Did you know that one of the top reasons for businesses failing is financial problems? They mismanage their money somehow and it results in not having enough cash flow or not enough people buying their products.
We know that cash is a really important part of business. So today we’re going to cover the different roles you find in traditional businesses that keep that cash flow going.
The CFO
One of the most important things we can do as business owners is make sure that we have a good grasp and understanding of our finances.
Lot’s of business owners are also CPAs, but if you’re not one of those, you need to make sure you have a good Chief Financial Officer, or CFO. They may not have that exact title, but there needs to be someone who is in charge of financial oversight and financial strategy. Their job is to empower you, the business owner, to make smart decisions that will help your business last for today, tomorrow, and decades to come.
Some of the oldest businesses out there have been around for hundreds of years. And that’s what the CFO position really does. They make sure these businesses stay profitable so they can help the owners and shareholders increase their value.
The Accounting Manager
The next role might be called the controller or the accounting manager. That’s the person who is in charge of compliance and making sure that everything is correct in the books. They oversee the bookkeepers and make sure things get categorized correctly, that taxes are properly filed, and so on.
The controller is the kind of role that makes sure things are generally being done correctly and in a timely manner. That way, the CFO can actually do the work of analyzing those numbers to help make projections and start new projects.
The Specialists
The specialists are your bookkeepers, payroll specialists, accounting clerks, tax specialists, and those kinds of roles. These are the people who are actually doing the work, they’re the front line. They are in charge of transactions like payroll and processing checks.
Some of these functions, like payroll, can be automated. You buy the software so you can input the hours and it formulates everyone’s paychecks for you. But whether it’s a computer system or a person, these functions all work together to make sure that the books are balanced. So whichever kind of tool you choose to use, you need to make sure that the work of all these different jobs is being completed.
What Are You Doing in Your Business?
The controller/manager makes sure that all the specialists are doing their jobs, and then the CFO takes the numbers and analyzes them for the business owner. This is the chain of command you need to change your business and continue to be profitable. Whether you’re completing these jobs yourself or whether you’re outsourcing them, ask yourself: What am I doing in my business? Who is performing these roles? Which ones do I need help with?
If you can make sure all of these roles are fulfilled, your business can stay profitable in the long run and you can actually get paid for all your hard work.