If you own or manage a small company, you’re well aware of the valuable services a chief financial officer, or CFO, can add to your organization. Instrumental in managing a company’s finances, the CFO oversees all the accounting and financial reporting that are essential to maintaining a small business’s profitability. Not every company, however, is ready to hire their own full-time CFO, so they elect to outsource those responsibilities instead. If you’re considering going this route, here are some of the benefits that come with outsourcing the functions of a CFO.
Outsourcing Is Less Expensive
An in-house CFO is likely going to be one of the highest paid employees in your business. Not only can you anticipate paying one a huge salary, but you’ll also be paying for their benefits, payroll taxes, office space, and several other kinds of expenses. When you outsource CFO services, however, you only pay for that person when they actually work. If the whole point of having a CFO is to safeguard your finances, it makes no sense to pay extra when the same job can be handled for far less money.
More Efficient Use of Time
A CFO’s skill set is highly specialized. As with other positions around the office, a full-time CFO is likely to do work they weren’t necessarily trained for. Every time they perform managerial tasks that aren’t specifically part of their CFO duties, then you’re dramatically overpaying for their services. Keeping the work off-site ensures that your CFO is doing what they’re paid to do.
Improved Security
CFOs deal with some of the most sensitive information involving a company’s finances. When a CFO’s duties are handled in-house, there’s a high probability that all kinds of confidential information, such as passwords and data, will be either shared with others in the office or made more readily available to someone with questionable motives. Outsourcing CFO services keeps sensitive information off-site to be shared with the office only when absolutely necessary, reducing the potential for fraud.
Better Equipped for Big Transactions
Besides the regular duties required of a CFO, there are times when they’ll be asked to assist with unique challenges such as mergers. When your CFO has to divert their attention to these weightier matters, they won’t be able to concentrate as thoroughly on the day-to-day responsibilities that your company needs to thrive. Outsourcing ensures that even uncommonly large projects get the attention they deserve without any of the more mundane jobs going by the wayside.
An Outsider’s Perspective
CFOs need to have the independence to voice unpopular opinions when necessary. The kinds of dynamics that exist among people in an office environment can make it difficult to analyze problems impartially, leaving them to go unaddressed. A CFO that exists outside the company, however, won’t feel uneasy about reporting on challenges that need to be met and recommending solutions as they see fit.
If you’re ready to take advantage of all the benefits to be found by outsourcing your CFO services, contact the professionals at Fourlane, Inc., at (800) 931-2120. We have a team of financial experts at the ready to meet your company’s individual needs. Give us a call today!
