In the fast-paced business world, high-stakes decisions can be daunting, especially without the support of a full-time Chief Financial Officer (CFO). The pressure to make the right call can feel overwhelming, particularly for companies without the budget for a full-time CFO.
Enter the fractional CFO: a strategic partner with financial expertise, strategic insight, and flexible engagement models tailored to your unique needs. A fractional CFO can be the game changer in navigating complex financial landscapes, making informed decisions, and driving sustainable growth for your company.
The Role of a Fractional CFO and How It Differs from a Traditional Full-Time CFO
A fractional CFO fulfills a strategic financial leadership role without the full-time salary and benefits. Business owners and leaders can access the expertise of someone who might be beyond their budget if hired full-time, covering a broader set of needs cost-effectively. Instead of limiting resources to basic financial necessities like closing the books and providing income statements, a fractional CFO brings in-depth analysis and strategic planning.
With an LGA fractional CFO, you gain the experience of a team and its ability to tap into other specific expertise areas of the broader firm. We evaluate processes, study financial performance, interview key personnel, and dissect business operations to identify the key operational and financial drivers. This approach enables us to drive process improvement, provide actionable strategic advisement, and develop a framework to enable business owners to better understand their business’s financial performance.
Our approach
Common Questions We Ask
To understand your business deeply, we ask questions such as:
- What drives your current processes?
- Why are you investing in specific areas, and are you getting the desired returns?
- What is your inventory strategy?
- What is your financing strategy?
- What are your key business metrics, and how do you use them in decision-making?
- How do you utilize financial reports to make strategic decisions?
These questions help us understand how information flows, how decisions are made, and whether the business is proactive or reactive. The better we understand these details, the more impactful our involvement can be.
By taking the time to understand the company’s big picture, processes, and operational and financial drivers, we can dissect nuances in the business. For example, the financials might indicate strong bottom-line performance, but it’s not generating any cash. In these instances, we look at the balance sheet, study cash flows, and identify where the money is sitting and why it’s not being converted to cash. From there, we can provide strategies on how to change this dynamic and, in doing so, also help the owners and leaders better understand the relationship between their various financial reports.
Our approach also involves reviewing financial trends, seasonal factors, and anomalies. Understanding these details enable us to help businesses to either implement or improve upon their forecasting and/or budgeting processes. These processes are important for every business, as they drive goal-setting, planning for how goals will be achieved, and provide a scorecard for the achievement of these financial goals, which ultimately educates leadership on the effectiveness of their strategies and provides insights on adjustments that might need to be made.
Navigating Financial Crises or Periods of Significant Change
Significant change might be a merger, an acquisition, or a divestiture. In those cases, LGA’s team assists the client in building a business plan they can utilize in conversations with potential acquirers or strategic partners, and can play an active role throughout those processes as needed. We can also facilitate or review potential business relationships, help clients to fill or backfill key roles within their finance team, evaluate the structure and output of their finance team, assess the existence and effectiveness of their internal controls, help them identify a new financing source, and other such “one-off” work.
Key Benefits of Partnering with a Fractional CFO for Small to Mid-Sized Businesses
Partnering with a fractional CFO provides small and mid-sized businesses access to big-company tools, processes, expertise, and strategies without hiring someone full-time. Our team includes members with direct experience in larger, more mature operations, allowing us to advise during crises and implement best practices effectively.
Working with the Existing Finance Team
Our objective is to both complement and elevate the existing finance organization. We are not ever looking to replace or pick apart the existing team, nor are we structured to serve as a replacement. We collaborate with the client’s highest financial resource or resources (e.g., Director, Controller, or, in some cases, CFO) to help elevate their processes, tools, and reporting. In some cases, we help to implement the tools and processes, educate the existing team, and then let them run with the enhanced structure. In these instances, we would then transition to the role of an on-call strategic advisor or project leader when a more senior layer of expertise is required.
Are You Ready to Consider a Fractional CFO?
Whether contemplating a significant investment, transaction, restructuring, or simply looking to optimize your financial operations, the right fractional CFO can provide the guidance and support necessary to steer your business toward success. Contact us today to learn how we can support your journey toward streamlined financial planning and analysis, ultimately driving greater strategic success.
