Why Startups Need a CFO Partner
The current economic uncertainty has many businesses closely evaluating their current and future
staffing needs. While some positions are being cut, especially in the immediately impacted sectors such
as hospitality and travel sectors, many businesses are strategically hiring financial professionals into
executive leadership positions during the downturn.
While finance might not be one of the most exciting parts of running your startup, it undoubtably is integral to your startup’s success.
According to CB Insights, two of the top five reasons startups fail is because they lack significant financial
expertise, i.e., they create products/services that have no market need and run of out of cash.
Companies that previously had tasked their CEOs with handling finance functions are now hiring
dedicated CFOs (or outsourcing CFO roles to reputable third parties) to ensure they will be able to
weather the new economic storm.
With ambiguity over how long businesses will need to keep their offices and storefronts closed paired
with unpredictability in the stock market, business owners and CEOs are feeling increased pressure to
make critical strategic financial decisions for the health of their organizations.
That is why having a seasoned financial expert on your side is critical for startups. Broadly speaking, a
finance leader will help you structure your costs, create better investment channels, chart out strategic
roadmaps, and efficiently structure future deals.
As a startup founder your challenges change constantly as the business evolves from the initial ideation
stage to the subsequent rounds of institutional financing.
Before we dive into the specific use-cases of the finance function in a startup, let’s look at the two broad
components of the finance function:
Accounting/Compliance:
Financial accounting involves recording, summarizing, and reporting of all your financial business transactions over a specific period of time. Financial accounting for startups depends of the size and
stage of the business.
For early stage startups, accounting can be outsources because of smaller volumes.
and lack of inhouse resources. Moreover, early stage founders need to focus on creating a solid
business, generating demand for the product/solution, talent acquisition and more. On the other hand,
mature startups need an in house accountant and external auditors and reviewers to go over monthly
accounts.
Strategic Finance:
Management accounting is the strategic part of finance and is forward looking. This is much more than just accounting and informs your overall business strategy. Strategic finance involves everything from product pricing to budget creation, cashflow forecasting and performance management. While functions like payroll and audits can be outsourced to CAs, you need inhouse expertise to navigate all other finance functions as your startup finds its feet. Cashflow management and strategic planning is important to ensure that you are on the right course and that your business is safe against unforeseen circumstances.
As you embark on your growth journey a reactive approach to financial management is not enough tidentify risks and opportunities affecting your business.
Also, as your business evolves, your accounting process must follow suit and you will need a partner with the right skills and expertise to correctly record, report, and plan while keeping and on the cash-flow.
Here’s a look at some of the specific use-cases of finance through a startup lifecycle:
Pre-seed investment:
You must be able to track all your business transactions including receivables, payments, contract and the like. Interestingly, research suggest that nearly 80 percent of startups fail to progress beyond seed
funding.
Series A to B:
When preparing to raise your first round of funding, reporting becomes a key element that investors
base your business’ potential. Reporting in this sense involves both internal and external reporting for
specific business areas (sales growth, cashflow projections, marketing KPIs, employee retention, etc.)
and therefore you need to define your cost centers and establish basic controlling mechanisms. Annual
forecasts would be especially beneficial.
Series C and beyond:
Considering you’ve progressed through the initial funding rounds, now, you need a strategic partner
that will look beyond current operational needs and focus on what really sets you up for success –
product/service pricing, M&A, international expansion, market intelligence to name a few.
Most B schools tell you that an accountant or controller is responsible for accounting and a CFO is responsible for finance, however, this academic thinking doesn’t apply to the world of startups.
You need a financial partner that brings crucial information to the table which will impact your
company’s top and bottom line while setting up a robust operations strategy.
You will need someone who can help you find the right balance between processes, structures, and reporting in an agile environment that will enable you to scale rapidly and sustain growth.
-By S. Chidambaram
