Every 'big business' has a Chief Financial Officer ('CFO') and there is a very good reason for this:
CFOs have a specific skill set that is essential for ongoing business success. Why else would EVERY business on the stock exchange have one?
The cost for a decent CFO can be anything from $150,000 to $millions and this is the main reason why smaller businesses do not have one. Smaller businesses just don't have either this much spare cash or the work load to keep a full time CFO occupied.
We recognise the benefits that CFOs bring and provide these CFO services for our clients on a part time basis. These services are often referred to as 'external CFO' services and are becoming increasingly more popular.
Our External CFO program is essential for all businesses to fulfill their potential and for all business owners who wish to reduce the business stress and uncertainty in their life.
The Maclean Partners External CFO Program helps businesses in a number of ways, particularly in each of the Six Requirements for Business Success:
- Have a good product or service (or range thereof)
- Have a good, clear business plan
- Have a good, clear marketing plan
- Manage your cash flow
- Proactively manage your business
- Proactively managed your exit
None of these ever 'get ticked off'. As the business world is constantly evolving, a business needs to be disciplined in constantly reviewing each of these. If they aren't, their business will wither be exposed or not fulfilling it potential (or, most likely both!). This is where the External CFO can help.
Our External CFO engagements are specifically adapted to suit each client. However, each engagement is fairly consistent to our 'standard approach'
- Strategic planning workshop
- Creating budgets and cash flows
- Developing marketing strategies
- Short period of weekly meetings to make sure 'actions arising' from the workshop are actually implemented
- Monthly budget reviews
- Quarterly (or 6 monthly) budget and strategic reviews (more detailed than the monthly reviews)
Repeat stages 1 to 6
Benefits of following a 'Tried and Tested' format
In our experience every business benefits from holding a strategic planning workshop:
- Every time it faces a 'significant event'
- Every year
The reasons are quite obvious. Serious business analysis can ONLY be achieved in an environment that is conducive to this analysis. We have significant experience in these workshops and this experience enables us to conclude that:
- The dynamics of these workshops are very different for a multi owner business compared to a sole trader
- The dynamics of these workshops are very different for a family held business compared to a non family held business
- The dynamics of these workshops are very different for a business whose owners are 'cross generational' compared to one whose owners are similarly aged
- If not conducted properly these workshops can be VERY damaging, especially for family businesses
- For these workshops to be effective it is CRITICAL for them to follow a structured approach
- For these workshops to be effective it is CRITICAL for them to be externally facilitated by an experienced business adviser. There are many reasons for this including 'keeping the workshop focused on major issues', and injecting some external accountability into the process (this is generally required to make sure 'things happen' as a result of the workshop so that is doesn't just become a 'talkfest'). The external person then has to take control of implementation, review and update of the action plan.
"You cannot fulfil your potential if you do not have a goal"
Benefits
The benefits of using an External CFO are huge and are mainly associated with:
- Growing your business
- Protecting your business (and other assets)
- Securing the future of the business and
- Developing the best strategies for exiting the business
Our external CFO services deliver great peace of mind for business owners and provides them with a sense that they are 'in control'. Owning a business can be very lonely, stressful and unenjoyable - we help eliminate these feelings.
Business failures have significant negative repercussions. Many business failures are actually avoidable but are not prevented because the owners either didn't recognise the warning signs or didn't know how to respond to them. An External CFO will provide support in these areas.
Multi owner businesses often underperform because the owners have different plans for the business which results in them pulling the business in different directions.
The strategic workshops included in our External CFO program ensures that there is alignment between owners regarding 'where they want to take the business'. Without this alignment the business will obviously underperform, the owners will become unnecessarily high. The sad thing is that such matters are easily avoided - use an External CFO.
Fees
Our External CFO fees are spread into monthly payments which makes our clients' cash flow easier to manage and importantly are backed by money back guarantees and are cancellable at any time without penalty.
Alternatively we can just conduct a one-off strategy session with business owners and leave the 'implementation and ongoing review' to the business owners (our least preferred model as, invariably, the owners become distracted and focus on operational issues).
For obvious reasons, our fees are much smaller for smaller businesses. As a general guide, fees for micro businesses start around $450 plus GST per month and increase to around $1,300 plus GST per month for multi million dollar businesses (these figures are indicative only).
