Business Growth & Advisory

When Should a Small Business Consider a Virtual CFO?

A Virtual CFO sits between basic accounting compliance and a full-time senior finance executive. The service is most valuable when the owner needs forward-looking financial leadership but does not yet need or want a full internal CFO.

6 min readAcuity Advisory Limited

Signs the business has outgrown bookkeeping alone

Revenue is growing but cash remains unpredictable.
Management needs budgets and forecasts.
Banks or investors require better financial information.
There are multiple products, branches, projects or service lines.
The owner spends too much time interpreting financial information.
Important decisions are being made without scenario analysis.

What a Virtual CFO should provide

Management reporting and performance commentary
Cash-flow and working-capital planning
Budgeting and forecasting
Financing and capital planning
Financial controls and process improvement
Decision support for pricing, hiring, expansion and investment

The goal

The objective is not to create more reports. It is to create a finance function that helps management make better decisions, earlier, with less dependence on the owner personally compiling the numbers.

This article provides general business information and is not tax, legal, investment or other regulated professional advice for a specific situation. Requirements can change; obtain advice based on your facts where appropriate.