A financial controller is a vital part of the accounting department for every business. They head up the accounting department and are responsible for supervising bookkeepers and accountants, producing month-end close reports and helping guide CEOs to make critical business decisions.
While some companies see drawbacks to using an outsourced controller, there are also benefits that a company can only get when using an outsourced service. Outsourcing the controller function has become a new way CEOs can benefit by cutting costs, gaining expertise and making confident business decisions.
Why Would an Organization Need to Hire an Outsourced Financial Controller?
An organization will usually turn to an expert outsourced controller when they need assistance in financial data collection or in reporting. For example:
Trouble Closing Your Books on Time
In any business from start-up to enterprise, information is key to making all minor and major decisions. Data is integral for knowing where your business is, where you’ve been, where you’re going, and how (and when) you will get there. The information helps the organization analyze opportunities and make decisions based on historical data or fact as opposed to making a guess. Information is what turns business into a game of strategy instead of a game of chance.
Cash Flow Issues
If your small business is experiencing cash flow issues such as not having enough cash to pay employees, having high AR or AP, having out-of-control coats, or tight margins, a company will often hire an outsourced financial controller. The controller will be able to help organizes and distill information that a CFO can then use to make strategic adjustments.
Your Books are a Mess
If your organization’s books are a mess, it could be due to a variety of reasons. You may have grown too quickly to keep information up-to-date and well organized. Maybe your organization never had financial systems in place until now, or perhaps you’re raising funding and realize you need clean, accurate books to approach potential financiers.
Whatever the reason, an outsourced controller may be the right solution. An outsourced controller can take books that are a mess and help organize them. This service may often be in conjunction with an outsourced CFO who can help define and implement financial systems to keep books organized and easy-to-manage in the future.
Raising Capital or Preparing for a Merger or Acquisition
If your small business is preparing to raise capital or preparing for a transaction, you may enlist the help of an outsourced controller. An outsourced controller will help make sure your books are clean, organized, and up-to-date. They will also be able to help poultry financial data that may be needed during due-diligence.
Benefits to your business of a having part-time outsourced financial controller services include:
1.Monthly Financial and Management Reports
An outsourced financial controller can provide monthly financial and management reports, which are a snapshot of the performance of your small business. It’s not mandatory but it will help to improve the areas which performance is poor. In addition, monthly financial reports are essential to assessing the future growth and profitability of your business.
2.Online BillPay
There was a time not so long ago when people were hesitant to pay their bills online. Many people distrusted the security of Internet transactions and viewed online bill payment as a loss of control over their money.
Online bill pay services make it easier to organize your bills and pay them when they’re due. If you juggle rent or mortgage, cable, electricity, credit card payments and more, online bill pay can save time and help you avoid late fees.
3.Accounting Systems assessment and workflow improvement
Your accounting system is more than the software supporting your accounting function. It also includes policies and procedures, workflow, and additional tools such as timekeeping, expense reporting and accounts payable applications.
An outsourced financial controller can address issues with your accounting function and analyze the components of your system. He or she will document current practices to highlight important inefficiencies and bottlenecks related to software, workflow process, and people. The resulting accounting system assessment provides management with valuable information regarding the accounting system and use of related applications, implementation of best practices, development of stronger internal controls, as well as budgeting and reporting
4.Business Planning and Budgeting
Once your business is operational, it’s essential to plan and tightly manage its financial performance. Creating a budgeting process is the most effective way to keep your business – and its finances – on track.
A Budget is a plan that outlines an organization’s financial and operational goals. So it may be thought of as an action plan; a budget helps a business allocate resources, evaluate performance, and formulate plans. The budget is an essential part of a business plan, especially in the startup phases of a business.
5.Advisory services such as profit margin and revenue analysis
Do you know what your small business’s profit margin goals should be? In business finance, profit margin tells you how much you make on the sale of each product or service. Tracking profit margin can help your business grow, helps you flag and solve issues, and is required for financing. Once you have your profit margin, you can see how many revenue dollars are actually going to your bottom line, as opposed to covering your business expenses. The profit margin can also reveal whether you’ve priced your product too high or too low.
Additionally, your outsourced financial controller can preform revenue analysis. Revenue analysis is not an easy task. It determines many factors such as the costs of products and which areas of the company needs an increase in revenue.
Final Thoughts
As your business grows, it will benefit from having an experienced outsourced financial controller to provide accounting and financial advice beyond what a bookkeeper can offer. He or she can provide comprehensive financial oversight that will contribute to the long-term growth and success of your business.
Limitless Investment & Capital’s Outsourced Financial Controller
When performance matters, you can count on Limitless Investment and Capital to deliver metrics tailored to your unique needs. Our outsourced financial controllers in Scottsdale, Detroit, and Denver will manage all of the accounting functions in your company while providing timely, meaningful and understandable financial information and analysis. We ensure the integrity of processes, procedures and information systems and help everyone work together in their respective roles efficiently.
