Virtual CFO Services

Business owners in California and throughout the nation understand that watching a company’s cash flow is one of the most important and yet difficult aspects of managing a company. While comparisons to managing a family budget are tempting, managing a company’s finances in a way that contributes or spurs growth requires a different set of skills and priorities. A business manager must be able to carefully balance and determine whether the company should tighten its belt or push through and seek additional financing to encourage growth and increased revenues. The accountants and CPAs of the Cook CPA Group are proud to offer virtual CFO services for start-ups, small businesses, and emerging mid-sized companies and corporations. While it is more common for large and international corporations to have a dedicated CFO, we can also explore novel and cost-savings management and governance structures for these businesses.

What Does a CFO Do?

CFO stands for Chief Financial Officer. As the job title suggests, a CFO is in charge of a company’s finances and expenditures. In a certain sense, they are the chief accountant or money manager for the business, corporation or firm. Responsibilities of the CFO includes both short- and long-term financial planning. Your CFO should consider cash flow issues on a daily basis and endeavor to ensure that revenues are sufficient to sustain, maintain, or expand operations. The main goal of a CFO is to keep your company on solid financial footing so that you can effectively pursue your business and financial goals.

Why Do I Need a CFO When I Already Have a CPA?

It is true that many CFOs are accountants or CPAs. However, the job duties and focus of these two positions differs significantly. A company’s CPA is typically more focused on the historical trends affecting the company and what has already occurred. The CPA will drill down into the financials, tax statements, and other documents to get a handle on the company’s financial vital signs. Essentially, the CPA is an information gatherer and interpreter. The CPA is likely to prepare an array of financial reports showing the underlying financial mechanics of the business. By contrast, a CFO will utilize the information gathered and interpreted by CPAs to handle broad, strategic considerations and goals. The CFO will utilize the information regarding day-today financials to craft an overarching strategy for the firm. Some activates that may be included in a CFO’s daily endeavors include:

• Exploring means of raising capital for the business. This can include taking on investors or other, more novel methods of financing.
• Providing support for driving performance in the sales and marketing group.
• The CFO may engage with team or project managers to identify and implement strategies to increase organizational profitability.
• The CFO will seek and account for the opinions of key financial advisors in the company.
• The CFO is responsible for short term and long term financial planning.

A CFO will help synthesize the information gleaned by your accountants, managers, and other professionals. He or she can help your company decide on a path that is likely to achieve your goals.

What Companies Need a CFO?

Generally speaking, sole proprietorships and other small businesses do not need a CFO. However, if you have goals of growing a small business into a regional, national, or international business it may nevertheless be prudent to engage with a CFO. More commonly, business begin to need a CFO when revenues surpass $1 million. However, this is only a ballpark estimate. The services of a CFO can provide a strong return on the investment long before the $1 million in revenue threshold is reached. We understand that finding space on the payroll for a CFO can be difficult for an expanding business. Therefore, we offer virtual CFO services to companies at all stages of development. By offering virtual CFO services, we expand access to sound financial management practices to help companies grow more quickly.

Let Our Roseville CPAs Serve as Your Virtual CFO

At the Cook CPA Group our CPAs and business development professionals can assist your organization as it grows. Our virtual CFO services can provide the guidance your company needs without breaking your budget. From our Roseville, California accounting office, we can assist your business in meeting today’s challenges while planning for the future.