FOUR FACTORS TO THINK ABOUT WHEN SELECTING OUTSOURCED CFO SERVICES

With the increasingly nebulous nature of today’s employment market, even small businesses are finding that they are able to retain the services of a CFO to assist them with some of their work; Outsourced CFO Services are more popular than ever. These services usually are not cheap (though working with an outsourced CFO is significantly cheaper than keeping one on staff, of course), so you need to know that you are getting good value for the cost. Here are four big factors to think about; ask each prospective candidate about each of them:

1. Relevant experience in your specific business – There are a wealth of candidates available; your preferred one should have experience in your actual business or industry. There is simply no reason to hire someone who isn’t an exact fit in terms of experience.

2. Enough time to thoroughly support you – Another thing to keep in mind is how heavy a candidates’ client load is. Feel free to ask them about this, and see if they feel they have enough open time in their schedule to really give you dedicated support. Personal service goes a long way.

3. Counsel in non-financial areas – This may seem counterintuitive at first; aren’t you hiring a high level financial professional? Yes, you are, but don’t forget that someone at this level should have a wide breadth of other experience to offer you (Perhaps some basic information on Legal matter, or IT/Facilities Development, etc.).

4. Personal connections in the industry – Your CFO should have their own set of connections that they can assist you with as needed. They can point you to other expert resources if you need assistance with things they cannot help you with, and probably also have established relationships with financial institutions.

Try to screen every candidate you look at for your CFO position to make sure that you feel comfortable with them in each of the above categories. You will be surprised at the effect on your overall revenue a qualified, dedicated, experienced CFO can provide. Outsourced CFO Services are a great option for small and mid-sized businesses to reap a lot of the financial benefits, at a very reasonable cost.