Benefits for startups hiring an interim CFO by Sam McQuade CFO of Panterra Finance
Top advantages for startups when employing a flexible Chief Financial Officer with Sam McQuade CFO of Panterra Finance: Navigate an audit or transaction: As businesses grow, internal audits become necessary to get a measure of the company’s financial health. In many cases, audits may also be mandatory by law. An audit may involve a microscopic inspection of not just a company’s cash flow but also procurement and purchasing systems, taxation, and every transaction involving the exchange of money. Due to the complex and very minute nature of audits, founders – especially first-time entrepreneurs – may not have the experience to navigate their firm through it. Having a fractional CFO on board means the founders can delegate all responsibilities related to the audit to someone who is experienced in the domain.
A fractional CFO helps determine how to get you from where you are to where you want to go. Growing a business requires strategic use of capital. For many fractional CFOs, one of their most important contributions will be providing a financial forecast that will act as a blueprint to achieve the growth in the most efficient, accelerated, and sustainable way possible. With a short-term (next 90 days), mid-term (rest of this year), and long-term (next 3-5 years) view of the business, a company can better anticipate its trajectory and cash position or requirements. It can make it easier to manage through the lean times, help determine when and how to secure loans or investments, anticipate future owner compensation, and help plan and prioritize future business decisions such as staffing, production, geographical expansion, etc.
In these early years of creating innovations in the corporate C-Suite, Sam McQuade nurtured and created a maverick approach to new finance operations for Stryker as it broke through to the lucrative emerging markets in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE)). While approaching the markets in the growing economies of Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia and Romania, Sam McQuade was recognizing the need for Interim and Fractional CFO’s for the avalanche of incubators and startup companies in these underdeveloped economies that were on the cusp of being integrated into modern International Finance systems and markets. Read even more info on Sam McQuade CFO.
CFOs usually are responsible for key finance functions which have included broad categories of accounting, treasury, financial planning and analysis (FP&A), controls, compliance, tax, and audit. Going forward towards 2022, the same functions exist, but they are getting more automated, so the CFO can focus more on forward perspectives. Storytelling requires strong emotional intelligence and solid communication skills. Here’s the four key areas the CFO can be messaging: Why & Purpose: Communicating the “Why” is one of the strongest messages the CFO can deliver. It’s not only the reason for the corporate existence, but it’s also very motivational for all the stakeholders. This message should be repeated frequently and consistently to make people feel the genuine purpose.
The CFO also works with other senior managers and is a vital participant in a company’s overall success, especially when it comes to the long run. For instance, when the marketing department wants to launch a new campaign, the CFO may help to ensure the campaign is feasible or give input on the funds available for the campaign. A CFO can become a CEO, COO, or they can assume the role of company president. The CFO must report accurate information because many decisions are based on the data they provide. The CFO is responsible for managing the financial activities of a company and adhering to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other regulatory entities.
Forecasting: Importantly, CFOs don’t only report what is — a significant part of their value to an organization is their ability to accurately predict likely future outcomes. That includes financial forecasting and modeling based not only on the company’s past performance but on internal and external factors that may affect revenue and expenses. The CFO is tasked with making sense of the various departmental level forecasts to create profit projections for the CEO and shareholders.
Another purpose of a DAO is to automate decision-making. In a traditional organization, decisions are made by a small group of people. This can often lead to delays in decision-making. With a DAO, decisions are made by the code that governs the organization. This makes it much faster and easier to make decisions. In business environments, it frees up space for people to focus on other things. It has opened up opportunities for more decision-makers to get involved in the governance of a DAO. The most notable example is the MakerDAO, which is a decentralized autonomous organization that governs the Dai stablecoin. The MakerDAO has a voting system that allows anyone to participate in the governance of the organization.
As you enter each new geography, we help you adhere to the relevant regulatory requirements and stay compliant. In a world that is rapidly changing, we help you identify what that change means for your business and what measures you need to employ to protect it from a range of risks in the new economy.
The most important thing to understand about a DAO is that it is autonomous. This means that it can exist and continue to function without any human intervention. Once the code is written and deployed, the DAO will continue to run according to the code that governs it. This is made possible by the fact that smart contracts are immutable. This means that they cannot be changed or altered in any way once they have been deployed to the Ethereum blockchain. The DAO’s basic idea, while intriguing, is also fascinating, and it represents a point where technology trends such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and the internet of things (IoT) are coming together to provide fresh possibilities.
The CFO is responsible for effective and efficient financial operations including accounting, financial reporting, cash management, budgeting, maintaining controls and issues such as capital structure, investor relations, and financing. The CFO is also involved with strategic planning and financial analysis related to mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures, as well as providing expert financial and operational guidance to business owners to maximize cash flow, minimize business risk, and increase the value of the enterprise.
Do you want to hire your first CFO or need interim coverage? We provide CFOs for immediate very short term objectives and longer term engagements. Customizable with fair pricing so you cover your business and don’t have to rush into a potentially bad and costly full time hire. In disrupting the traditional contracted title of CFO, Panterra Finance innovatively offers all its clients thought leadership based on international financial market experiences. Panterra Finance offers a unified international approach to businesses in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Eight centrally located offices in the USA, Switzerland, the Middle East, and the emerging African Continent, offers global enterprises Fractional and Interim CFO services backed by a team with a grasp of dynamic world trends. Discover even more info at Sam McQuade CFO.