Having a fractional CFO as a trusted business advisor will help you and your team make sound strategies and decisions that minimize risk and improve outcomes. We've all heard it before, whether you are a start up or an established business, running a company isn't easy and a lot of companies fail. A fractional CFO that is integrated and ongoing will improve your business's chance of success. In addition, a fractional CFO can help reduce stress and also be useful in pointing out things that you and your team may not be aware of, it's the age old adage of "you don't know what you you don't know".

Financial projections, proforma financial statements and business cash flow modelling are critical to businesses both new and old. Where has your business been, but more importantly where is it going based on your strategy? A fractional CFO can help tell your story through projections 2 to 5 years out at an expert level. A fractional CFO's projections will be supported with reasonable assumptions and will also factor in thoughts from the entire management team. A good financial projection and model is also updated routinely and actual results are compared against it as a budget.

In fast paced organizations or in challenging times, it is often the case that risk management, accounting processes, financial controls, company administration, regulatory, or legal matters get left to be dealt with later or are ignored altogether. A fractional CFO can help catch the things that shouldn't be skipped or left for another day because the consequences could be dire. In addition, a fractional CFO will ensure that the business has appropriate accounting processes and financial controls suitable to its stage, complexity and needs.

Group think is when you have executive or management teams that have been working together for a while and ideas and strategic thinking are starting to be formed collectively. Group think begins to affect critical thinking and individual responsibility in a negative way. Group think can also limit strategic planning and risk management. A fractional CFO can help break up group think by injecting new ideas and questioning strategic direction. In addition, a fractional CFO can be a very useful sounding board for all things business and strategy and often become the CEO or owners most trusted advisor.

A company's finance department has one core job and that is to accurately measure financial results and capital flows, and then to use that information to help support company strategy and leaders. Unfortunately, a lot of company finance departments don't go further than just accurately measuring company results, and some sadly don't even do that too well. A fractional CFO can help proactively improve a company's finance department through team mentorship and oversight, leadership, insightful recommendations, action plans and implementing best practices.

In its simplest form, a fractional CFO, or part time CFO will help you better manage and grow your business while increasing profits. Having a financial expert on your team will help you develop and maintain better strategy and will improve your business performance and management. A good fractional CFO will accomplish this through all sorts of tools such as key performance indicators, budgeting, financial analysis,  using technology, and good communication.

A fractional CFO can greatly improve your businesses cash management. This is especially true if your business is small or new and lacks key accounting department staff such as a controller. CFO's typically have vast experience working with businesses in a variety of industries so they can help implement and manage best practices and tools regarding cash management. A good fractional CFO, among other things, will ensure that a smart spending policy is adopted, accounts receivable is collected efficiently, and cash needs for the business are known in advance. 

CFO's are highly educated and experienced financial professionals. When raising capital or securing financing, they can help you tremendously with the process, however, their presence alone can also increase the potential for success. This is because potential investors and financers can feel more comfortable when they know a CFO has helped you out as a trusted advisor along the way. In addition, capital or financing success can be bolstered when financial projections and funding applications are more professionally laid out with the help of an expert.