What are fractional CFO services? What types of organizations should consider fractional CFO services for their corporation or business? What are the advantages of contracting for fractional Chief Financial Officer services?
Fractional CFO services provide your company with a menu of options to offer the types of insight, analysis, financial management and services a full-time CFO would offer provide company for a portion of the cost of hiring a CFO. These services are provided by an external vendor, usually a CPA and/or tax attorney, with decades of experience and expertise in the types of services your company requires to take the next step in its growth and profitability.
Should Your Company Consider Fractional Services?
What types of organizations should consider fractional CFO services or other C-level contracted support? Almost any small to mid-sized business experiencing growth should consider the benefits of fractional C-level services. Generally speaking, if your company is in a period of rapid expansion, conducts interstate or international business, or has recently lost a CFO or primary financial manager, you should investigate the advantages of external professional services.
Many industry experts suggest that corporations with less than $50 million in revenue and those backed by substantial individual or venture capital investment would find fractional CFO services advantageous and profitable. Other companies simply cannot afford the salary and benefits package of a CFO but are facing internal financial issues due to a lack of financial controls.
Smaller entities conducting interstate or international business face complex tax issues from multiple state and sovereign tax agencies. Your accounting systems must be structured appropriately to capture and report every aspect of your business operations and transactions so that tax liabilities may be minimized. It is not only a matter of how and where your business achieves gains and losses, but when! A corporate entity with an offset fiscal year (such as a year-end on the last day of March, June, or September) can provide substantial tax advantages to the company as well as its primary stakeholders.
The Advantages of Fractional Services
What are the advantages of contracting for fractional Chief Financial Officer services? External fractional service providers are often able to provide not only financial/CFO-related services but integrated legal, tax, accounting, and business advisory services as well. Fractional financial services can include everything from management of internal accounting processes and systems and financial reporting to budgeting and forecasting, domestic and international tax planning, cash flow management, or due diligence and financial insights during an acquisition or merger.
These services allow your company to tap into decades of genuine business experience and expertise and achieve the specific, tailored services and offerings your company needs to facilitate continued growth, correct financial and tax challenges, plan for the future, and manage cash flow and accounting for a fraction of the cost of actually hiring a Chief Financial Officer.
Look for a fractional CFO services provider who is able to analyze existing challenges and issues and communicate potential solutions effectively with existing company management and personnel. Genuine business experts can tell you a substantial amount of business challenges are actually a symptom of a much more substantial and hidden issue. “Where there is smoke, there is fire” absolutely applies. You need a fractional service partner who can quickly and efficiently get to the root of your challenges and areas of opportunity and provide integrated solutions to help your company meet challenges and accelerate growth and profitability.
Consider providers who are able to provide extended legal, tax, accounting, and business advisory services to tailor an integrated approach to resolving the issue(s) at hand. Companies experiencing rapid growth or with existing books of business in the tens of millions of dollars need a fractional service provider who can look at a problem from every aspect, design an integrated solution, and help you to implement necessary changes and improvements throughout your organization.
We invite you to learn more about the integrated tax, legal, accounting and business consulting services of Allen Barron and contact us or call today to schedule a free consultation at 866-631-3470.