The role of a chief financial officer is to manage the company’s finances. While this may sound like a simple task, it is essential to note that many different types of fundraising and investor relations exist.

This means that CFOs must know how to approach each situation to get the best outcome for their business. Some of a CFO’s responsibilities include but are not limited to analyzing a company’s financial strengths, growing revenue, cutting costs, tracking cash flow, ensuring financial control, and helping to shape the overall strategy and financial direction of a company. The following will explain fundraising and investor relations and give some tips on how they can be used effectively in your business.

Business planning through the CFO role ensures compliance with the sarbanes oxley act, external stakeholders, and other public company requirements. Senior leaders in the finance function are experiencing a changing role in the c suite. Depending on the company size, today’s CFO requires cross-functional expertise to drive financial results. n

CFO duties

As a Chief Financial Officer (CFO), you are responsible for using your expertise to perform many duties. These include:

• • Financial planning and management

• • Financial reporting

• • Ensuring financial reports adhere to financial standards adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission SEC and other regulatory entities

• • Financial analysis and control systems development

• • Maintain financial integrity and protect vital company assets

• • Use financial data to influence operational decision making

• • Budgeting, forecasting, risk management, and variance analysis (for both internal financial statements and external reporting)

• • Assisting in preparing tax returns to ensure compliance with applicable laws and filing deadlines for the company’s subsidiaries worldwide. This can involve extensive involvement in tax law research, developing international transfer pricing policies and procedures, and advising on related regulatory issues such as FATCA or other withholding taxes/tax credits (e.g., R&D).

The CFO’s job involves collaborating with human resources and the supply chain to roll out new technologies and programs for teams to work closely within the company. The value of a CFO is outside of accounting and the IR department for public companies.

Investor relations

As a CFO, you are responsible for investor relations depending on the size of publicly traded companies. Investor relations is maintaining relationships with your company’s investors and stakeholders—like staff members, customers, and partners. It includes the following:

• • Communicate the company’s value and financial position to potential investors

• • Advocating a company’s share price to potential investors

• • Provide strategic approaches

• • Translate financial data

• • Establishing relationships with potential investors

• • Communicating with existing investors to maintain trust in your company

• • Prove detailed information, both quantitative and qualitative

• • Building long-term relationships

• • Partnering with public relations (PR) and marketing for press releases and communications

• • Obtaining funding for various initiatives

• • Reporting compliance from potential investors

Five Signs You Need a CFO

• • You are looking to scale your business

• • You need to protect vital company assets

• • Your business has a complex structure

• • You need to manage cash flow

• • You need to manage risk

• • You need to manage people as well as the financial reporting process

• • You are searching for a solid financial strategy to grow your company

Learn More about Fractional CFOs here Small Business CFO: What they Are

When hiring a Chief Financial Officer, you want someone who is a good fit for your company. This means they need to have experience working in your industry and with companies similar to yours in size and type of business. The majority of people who find themselves in a CFO position have advanced degrees, such as a Master’s degree; however, having a strong investment banking and accounting background and other certifications within the industry may also be indicative of their financial expertise. It is imperative that candidates have a strong understanding of financial reports, analytic methods, and financial data tools to fulfill the role efficiently. It’s also vital that they are someone you can trust — if they’re not honest or upfront with you about the financial status of your company and how it affects profitability, how can you trust them with any other information?

There are many things to consider when recruiting a CFO, so take your time and ensure they are a good fit for the business.

Hiring a CFO is a significant decision and involves many considerations.

Knowing what you want from the role and ensuring the candidate has the skills to do it is essential. Such candidates need to understand your business and its financial position while navigating complex data to make informed business decisions based on their analysis of financial information as its financial controller. In many organizations, the role of a CFO expands beyond their expertise in traditional accounting; it is also one strategic partner to the business’s Chief Executive Officer or CEO. Additionally, Chief Financial Officers must work closely with other senior executives depending on corporate structure. Today’s CFOs must also have good leadership skills so they can motivate others within their finance team, as well as be able to communicate with investors and other stakeholders about your company’s strategy.

In addition, there are additional considerations when hiring a Chief Financial Officer that might not come up when recruiting for other roles. For example: will they fit into your culture? Will they work well with others? Do they have a good reputation? These factors must be considered during recruitment to end up with someone who works well within your organization and has an excellent track record of success.

Conclusion

Hopefully, this article has given you a better idea of the CFO’s role and why it’s so important. But if you still have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us!