Finance and Accounting Considerations for Businesses in Growth Mode

By definition, even the newest startup is in growth mode. 但是随着你的公司开始成熟，你可能会发现自己的成长速度比预期的要快. 又或者，你的业务已经存在了一段时间，但由于市场升温或主要竞争对手的离开，你突然看到了快速增长. Or you have a new CEO who wants to prioritize growth. In all these scenarios, companies face similar issues.  

如果你还没有和一个分数型CFO一起工作，这是一个与一个分数型CFO合作的理想时机 business-minded advisor whose financial and accounting knowledge can strengthen your growth plan.

When should you bring in a fractional CFO?

• 当你想要一名全职员工，但又觉得工作量不够大的时候.
• 当你处于增长模式，有一个财务总监或会计经理，但不相信他们能充分支持你的增长计划.
• 当你是一个创业公司的老板/CEO，想要获得更多与金融或商业相关的知识时.

Scaling From Where You Are To Where You Want To Be

许多首席执行官可能会受益于获得额外的金融知识和经验，以有效地引导加速增长. An experienced fractional CFO already knows what you are going to need. 他们亲眼目睹了其他公司的运作方式和陷阱所在. 在你的行业中有经验的首席财务官会带来额外的“内幕”指导，帮助你的公司从一开始就更具竞争力.

If your business is in crisis mode due to growing pains, 一个分制CFO可以通过支持会计流程来帮助恢复平静，这样你就不会失去控制.

You want to scale up as smoothly as possible. However, in the real business world, 总有挑战需要解决，总有问题需要解决，这样你才能成长. These issues may be obvious, 或者它们可能更加微妙——你可能没有意识到这是危险信号，但经验丰富的首席财务官很快就会发现.

Growth mode companies may still require outside funding. 一个分数CFO可以解释在这一点上融资应该是什么样的, and how to achieve that. You might need to obtain a line of credit, find additional investor money, take out a working capital loan, 或者借钱为你的生产设施增加一个新的仓库或另一条生产线.

Assessing Your Internal Team

首席财务官可以一起审查你的财务和战略计划，以确保你有一个健全的 foundation for growth and determine whether you’re ready for the next stage. Are there still things you need to do to get there?

They will work with your existing team and assess their growth capabilities. For example, 假设你的目标是在未来三年内将年收入从1000万美元提高到2500万美元. 到目前为止一直在处理你的会计的办公室经理或财务总监可能没有接受过建立和实施更复杂的会计或处理更大量交易的培训. A fractional CFO can help professionalize the finance side of your business, including department staffing needs.

Assessing Your External Team

No business succeeds on its own. 你有一个由律师、银行家、保险代理人和其他人组成的咨询团队. But are they the right choices to carry your business to the next level? 随着公司的发展，你将需要更广泛、更复杂或更专业的技能. That’s easy to understand, 但决定结束一段关系可能很难，因为你的工作关系往往也是私人的.

An impartial fractional CFO can evaluate your advisor lineup. It may be time to:

• 把你的家庭律师换成熟悉商业合同和你所在行业的公司律师事务所.
• 用你所在行业的商业保险经纪专家代替当地的保险代理人，他们可以提供全面的保护选择.
• 转向可以处理对外交易的全方位服务商业银行, provide a bigger line of credit, and perform Treasury tasks a small bank cannot do.

Evaluating Your Corporate Structure

当你的业务增长到5-10万美元时，老板可以做任何事情. 但如果你想把公司规模扩大到2000万美元或更高，你就必须把部分职责下放给别人.

For example, 你想扩大你的服务领域，因为它能产生最高的利润, but you don’t have a general manager to oversee that area. 在你首先做出一个战术决策来填补领导角色之前，你将无法实施你的战略. 如果你不愿意这样做，因为你不想增加工资或委派特定的角色, or you hired someone and it didn’t work out, you risk stifling growth.

Typically, 有必要从首席执行官中创建独立的领导角色，如销售或工程(R&D). It can be hard to let go, 但分式CFO可以帮助你发现差距，做出明智的战略决策.

这一点至关重要，因为如果你不主动扩张，你的动力就会停滞不前.  

Identifying Potential Risks

一个分管型CFO能提供的最重要的建议之一是如何以及在哪里寻找隐藏的风险. 未雨绸缪，避免潜在的问题，可以让你的成长不受影响. 这包括审查采购和其他可能带来潜在风险的合同，这些风险可能会让你花钱或阻碍你的发展能力.

Here are some examples:

• In real estate, 如果你的债务权益比太高，无法在利率上升的情况下维持你的业务, you could be in trouble.
• In manufacturing, 如果您依赖某个资源或供应商提供关键产品或组件, what will happen if the vendor’s price spikes? Or they go away? This could be potentially devastating to your business.
• If another company enters the market with the same business model, could that put you out of business?  What can be done now to mitigate the risk?

Trusted Advisor For The Bigger Picture

必须有人关注所有可能阻碍经济增长的情况. Your controller or office manager is probably not thinking in this way, and you may not get that advice from your auditor or your lawyer. 你需要一位亲眼目睹利率迅速上升等问题所造成的损害的顾问, inflation, and labor costs can do. Someone who understands how to mitigate the potential problems.

一位经验丰富的首席财务官具有前瞻性的技能，能够了解你可能面临的主要风险，并确保你不会因可能减缓增长甚至导致破产的事情而误入歧途.