If you are a business owner who has built your business from the ground up, you may be inclined to try to keep all that responsibility to yourself as you grow. However, especially where your finances are concerned, there will come a time that you will need to bring an expert on board to help share the load. Hiring a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) means someone else will finally be there to handle financial operational duties, accounting, and tax responsibilities. You will no longer be alone in driving revenue for your enterprise.
That said, you likely weren’t in a position to hire a CFO on day one, either. You’ll need to have some substantial business growth for it to make sense to bring a CFO into the fold.
You might be ready to hire a CFO when:
Your Company Is Larger Than $5 Million
When considering whether your company needs a CFO, revenue matters. A $1 million-dollar company may function perfectly fine without a financial executive and may be able to operate with perfect transparency and efficiency with a one-man accounting department. On the other hand, a $5 million-dollar company will have a much more difficult time remaining efficient and organized without the level of oversight and management a CFO brings to the table. When considering whether it’s time to hire a CFO, it’s essential to consider the financial size of your operation.
It’s Time to Increase Profitability
CFOs are masters at curtailing costs, analyzing financial data, reviewing and improving pricing strategies. All of these tactics will increase profitability across the board. Essentially, you are hiring someone to come in and show your spreadsheets the light of day, to tighten them up and clean them up. This increased visibility translates to a higher standard across all business operations. Armed with the information provided by your CFO, you’ll be able to make better decisions based on detailed financial data with the long-term growth of your company in mind.
You Have Outside Investors
While it’s not universal, especially when it comes to startups, having outside investors can be a strong indicator that you are ready to hire someone dedicated to fiscal responsibility. A strong financial professional will be able to report to investors and communicate with them on essential data clearly and efficiently. By having someone dedicated to productivity, sales revenue, and expenses, you will demonstrate to your investors that you are serious about turning a profit.
You’re Ready to Plan For The Future
If you aren’t already convinced, try this on for size. The truth of the matter is that a CFO drives revenue, manages money in and out, makes your company more efficient, more lucrative, and ultimately more successful than it would be otherwise. A CFO is an essential part of a growing company’s leadership team, as they provide essential financial insight, guidance, and support. If you want to grow your company, a CFO is a must.
If you’re ready to make the jump to the big leagues and add a CFO to your team, contact me today. The upper echelon of financial executives seek out Global Recruiters Mid-Cities when they are ready for their next career move. We worked on 2 CFO searches in 2018 and both were filled by promoting very effective controllers into the role within smaller organizations. My team is skilled at building relationships with the best of the best financial professionals, and we have a group of experienced, eager, and qualified candidates ready to join your organization at our recommendation.