Ask a CFO with James Vanreusel – CFOs – The CEO’s Strategic Partner

CFO’s are a thinking partner to a CFO–not an accountant.

Every part of a business, whether Sales, Business Development, Marketing, or People Ops should have someone “in charge.”  Someone that will ask the tough questions, make the hard decisions, and most important, mitigate risks. The same applies to the finance department. If a growing business doesn’t have someone like a CFO protecting the company’s financial health, the business will struggle to grow and open itself to fraud

CFO’s are the head of the Finance and Accounting department. They will fully understand the principles of accounting and bookkeeping but are not accountants. The CFO is the one who focuses on the big picture items, the big deals, M & A, fraud risk management, fundraising, strategic hiring, audits, and more.  CFO’s act as a thinking partner to the CEO, the head of the Finance department, a mentor to the team, quarterback and guardian.

They will guide the finance team through the gears, keep a tight reign on all finance functions, move the company toward financial growth, and support the CEO through massive business decisions.

An excellent accounting team is crucial but does not take the place of a CFO, and a CFO does not take the place of an accounting team.