4 Major Benefits to Outsourcing CFO Services

A Chief Financial Officer (CFO) plays an integral part in your organization’s financial stability. They have the responsibility of overseeing financial reporting, accounting, audit prep, and other financial related tasks. While hiring someone in-house is a good option, there are also several benefits to outsourcing a CFO. 

What are the benefits of outsourcing a CFO? 

It’s cost-effective. 

Hiring in-house seems like it would be more cost-effective, but in many cases, it’s actually the opposite. In addition to the in-house CFO’s salary, you also have to think about the cost of employee benefits, taxes, and resources such as computers, cell phones, etc. When you outsource a CFO, it’s typically on an ad-hoc basis — so you only pay for the time he/she actually works. According to Entrepreneur, a full-time CFO can cost a business around $218,000. That’s a little over $18,000 a month! Smaller to mid-size businesses may only need CFO services once a week, and with this option, you could save your business a lot of money long-term. And if your business fluctuates in finances a lot, this option will be easier to scale.

Vast expertise and knowledge.

When you outsource a CFO, you get the best of both worlds. You get the expertise and knowledge you’re looking for without the high price tag of a full-time CFO. An outsourced CFO may also have more of a consultant background and would be able to provide better oversight of business strategy and planning. They may also be able to help with professional services like crisis planning and navigating market uncertainty; two highly relevant topics right now in our current environment. Like any third-party service, it’s also helpful to have an unbiased, outside perspective. Sometimes if we’ve been in our business bubble for too long, it can be more difficult to see the “whole picture” and take a broad view of potential issues that cause financial stress. 

Better control & reduced fraud risk.

Full-time employees are typically granted access to information, data, passwords, etc., and this information can be shared freely. Even if it can’t be easily shared, full-time employees have more control over gaining access to it. While the goal is to employ trustworthy and reliable workers, there is always a potential risk for a  liability issue. By outsourcing a CFO, you can maintain better control over your financial systems and reduce the risk of fraud. 

It saves time. 

In many small to medium-sized businesses, full-time employees end up wearing a few hats. As a result, an in-house CFO might spend a lot of their time handling tasks that aren’t directly related to their role. When dealing specifically with company finances, CFO’s often do not (and should not) have that flexibility. By outsourcing a CFO, you’ll have peace of mind knowing they’re fully focusing on the tasks at hand. 

Thinking about outsourcing a CFO? We can help with that! Taurus CPA Solutions’ CFO services are designed to provide growing businesses with professional financial advice. Our goal is to help guide your business to new heights, reduce your overhead costs, and provide unique insights from a completely objective point of view. Give us a call at (410) 465-4600 or contact us online.