4 Alternatives To Hiring A Full-Time CFO

When you are on a tight budget

For many businesses, especially new ones, hiring a full-time chief financial officer can be daunting and quite costly. Traditionally taking control of treasury, controllership and financial forecasting duties, CFOs can be a major benefactor while a business is expanding.
 

While most companies aim to get to a point where they can take a CFO on board full time, they still have to stay on top of financial matters in the meantime. Luckily, in recent years, the booming entrepreneurial spirit and blossoming freelance economy have provided companies with various options. Whether you are on a tight budget or aren’t ready to hire a chief financial officer just yet, here are 4 alternatives to hiring a full-time CFO.

Private Equity Services and Investment Bankers

Investment banks and equity partners can provide similar services to those offered by a chief financial officer. This is a viable option for companies that have brought in a certain amount of revenue and need to reorganize their financial strategy to encourage continual growth. Investment bankers are particularly adept at helping business seek out lucrative investment opportunities, as well as mergers and acquisitions. For more established companies and corporations, investment banks can potentially provide more specialized services as opposed to a CFO.

Freelance CFO

Part-time and fractional services are typically a smart choice for businesses that are running on a shoestring budget or are in need of specific service. Fractional services, or consultants allowing companies to stay within their budget, while also maintaining flexibility. Today, many companies can achieve this thanks to an increase in the development of cloud based communication technologies, which make it possible to conduct business from anywhere in the world. Freelance talent platforms offer carefully vetted talent in the financial sector from a variety of backgrounds, from which companies can choose.

Financial Software

Especially during the early stages of development, business can take advantage of the wealth of financial software that is available today that will help to put them on the right track. This can be an effective and certainly more affordable option that will encourage organization and ultimately growth. Many of these finance tools cater to startups and young entrepreneurs.

An Interim CFO

Working with an interim CFO is a move that companies make when they are preparing to take a full-time CFO in the future, thus this situation is often for more developed businesses. Oftentimes, an interim CFO can be used on a nonpermanent basis to help businesses bridge the gap between establishing milestones and achieving them. In addition to mapping out financial strategies that aim to help your company grow, working with an interim CFO can help you prepare for making a final hire as it can take time for new companies to become accustomed to hanging over decision making power to a new member.
 
Understanding the alternatives to hiring a full-time chief financial officer doesn’t mean that you won't take one on in the future. Rather, it gives companies with limited resources the opportunity to benefit from the services traditionally offered by financial experts. Whether you decide to learn your way around Excel or hire a flexible CFO on a short-term basis, you will certainly gain important knowledge and skills needed to create a financially stable business plan.

Author Bio

Ellie Martin is Co-Founder of Startup Change group. Her works have been featured on Yahoo!, Wisebread, AOL, among others. She currently splits her time between her home office in New York and Israel. Follow @EllieMartin120 Connect Ellie Marti