Well, not quite rule- but those who do rule need a good bean counter in their corner! See the article in Fortune magazine, Bean counters take charge
You might be saying to yourself, “Sure GOOGLE needs a great CFO, but not me. I’m a small business and I handle all my finances and my books myself!” But should you be handling these things? And what resources do you have at your disposal when you need guidance on financial decisions?
Many people start businesses because there is something they are passionate about. People are not usually passionate about the administrative aspect of their business (please contact me if you are actually passionate about bank reconciliations and other such boring things!). And sometimes small business owners don’t have the knowledge they need to make financial decisions.
If your budget doesn’t have room for a full time CFO you might consider bringing one in on a consulting or part-time basis. I’ve seen clients who make financial decisions that turn out bad because they did not have the information a CFO could provide.
Some of the issues a CFO can assist a small business owner with:
- How should I set up my business?
- How should I fund or capitalize my business?
- What is my exit strategy?