Many early stage SME’s or scaling businesses often need high-level financial advice but find it difficult to justify the cost associated with a full time Finance Director or CFO. And even if the money can be found it is unlikely that there will be enough day to day work to occupy an individual. At the same time, however, most businesses will struggle to grow effectively without senior level financial advice. So, what is the solution? Increasingly, organisations faced with this dilemma are turning to Fractional FD’s or CFO’s as the solution.
A Fractional FD or CFO is an experienced, qualified finance professional who splits their time across several organisations thus ensuring that each entity in their portfolio is provided with the advice appropriate to them at the right time and on an ongoing basis until the point is reached when the business needs a full-time employee.
There are many advantages in pursuing the Fractional FD/CFO route but some of the most compelling are:
- Access to a highly qualified and experienced finance professional at a fraction of the cost
- Flexible contracts which will allow the organisation to use differing amounts of input according to specific needs at different points in time
- Lower risk as the Fractional FD/CFO will be self-employed thus not creating the need to hire an individual on a permanent basis, with associated overhead costs.
The tasks that Fractional FD’s and CFO’s are asked to help with are numerous, but some common ones are:
- Preparing budgets and financially robust strategic plans
- Producing and reporting monthly management accounts
- Cash flow forecasts
- Profit margin analysis and profit improvement plans
- Leading or supporting specific finance-related projects, for example fund-raising or a merger / acquisition programme.
At NJR, we have vast experience in recruiting Fractional and full-time FD’s and CFO’s across all sectors and have access to a UK-wide network of qualified senior finance professionals so that we can find the right candidate for you rapidly.
Please click here to read more about our expertise in recruiting top flight FD and CFO candidates.
If you want to find out more about this service contact Rex Cridland, MD and Head of CFO Practice at rex.cridland@njr.uk.com or call +44 7714 252116 for a no commitment consultation to see if a Fractional FD / CFO could support your business growth.
