Why you probably Don’t Need a CFO
“I think we need a CFO”
This is what we hear from business owners who contact us.
The truth is often they don’t.
Outsourced, fractional, or interim CFOs seem to be everywhere.
You see them on LinkedIn pitching their services every day.
Maybe you’ve met a couple on the golf course playing around with friends.
Most owners hear the words “Financing” or “Strategy” and convince themselves that’s what they need.
Then they call us.
We get it; talking about raising capital and tactical plans is sexy.
You can’t open the WSJ or HBR without running into SPACs, IPOs, and KPIs.
But most of the time owners don’t need a CFO.
So if you don’t need a CFO, what do you need?
(Lean forward – I’m going to tell you a secret)
You probably need a Controller.
With a little bit of digging and questioning, many of the owners that contact us say things like;
- “I’ve hit a ceiling/wall and really want to grow this business, I know I can”
- “I feel like my team’s just stuck”
- “I’ve got several businesses and multiple locations, but I can’t tell which ones are the most profitable”
- “I could probably grow this business 5x, but I can’t keep up with what’s going on”
- “It’s just totally out of control”
After hearing these phrases over and over, my mind can’t help but think of the lyrics to Bo Diddley’s classic song Signifying Blues –
Say, look here!
(A-what dat?)
It look like your process took a recess
(Ha-ha)
(A-that’s alright, at least I can afford to get one)
(You wear one of them do-it-yourself job things)
Eee