It seems like everything is available in a ‘virtual’ version these days. There’s virtual conferencing, furniture staging, assistance and even virtual life games! The internet and increased broadband capacity has made this all possible.
We now don’t have to just accept what’s available in our local area, we can access the very best quality from anywhere in the world. Obviously there are some drawbacks to dealing with services from overseas such as different culture, language and time zones etc.
Virtual doesn’t have to mean anywhere in the world – it might just mean from another part of the country or region you live in. Virtual also doesn’t mean inhuman – there is generally an actual human being involved somewhere in the process.
Technology has made it possible to streamline a process by eliminating the menial and repetitive tasks – freeing up humans to deal with the more interesting and complex aspects.
Virtual CFOs are becoming more prevalent and possible now with the availability of cloud based business solutions such as banking, accounting, budgeting, cash flow, diagnostics etc.
Using these tools, technology, knowledge and experience, here’s some ways a small business can reap the benefits of a Virtual CFO:
- You don’t have to trudge across town to meet your typical old style accounting firm anymore. Hop onto Skype to meet the ‘best of breed’ professionals, who understand commercial reality.
- Put your accounts on a cloud based system and your CFO Advisory will be able to access the information at anytime and keep tabs on what’s happening. They will be able to alert you to developments so you can address issues quickly.
- Addressing issues in ‘real time’ means you pick things up quickly and save money and time rather than waiting for months to find out something has gone wrong.
- Whilst an idea is fresh in your mind, speak with your Virtual CFO to discuss the merits/drawbacks of an opportunity. It could save you lots of wasted time on projects that aren’t viable or speed up making an idea a reality and reap the profits sooner.
- Get access to your vital financial information/reports immediately, as well as being able to ask questions about them to ensure you have a full understanding.
- Get help with your accounting system – if you have a question you don’t have to wait until a physical meeting. Your Virtual CFO can jump onto the system and fix your question immediately.
- Get your systems all linked up e.g: Banking, accounting and budgeting, so that you can have accurate profit and cash flow information at your fingertips. Imagine how much easier it would be to know when you can afford to pay for things, rather than waiting to ask the bookkeeper or accountant!
- Being able to develop business strategy based on your current financial information is vital if you want to grow your business. There are some fantastic tools around such as Fathom – although you will most likely need a Virtual CFO to guide you through how to get the most from it.
