Before analyzing the benefits of hiring a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for any business, it is important to understand what a CFO does. The CFO is usually responsible for overseeing and managing the financial resources of the company. However, the CFO’s role has evolved to include strategy development and even operational excellence, because financial resource allocation plays an important role in the optimization of both. While a CFO plays a vital role in steering your company towards success, you may not have the resources to support a full-time financial executive.
Working with an experienced business advisor enables your business to reap the benefits of an experienced CFO, providing a fresh voice and outside tools to grow your business without breaking the bank. In this article, we will review the benefits a business advisor can provide for your business.
Cost-effective
Hiring an experienced business advisor on an as-needed basis allows you to save on employment costs, including salaries, training and recruitment expenses that come with hiring a traditional CFO. If your firm is still growing, this is an excellent alternative to save money and redirect it towards growing the business. Within a company, one of the most highly paid personnel is the CFO. According to the Economic Research Institute, the average salary of a full-time CFO in Canada is approximately $243,383. But if you’re a small business or a start-up, hiring a full-time CFO may not justify the costs. Working with an advisor instead allows your company to receive competent services at a lower cost because you only pay for their expertise provided on demand, which is substantially less expensive.
Efficient advice
An experienced advisor can help you save money and increase revenue in several ways, faster than you think. With their skills and experience in working for many different companies, they are experts at negotiating with vendors, recognizing redundant expenses, and finding operational efficiencies. An experienced business consultant requires no adjustment period because they are typically seasoned professionals with years of experience in providing advice to firms of different sizes and in various industries. Business advisors can easily use their experience to contrast costs between firms of various sizes and provide insights on strategic investments and growth plans that have worked for other companies, often similar to yours.
Help with capital raising
Most experienced business advisors have good relationships with investors and financial backers who can play a vital role in raising money for your business. Depending on the needs of your firm, they can help with financial analysis, research, business case analysis, pitch preparation, investor introductions, and even negotiation. When raising funds for your firm, it is necessary to find the professional guidance of a qualified financial professional with a strong network.
Help with financial strategy
For any business, failing to plan is a plan to fail. An advisor can assist with developing annual corporate goals, creating operating plans, and providing profit margin analysis that can help your business become more profitable. Once cost management is perfected, they can help with developing revenue forecasts and creating financial models to identify future capital requirements needed to hit your annual corporate goals. For most people, even those who are business savvy, numbers and financial statements are just data on a page, but for an experienced advisor, this data tells a story that guides them toward turning numbers into strategic insights.
Help with external stakeholders
Throughout their career, business advisors accrue experiences, business partnerships, connections, and friendships that ultimately help their own businesses flourish. These people are usually experts at communicating and building business connections. Thus, they can help you with outside stakeholder communication, including external investors, bankers, vendors, and other potential business partners. Your company also stands to benefit immensely from the advisor’s network. Their vast network across different sectors will also help your business in creating meaningful relationships with other companies, investors, and customers.
The voice of reason
It is easy to get excited about a potential strategy, new endeavours, and business opportunities, often leading to decisions. But when a healthy dose of reality hits, you may realize that you have made the wrong decision. In their role, an experienced business advisor is not there to simply help you grow but also delve into the upside risk that the business faces. Their job is to ask a question such as how viable the idea is, how the company will afford it and whether the venture is in alignment with the company’s goals and objectives. Additionally, they may remind you that the actions you disregard may be as equally important as the ones you take. They can make a significant impact on your organization by acting as the voice of reason in the decision-making process.
Contact Edelkoort Smethurst CPAs LLP for Experienced and Proactive Advice for Your Business
In this post, we have stressed that hiring a skilled business advisor can be very beneficial to a company for numerous reasons. Whether you are a startup or a small growing business, hiring an experienced advisor is the sure way to forge the path to success.
As we have set out above, understanding your company’s current and future operating status is crucial to having a healthy, sustainable business. Edelkoort Smethurst CPAs LLP offers a variety of business advisory services, including business forecasting, financial modelling, and strategy development. Let us show you the advantages of our business advisory services. We provide expert professional guidance at a fraction of the cost it would take to pay a full-time CFO.
Contact a member of our team at Edelkoort Smethurst CPAs LLP by phone at 905-517-2297 or by contacting us online.