The experience of a skilled CFO can be invaluable to a startup. However, too many startups go without this expertise, unwilling to spend the resources needed to hire a CFO.
With the rise of the outsourced CFO services, the strategic insight provided by these professionals is available to even the smallest startups at only a fraction of the cost of a full-time CFO. This article explores the benefits that the best outsourced CFOs can provide to you within the strategic planning process.
Benefits of a CFO For Strategic Planning
It’s no secret that strategic planning is important for any business, but not every startup understands just how much a chief financial officer can add to the strategic planning process. The best interim CFO services will give you the following benefits:
Quality Data
Without the best data, you can’t make the best decisions, no matter how well-thought-out your financial model and financial reporting are. Fractional CFO consulting for startups will often include advanced data collection and analysis. This will make the strategic planning process much easier and more effective.
Eye on Focus
An early-stage company is always an exciting place to work, rife with potential opportunities. However, a good startup needs to have a clear vision and focus (and cash flow). The best outsourced CFOs services will be able to focus your strategic planning process, identifying the most achievable and profitable opportunities.
Employee Engagement
CFO consulting for startups can help develop dashboarding and other strategic planning tools. These tools take financial information out of the accounting spreadsheets and make them available and intuitive to your entire team. This boosts employee engagement, as well as clear communication between you and all your stakeholders.
Resource Efficiency
The best outsourced CFO services won’t just track payments and invoices but also help you monitor inventory and sales in real-time. This allows you to incorporate inventory management into your strategic planning process – even in real-time.
Building a Strategic Plan
So what exactly goes into the strategic planning process that an outsourced CFO will guide you through? What is incorporated will of course depend on your business model. Here are some things an outsourced CFO will likely address with you.
Vision and Mission Statements: First things first, you need to lay out what your startup is all about, or confirm it with your team. An outsourced CFO will need to know what the larger purpose of your business is.
Build a Plan: Once an outsourced CFO knows what the end goals are, they can start to develop a long-term plan for your business, with specific targets, to best meet that goal.
Develop a Strategy: Once you know what your turrets are, it’s time for the strategic planning process. During this stage, CFO consulting for startups will generally go over topics such as potential investors or partners. A SWOT analysis (strength, weakness, opportunities, and threats) is a great way to provide a framework for this process.
Business Model Strategy: The strategic planning process won’t just deal with external goals and targets. The best outsourced CFO services will include guidance on the types of business models and how to best design yours for the goals you want to meet.
Identify KPIs: One of the most important things CFO consulting for startups will provide to you is a clear list of the KPIs that you should focus on. The best outsourced CFOs will also develop a dashboard, to better let your stakeholders keep track of these metrics.
Want to Benefit From the Expertise of a CFO Consultant?
Part-time CFO consulting for startups can put your startup on the path to success. At Punch Financial we’ve helped many startups with our skilled outsourced CFOs – giving these companies the expertise of a CFO, but without the expense of a permanent hire. Every account gets access to an accountant, director, and CFO, giving them mastery over their bookkeeping and financial planning.
At Punch Financial, it’s our mission to help you get a handle on all your accounting data and systems, with solutions tailored to your business. Contact us today to book a consultation and get started on the path to accountancy mastery.