For small to medium-sized business owners, it can be difficult to know how – or when – to hire a Chief Financial Officer (CFO). That’s because investing in a full-time CFO can seem like a dramatic and expensive step. And there isn’t typically one event that serves as a catalyst for such a bold move. Instead, there might simply be a growing list of big goals.
In those instances, there is a more cost-effective option to consider: outsourcing your CFO duties.
Outsourcing the CFO function can save time, energy, and resources. But most important, it can enable a business to achieve big goals – even if it’s operating with a small team.
For Phillip Baltazar, CEO and Founder of America Funding, big goals involved aggressively growing the business immediately following its launch.
“We went from six employees to having two offices with 50 employees each, doing $8 to $10 million dollars per year,” Baltazar said. “Scott Carpenter of Intellisource Financial was my CFO. All along the way, his input was critical. In a business like mine, the trajectory can be like a hockey stick. But it’s up to your CFO to tell you to slow down, or to get to a certain level of revenue before moving to the next step.”
For Baltazar, reporting is key to such decision-making. “If you can’t report on it, you can’t manage it,” he explained. “I count on Scott’s integrity, professionalism, and timeliness; and for him to be on top of my reporting and give me the tools I need to make decisions.”
If you think an outsourced CFO solution might be right for your business, look for the following:
- A professional services firm that specializes in providing outsourced CFO duties. There are numerous bookkeeping and accounting firms, yet only a subset of those are skilled at serving as a true outsourced CFO.
- A highly skilled financial professional with large business expertise. This is especially critical if you’re trying to grow your business. You want your outsourced CFO to be adept at successfully managing growth, which may include providing leadership to help you navigate complexities associated with financial statement analysis and forecasting, technology, banking relationships, acquiring capital, and investment strategies.
- A dedicated resource you can trust. An outsourced CFO will become an integral part of your executive team, so be sure to identify a resource that will guarantee confidentiality and be someone with whom you can be completely open and candid.
- A flexible and responsive team that will deliver expert guidance.
For more than a decade, Intellisource Financial Services has provided outsourced CFO services to clients from start-ups to successful small- to mid-sized companies. That means, whether your goals include building your business to sell over a targeted period of time or building it for long-term profitability, stability, and sustainable growth, Intellisource Financial can provide the skills and trusted CFO expertise you need to achieve your vision.