Quality innovation and valuation advantages when employing an interim CFO with Sam McQuade CFO: What is a fractional CFO? As the name suggests, a fractional CFO is someone who lends their financial expertise to a startup on a contractual basis. Fractional or part-time CFOs have extensive previous CFO-level experience, but generally help tide startups over on a temporary basis. In most cases, fractional CFOs are involved with more than one startup. This is unlike full-time CFOs, who remain employees of the firm with all the associated benefits and responsibilities.
A fractional CFO is often brought into a company to help overcome specific financial challenges such as: Cash flow issues; Low gross margins; High expenses; Outgrown existing systems; Need to make cost cuts; Navigating an audit. Create Forward-Facing Financial Visibility: Fractional CFOs are also helpful in optimizing or implementing more forward-facing financial visibility. While many financial professionals such as bookkeepers, accountants, and controllers are tasked with keeping past and current finances organized and well-documented, a CFO focuses on the future.
Smaller companies, incubators and startups could not match the salaries that the full time CFO commanded on the world financial stage. The seeds for the concept of an Interim or Fractional CFO were planted in the mind of Sam McQuade almost 3 decades ago when he first entered the world of International Finance as an Entrepreneur Consultant in Geneva Switzerland after achieving his MBA/MA at European University. During this tumultuous time at the turn of the century on the international financial scene, Mr. McQuade was ahead of his time. He offered as needed financial consultation services for international behemoths the Swiss based Nestle Corporation and the US based medical device corporation Stryker. The focus of his services, which would years later be foundational in the concepts of Panterra was a new model in product development, manufacturing and marketing. Discover additional 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 relies on the reporting generated by accounting and the financial controller to advise the CEO and board on the company’s strategic financial direction. The controller and other functional specialists report to the CFO. What informs the need for a CFO is less company size than a desire for a strategic adviser with deep financial expertise. CFOs are captains of a team that covers both accounting and finance and consists of senior leaders, such as controllers and VPs of finance, and operational staff — accountants, bookkeepers, tax specialists, data analysts. Serving as a CFO requires a background in accounting or finance and an advanced business degree, generally including an MBA. But it also takes plenty of soft skills.
Return on investment (ROI): Part of a CFO’s strategic focus is on ensuring a strong return on investment (ROI) for their organizations. ROI is a measure of the likelihood of receiving a return on dollars invested and the precise amount of that return. As a ratio, it looks at the gain or loss of an investment as a percentage of the cost. Because ROI is a relatively basic KPI that does not account for all variables — net present value, for example — CFOs add context to evaluate whether a project will deliver sufficiently robust ROI to be worth the investment.
Before getting into how your business can benefit from a DAO, let’s take a look at some examples of real-life DAOs. Uniswap is a decentralized exchange built on the Ethereum blockchain. It allows users to trade tokens without the need for a centralized exchange. The Uniswap team has created a smart contract that governs the exchange. The smart contract automatically matches buyers and sellers and executes the trades. Anyone with a UNI token can participate in the governance of the Uniswap exchange.
As independent internal auditors, we compile in-depth audit reports that convey insights on both known and unknown risks and vulnerabilities in order to protect your business. We hold a niche in capital project auditing and in assisting start-ups with outsourced Internal Audit services.
A DAO is a decentralized autonomous organization that is run by smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain. It is an organization or company that is not centrally controlled by any one person or entity. Rather, it is governed by code that is written into the smart contracts. This code can be modified or updated by anyone who has access to the DAO’s GitHub repository. To put this into perspective, imagine a traditional company or organization. There is usually a board of directors or executive team that makes all the decisions about how the company will be run. With a DAO, there is no such thing. The code that governs the DAO is open source and available for anyone to view and audit. In this new scenario, an organization can be run by anyone in the world who has an internet connection.
A properly qualified CFO is a business professional with relevant experience within various commercial environments. This important distinction between a career CFO and the CPA is key. The CFO can solve many financial and business problems in short order, due to having had experience in such matters and the ability to quickly identify and address issues and employ best practices and techniques. Hiring a CFO to perform the financial and administrative functions of the business, frees up the business owner so they can focus on other value-enhancing aspects of the business. In addition to bringing financial and accounting expertise – a CFO can deal with most administrative areas such as human resources, facilities, insurances, legal and compliance, as well as stakeholder relations.
Searching to hire your first CFO or need interim coverage? We provide CFOs for immediate very short term objectives and longer term engagements. Flexible with transparent 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. Read additional info at Sam McQuade CFO.