many enterprise house owners don’t perceive the variations between the roles and the worth a CFO can convey to the enterprise. Moreover, many enterprise house owners don’t really feel they’ll afford a CFO, nevertheless that’s the place an element time CFO who participates with the enterprise proprietor and administration is essential. An element time CFO can spend as little as a day or two month with the enterprise and add worth to the underside line.
A. CFO Duties:
1. Money Administration
Money administration contains understanding your online business’s “working cycle” (i.e. money to money cycle). To enhance your “working cycle” it’s crucial you perceive what it means, the right way to calculate it, and what influences it earlier than you possibly can enhance it. Money expectations your money steadiness to be in 6 months?” More often than not corporations are preventing money stream issues in the present day and may’t take into consideration the long run previous this week. Forecasting and managing money stream present an actual sense of management over the enterprise. Implement a Cashboard-Dashboard, 13 week money stream forecast and evaluation money stream stories no less than month-to-month. The important thing for any enterprise is to give attention to money, not simply EBITDA and Web Earnings, as Money is King!
2. Common Monetary Sophistication
• A sounding board for the proprietor in making key choices, because the Trusted Advisor
• Fewer money stream surprises utilizing a Cashboard-Dashboard and 13 week money stream forecast
• Higher skilled accounting workers
• Higher documentation and controls
• Fewer surprises referring to tax funds and efficient communication with the CPA for taxes
• Various, suggestions and options to firm issues
3. Budgeting
The continuing technique of growing, implementing and reviewing the funds and its related variances to precise outcomes. The CFO helps correlate the operations and monetary outcomes of the enterprise so the administration staff perceive the monetary influence of the selections they make.
4. Compliance
The continuing technique of holding in compliance with financial institution, investor covenants, tax versus administration reporting working papers, insurance coverage, company minutes.
5. Monetary Oversight and Administration
Analyze and evaluation month-to-month P&Ls and Steadiness Sheet and Money Flows with the board and administration staff. Have a look at the story behind the numbers, not simply the numbers. Drive towards data-driven choice making. Monitor key enterprise metrics utilizing a dashboard which supplies you the very important statistics within the areas wanted to observe working capital. As an illustration, every month a report is produced displaying data similar to aged receivables, receivable days, stock ranges by class, stock turnover, and days in payables. These statistics must be checked out and in contrast month by month to find out if the issue is getting higher or worse. Trending and related evaluation and choice making is a key CFO operate. Motion must be taken instantly when the numbers present a development that will probably be unhealthy for the corporate.
Oversee the actions, work and high quality of the Controller/Accountant/Bookkeeper. Working capital and treasury administration. Overseeing CPA relationship, enterprise lawyer relationship.
Working capital planning and forecasting. A easy Cashboard-Dashboard report will focus administration in the correct areas, and assist to maneuver the enterprise into stronger money efficiency.
Evaluate monetary stories earlier than sending to buyers or another exterior occasion.
6. Key Ratios
Observe and analyze key monetary ratios in opposition to trade customary benchmarks. Put plans in place to exceed sure trade ratios, or make choices to not meet sure ones, to satisfy others, and to exceed others.
7. Profitability
Gross margin evaluation by product line, merchandise or buyer is essential for small companies. Migrate in the direction of having the inner techniques present data to handle gross margins for product strains and merchandise.
8. Processes and Techniques
Design, implement and preserve accounting processes and procedures. Processes, whether or not documented or not, exist in all companies. It’s the manner workers carry out the work crucial to provide services or products. In most small companies, the underlying processes to perform the work are not often documented or reviewed as a complete (i.e. system). Creating environment friendly and efficient techniques and processes typically cut back prices and/or enhance productiveness. In companies the place there’s a deliberate exit or merger or sale of the corporate, documented processes are essential so the client will get extra worth from the corporate, and the investor/purchaser doesn’t have to those issues themselves.
This goes past simply the monetary space of the corporate to operations, gross sales, advertising and marketing, know-how, HR and all areas of the corporate. The extra these course of areas are totally documented, the upper the worth of the corporate.
9. Inner Controls
Construction, work and authority flows. Theft avoidance, money monitoring, accounting processes that restrict entry. Inner management procedures cut back course of variation, resulting in extra predictable outcomes. Focus is on effectiveness and effectivity of operations, reliability of monetary reporting, and compliance with legal guidelines and laws.
10. Strategic Planning
As an organization grows in the direction of an exit/liquidation occasion, a strategic planning course of is crucial. This isn’t as a lot a doc, however extra an ongoing course of to investigate and describe the strategic targets and tactical implementation. Components of the strategic plan embrace: SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Alternatives and Threats) evaluation, very best buyer profile, aggressive evaluation, quick and long run motion plans. The CFO guides the enterprise by means of the preparation for an exit technique to be able to maximize enterprise worth.
11. Company Credit score and Assortment
Set up and enhance company credit score standing. Separate private from enterprise credit score reporting so the corporate’s credit score stands by itself following the seven steps to success in growing enterprise credit score.
12. Audits
Oversee exterior accounting and different audits as required.
13. Data Techniques
Oversee the continued enchancment of inside operations for data techniques. Effectively documented IT techniques, software program and {hardware} asset monitoring are key elements when a purchaser completes IT M&A due diligence for to an organization that desires to be bought.
14. Financing
Direct the enterprise within the growth of an efficient capital construction by securing debt financing at enticing phrases, managing the lender relationships and making certain compliance to the debt phrases.
B. Controller/Accountant/Bookkeeper Duties:
1. Major Duties
The principle obligations of of the Controller/Accountant/Bookkeeper are to keep up and function the books and information of the enterprise. Put together, management, steadiness and examine varied accounts utilizing customary bookkeeping strategies. Enter day by day/weekly/month-to-month monetary transactions in QuickBooks or different accounting software program. Preserve common ledgers recording the standing of assorted accounts and ensure that all of the accounts steadiness. Put together monetary statements. Confirm the accuracy of computerized accounting and record-keeping techniques.
*Accounts Payable
*Accounts Receivable
*Invoice Fee
*Payroll and Examine Registers
*Financial institution Reconciliation
*Monetary Statements
*Personalized Reviews
*Payroll Providers
*Payroll Examine Writing
*Payroll Tax Returns
*Month-to-month, Quarterly, and Annual Payroll Reviews
*Federal, State and Native Tax Reviews and Filings
*Correct and Well timed Information Entry
*Monitoring Stock
*Out there for telephone name questions
*Validate trial balances
*Bill Matching
*Interface with distributors as wanted
2. Commonplace Working Procedures (SOP)
Beneath the steerage of the CFO, doc the accounting and bookkeeping customary working procedures guide. Assist the CFO create the complete accounting course of documentation, evaluation for enhancements, and replace the method to extend streamlined accounting/bookkeeping processes.
3. Compliance
Preserve finest practices accounting and bookkeeping in compliance with Common Accepted Accounting Principals (GAAP).
C. Conclusion:
There’s a vital strategic and tactical distinction between the worth a CFO brings to the manager management of a enterprise and Controller, Accountant or Bookkeeper. The bottom line is for the CEO/enterprise proprietor/entrepreneur to schedule an preliminary assembly with a CFO, entry the enterprise want, and decide an motion plan to drive the enterprise to the following degree of gross sales and revenue. As talked about within the introduction, most small companies can’t afford a full time CFO, so an element time or digital CFO is the perfect association. The bottom line is discover a CFO with expertise that may be the Trusted Advisor to the CEO/enterprise proprietor/entrepreneur and supply monetary, operational and enterprise insights.
