Some companies need more than the usual level of assistance from a virtual CFO. This is why The Virtual CFO Group Australia has developed a specialised service offering. Colin Wright explains the ‘Executive Virtual CFO’ package – what it means, and when it’s most needed.
Our virtual CFO offering continues to develop in response to client needs. We have recently introduced our Executive Virtual CFO package as a result of these requests.
The Standard Virtual CFO offering is targeted as a support package where the virtual CFO provides the planning framework for business performance targets. Along with the forecasting, reporting and analytics activities we also support the finance team and assist management with delivering their growth plans successfully within management’s financial resource capabilities.
We are now finding that several clients are looking for more than the standard package. They are looking for our virtual CFOs to take full responsibility for the finance department and to contribute to the implementation of the business’ strategic plans. This necessitates us working more closely with external advisors on matters such as tax planning, risk management, finance facilities management as well as with other professional advisors or investors. It also includes overseeing the development of the finance team and its structure as well as being responsible for the performance of the team. We call this the Executive Virtual CFO package.
Under this package, we are a part of the executive team and work closely with the other members of the client’s executive team. This is a very productive process as we can bring our extensive experience gained from working for many years in a range of industries and across many businesses, to provide valuable insight and recommendations to our clients,
These additional responsibilities can only be undertaken where there is an established team in the finance department. As all executive managers have found, it is not effective for the executive virtual CFO to be heavily involved in the operational demands of the finance department and provide the proactive leadership and accountability that is required to ensure a high level of performance from the finance department.
Each of our virtual CFO packages are enhanced by other members of our team who specialise in a range of offerings. An example of this is our model developers. Data analytics is such a powerful contributor to business performance. The tools are now available for undertaking detailed data analytics to enable clients to understand more deeply the drivers of profits and the drivers of cost in their business. Within our virtual CFO packages, our model developers, who have advanced Power BI skills, provide targeted analytics at the direction of the assigned virtual CFO.
Outside our virtual CFO packages, we can also provide a financial controller and/or an accountant. This can be very helpful for a growing business to enable it to fill the workload and management gaps that either do not justify an additional direct staff member, or to give the business enough time to undertake a properly considered recruitment process. This will enable it to fill the role with the right person for the business.
