Dear Start-up CEO, that’s why you need a CFO…
One of the key areas to consider when operating and starting your startup is your finance group. Building a team from scratch can be challenging, so here are my experiences and tips to get started and make the best out of our finance team for the coming growth phases.
Over the last years as a CFO and sparring partner for the founders of various start-ups, I recognized one thing: All entrepreneurs are the same…every day full of new ideas, amazing vision for the future and always the company’s success in mind every day. Unless you have a history as a financial professional or have a CFO background, you’re probably just plain disinterested in the “bean counting” aspects of your business.
But at the same time, most of the founders want to be able to track and read reports down to the finest detail. They want to pull up systemized data and read their financial past and future whenever they get that new idea or whenever they feel their company needs another push to a new level.
If you aren’t a CFO or Finance Director, you know, that accounting isn’t necessarily the “fun” part of the business. But here’s the rub: Other than your vision and culture, your financial and accounting plan is arguably the single most important part of your growth plan and absolutely requires professional attention. Otherwise, you end up a ship without a rudder, possibly headed for the rocks…
So, dear CEO, what can you do about all this? Simple: Just be the CEO. Be the manager of your company but also make sure you have a working knowledge of your financial systems than trusting someone who LOVES that part of the business to make sure those vital pieces are always in place.
Some founders and CEOs fail to decipher that finance being a core business-enabling function forms an indispensable part of every organization’s growth story. Finance facilitates cost-cutting, charting out better investment avenues, understanding strategic roadmaps and structuring deals.
The entire finance function can be broadly categorized into three parts — finance controllership, investor relations & business finance, and regular compliance.
Dear CEO, you need a CFO, who is responsible for all these areas. :-)
What is your experience? When would you hire a CFO/Finance director? How do you see the relationship between CEO and CFO?
I’m always interested in hearing from business owners, entrepreneurs, as well as economic development professionals. Please contact me via InMail on my LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebjanus/ or you can just visit my website: https://www.sebastian-janus.com .
