High quality cash flow advantages when employing a flexible Chief Financial Officer by Sam McQuade CFO of Panterra Finance

Sam McQuade CFO of Panterra Finance on innovation and valuation benefits when hiring a fractional CFO these days: Startups, especially in their early phases, usually do not have full-time CFOs as they may not generate enough revenue to justify the cost of an additional C-suite member on the payroll. However, when things begin to look exciting – during a time of rapid scaling up or in case of a merger or acquisition – a CFO becomes inevitable. Still, many startups might be hesitant to take on the additional cost of a C-suite colleague, especially when the situation necessitating the presence of a CFO is transitory. CFOs, after all, bring highly valuable skills to the table and expect reasonably commensurate compensation. Hiring a fractional CFO is an innovative solution to this conundrum that many startups face.

The philosophy of “What got you here won’t get you where you want to go” is ever-present in business once past the initial start-up phase. Businesses launch additional products, open new territories, open additional locations, transact in new currencies, and deal with increasing regulatory requirements. These all require more advanced thinking, tools, and techniques. Many bootstrap startups begin with a part-time bookkeeper and simple systems but later find that they cannot sustain additional business growth and complexity. Systems, resources, processes, and strategies must scale in sophistication as a company grows.

Smaller companies, incubators and startups could not match the salaries that the full time CFO commanded on the world financial stage. The seeds for the concept of an Interim or Fractional CFO were planted in the mind of Sam McQuade almost 3 decades ago when he first entered the world of International Finance as an Entrepreneur Consultant in Geneva Switzerland after achieving his MBA/MA at European University. During this tumultuous time at the turn of the century on the international financial scene, Mr. McQuade was ahead of his time. He offered as needed financial consultation services for international behemoths the Swiss based Nestle Corporation and the US based medical device corporation Stryker. The focus of his services, which would years later be foundational in the concepts of Panterra was a new model in product development, manufacturing and marketing. Discover extra info at https://e27.co/user/samueledwinmcquade/.

Vision, Roadmaps and Business Plans are typically good collaboration processes, however alignment on meaningful strategy is driven by relationships and the CFO cannot over-communicate in this area. In an era of “greenwashing”, the CFO has a real opportunity to lead since success will ultimately be measured with scorecards and transparency. Sharing the Sustainable Story with financial support is the most credible way for stakeholders to see progress.

What Is a Chief Financial Officer (CFO)? The term chief financial officer (CFO) refers to a senior executive responsible for managing the financial actions of a company. The CFO’s duties include tracking cash flow and financial planning as well as analyzing the company’s financial strengths and weaknesses and proposing corrective actions. The role of a CFO is similar to a treasurer or controller because they are responsible for managing the finance and accounting divisions and for ensuring that the company’s financial reports are accurate and completed in a timely manner.

Internal factors include sales trends, labor and HR-related costs, the price of raw materials and more, while external data inputs could include opportunity cost for capital, shifts in market demand, emerging competitors and advances in technology. To monitor the external environment, CFOs may rely on government data, analyst firms and business and general media, supplemented with insights gleaned through trade and association memberships and the input of board members, lenders and others.

Now, suppose there is a problem with the website. Maybe the server goes down, or maybe there is a bug in the code. In such a case, the smart contract will still be functional, and the transactions will still take place. This is because the smart contract is running on the blockchain, which is a decentralized network. Even if one node in the network goes down, the other nodes will still be up and running, and the transactions will take place. This is just a very simple example to show you how a DAO works. In reality, DAOs can be much more complex, and they can do many more things. For instance, they can be used to create decentralized versions of traditional companies or organizations.

We are your ally in managing business risks. In a world that is rapidly changing, we help you identify what that change means for your business and what measures you need to employ to protect it from a range of risks in the new economy.

A DAO is a decentralized autonomous organization that is run by smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain. It is an organization or company that is not centrally controlled by any one person or entity. Rather, it is governed by code that is written into the smart contracts. This code can be modified or updated by anyone who has access to the DAO’s GitHub repository. To put this into perspective, imagine a traditional company or organization. There is usually a board of directors or executive team that makes all the decisions about how the company will be run. With a DAO, there is no such thing. The code that governs the DAO is open source and available for anyone to view and audit. In this new scenario, an organization can be run by anyone in the world who has an internet connection.

The answer is to bring in a qualified CFO to work closely with the CEO or business owner. The CFO must embrace the vision, but also translate this into the operational and financial framework to achieve success. Dealing effectively with stakeholders is another key function. This includes managing expectations, presenting financial information, and understanding the varied and legitimate interests of owners, creditors, and lenders.

Looking to hire your very first CFO or need interim coverage? We provide CFOs for immediate short term projects and longer term engagements. Adaptable with clear pricing so you cover your business and don’t have to rush into a potentially very bad and costly full time hire. In disrupting the traditional contracted title of CFO, Panterra Finance innovatively offers all its clients thought leadership based on international financial market experiences. Panterra Finance offers a unified international approach to businesses in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Eight centrally located offices in the USA, Switzerland, the Middle East, and the emerging African Continent, offers global enterprises Fractional and Interim CFO services backed by a team with a grasp of dynamic world trends. Read even more details on Sam McQuade CFO.