1. Financial Management for Success

Many small and medium-sized business owners lack the financial skills and/or time required to maintain and expand their businesses. SMEs require the assistance of a knowledgeable and trusted advisor to steer them to success. For the most part, virtual CFO services are relatively inexpensive – especially taking into consideration the technical financial know-how which a business owner would not typically have (remembering outsourced CFOs are fully qualified accountants with many years of experience in public accounting).

Through my years working in public accounting in Australia at a global firm, and overseas in the UK as a financial controller for large, multinational corporations, I truly believe a Virtual CFO service should be a mandatory function for all SMEs to instil strong financial control, financial literacy, and financial management within all aspects of the business’s operations. With this, I also believe that the SME failure rate will likely decrease as a result.

2. Businesses that have outgrown their accountant

Many businesses have accountants; some have traditional accountants only see once a quarter/year – after the period – only real tax advice provided is how much tax to pay and when to pay it as it is after the fact. Having a Virtual CFO will mean you will have a finger on the pulse with regards to numbers, cash flow, tax liability and retained profits at a particular point in time to facilitate better decision making.

3. A Mindset Shift for Growth

Business owners need to move away from the standard owner-operator mindset to scale their business operations and grow. Adopting an owner mindset is easier said than done, which is why a business adviser and consultant such as a Virtual CFO can guide you on this transformative journey. Since technology can make compliance less of a problem through a good step-up and monitoring (governance and controls), a virtual CFO can set things up in best practice from the start or identify defective or deficient areas of the business controls and management where errors and oversight may be costly.

4. Strategic Thinking and Goal-Setting – Managing Your Business Like an Enterprise

We all must start somewhere, setting goals for your business is just the beginning as the adage goes, “a goal without a plan is merely just a wish”. From corporate governance to business management strategy and operational excellence – setting goals, targets, KPIs, and benchmarks for the coming year to improve on are just a handful of the things a Virtual CFO can do for you. If you’re not looking at the numbers regularly, and you don’t know how your organisation is tracking then how are you going to plan for the future? For most businesses, doing better than the previous years is a solid goal to follow – but how exactly are you going to do that?

Speak with Phil Khao from Solve Accounting on 0412651779 or at philip@solveaccounting.com.au to find out more about Virtual CFO services.

Phil Khao is a Chartered Accountant (CA), Virtual CFO professional and Director at Solve Accounting with many years of accounting and business services experience at global accounting firms and multinational corporations.