Signs your business may need CFO-level help
Most businesses don't need a CFO on day one. The need tends to show up gradually, as the questions get bigger than the reports can answer. These are the signals I see most often:
- Revenue is growing but margins or cash are shrinking
- You can't say with confidence where you'll be in 90 days, by year-end or in three years
- A bank, investor or buyer is asking for numbers you don't have
- You're considering an acquisition, a sale or raising capital
- Your systems and reports haven't kept up with the business
- Sales, marketing or operating costs are rising and you don't know which ones pay off
- A division needs to improve profitability or wants an independent view of it
One of these on its own may be a passing issue. Two or three at once usually means the business has outgrown the finance support it has.
When you probably don't need one
If your business is very early or very simple, with one location, a straightforward model and no near-term plans to borrow, raise money or sell, a good bookkeeper and an outside CPA are often all you need. Spend the money on getting clean, timely books first. That foundation is what makes CFO-level work worth paying for later.