A robust finance function is essential for growth, sustainability, and compliance for businesses.
The finance function takes care of business finances. It aims to boost profitability and keep the financial records of a business accurate and up to date.
There are challenges that prevent some businesses from optimising their existing finance function. These challenges typically affect smaller, owner-managed businesses – they include:
- Insufficient time to manage financial records alongside day-to-day running of the business
- A lack of qualified finance personnel
- Insufficient need for a dedicated hire in this area
A qualified Finance Director (FD) or other financial support figures may be beneficial. But the reality is not every business is in a position to bring one in.
This is where finance outsourcing comes into play.
What is an outsourced FD (Finance Director)?
A business can outsource its finance function just like customer services or marketing. A proven way to do this is through an outsourced Finance Director (FD).
An FD is a significant figure in a business. The FD takes responsibility for financial strategy, efficiency, growth, and even fundraising.
What does an outsourced FD do?
By outsourcing finance to an experienced client FD, a business benefits in many areas. These include:
- Considering broader company strategy and how to get there
- Long-term growth planning
- Applying qualified financial knowledge to your business
- Producing robust, timely financial reporting
- Helping businesses optimise their finance systems/processes
- Generating accurate forecasts and creating budgets
- Serving as a reliable sounding board for business ideas and providing a different perspective
- Setting well-defined KPIs.
- Overseeing capital-raising strategies
An outsourced FD is usually cheaper than an in-house FD with equal talent and experience. They will also bring a breadth of wider industry knowledge with them.
Do you need an FD?
When deciding whether or not an outsourced Finance Director is a good choice for you, we recommend considering the following questions:
- Do you find it difficult to trust the numbers in your accounting system?
- Are you struggling to get timely information out of your systems that you can base decisions on?
- Do you know where you want to get to with the business, but not how to get there?
- Does the finance team struggle to understand some of the numbers?
- Are you looking just looking at historic data in your management information?
- Do you struggle to find someone that can provide constructive challenge and financial insight?
If you have answered yes to any of these options, it might be time to consider an FD.
Outsourced finance – other areas
There are other finance duties that a business can outsource to let leaders focus on business activities. These include:
- Credit control
- Bookkeeping and accounts
- Company secretarial
- Payroll
- Tax Compliance
Is it time to outsource your finance function?
The Genus team at Shorts brings together years of accounting expertise. We use cutting-edge cloud software to design and build a business a bespoke finance solution. If you want a better understanding of your business numbers and finance operations, book a free consultation with us today.
Alicia Williams
Alicia is Director of the Genus team at Shorts, a chartered certified accountant and Xero specialist.
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