CFO On-Call welcomes Michael Granek as Partner

- Media Releases

Michael Granek, former Financial Director of homewares and kitchenware supplier Albi, has joined virtual CFO company CFO On-Call as a Partner.

Boasting a rare combination of financial, operational and transformational acumen, during his time with Albi, Michael helped to grow the business’s earnings from $18 million to $65 million per annum.

Based in Melbourne, he now hopes to share his expertise with small to medium businesses with aspirations of growth.

“I’m really looking forward to the diversity this role will bring,” Michael said.

“Working side by side with a range of different businesses will bring out the best in what I’ve been able to deliver as a senior executive in a career spanning more than three decades.”

A qualified CPA, Michael has a blue-chip financial pedigree that extends beyond solely analysing and optimising accounts. He excels at identifying and implementing tailored software systems, which routinely lead to more efficient systems.

“In my previous role, we used IT solutions to automate previously manual tasks and processes,” Michael said.

“This was a large contributing factor to the impressive revenue growth, but equally satisfying was the fact we simultaneously kept administrative staffing levels stable.”

Michael is also a firm believer in mentoring, as opposed to micromanaging.

“I’ll bring experience from improving and streamlining large scale companies to businesses of different sizes, as they need it,” he said.

“It’s no secret the economy is a little tough at the moment, and I really look forward to joining forces with people who are brave and hard-working enough to chase their dreams.”

Victorian businesses interested in accessing Michael’s expertise can learn more by visiting his partner profile or contacting 1300 362 436.

Who to Contact

Are you a journalist or financial writer? Would you like to talk to someone who can explain and write about business financial control and Virtual CFO work in plain English?

For all media enquiries, contact Sue Hirst, Director of CFO On-Call.

E: sueh@cfooncall.com.au

M: +61 416 128 545

Learn more about Sue

Good Reasons To Start Zero-Base Budgeting Now

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Most business owners are faced with rising costs and operate under an ever-increasing pressure to reduce costs and deliver savings.

There is a need for management tools that enable businesses to: manage costs effectively, identify and respond to underlying causes of costs, and predict the likely impact on the cost base of changes in the business.

In this eBook, you will learn what zero-base budgeting is and why it could be beneficial to your business.

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David Liebich – Partner Profile

- Partner Bio

Here’s how David helped one of his clients…

He was fulfilling the role of interim CFO for a retail/wholesale business, with 13 locations. The banks were about to wind up the business. The owner hadn’t fully accepted the fact that the business was technically insolvent. He thought the bank was his friend! Within a month, the bank had closed off all credit facilities. Through David’s advice and guidance, the client embarked upon a process of downsizing the business. By closing down seven retail and two wholesale stores – leaving two retail outlets and two wholesale stores alive – the client was able to pay out what they collected and work closely with suppliers to settle outstanding debts.

In this scenario the business was saved by quick and decisive action. The business still operates today, with a much more sustainable, albeit smaller, operation.

Obviously, David prefers to work with businesses to avoid this type of situation. It’s so easy when business growth occurs for things to get out of control. Well planned growth is the key to ultimate success. Having had decades of experience working with all types of businesses, David is extremely adept at spotting potential problems and helping his clients to avoid them.

View David’s Partner page

How to Hire a Top Level Virtual CFO at ‘Zero Cost’

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When you’re in the hot seat and in charge of making the best decisions for your business, do you rely heavily on intuition and gut feel? That’s fine in most cases, but what about when you need greater certainty in the financial outcome?

Let’s say you have to make decisions like:

  • A new salesperson will help us sell more, but will the extra profit cover the costs?
  • Should we take on that new piece of equipment? What is the cost recovery rate?
  • Is my calculator estimate close to the real figure?
  • What if I reduced the cost of goods sold, or the inventory, or collected debts quicker by 7 days? How much extra cash in the bank would that give me?

Perhaps you have a submission to the bank or lender and you need not just a professional presentation and accurate numbers, but a cost vs benefit or return on investment (ROI) analysis. Would you know the ratios that bankers use to justify your loan to their bosses?

Your internal bookkeeper or accountant may give you monthly totals, keep your invoices going out and provide profit and loss accounts, but can they help you make the big business-building decisions?

A Chief Financial Officer can.

But a full-time Chief Financial Officer (CFO) will cost you, with on-costs, around $150k to $180k a year. This is hard to justify as you don’t need another large cost factor.

A Virtual CFO, however, costs only when you need them, and not when you don’t!

So, what exactly is a Virtual CFO?

A good Virtual CFO is right-hand to the boss, but on the numbers side. Someone who has worked for bigger corporations, sometimes listed companies. Someone who has been the head of finance, is skilled in business numbers and knows how the numbers affect the decision-making process of department managers and the CEO.

They don’t even have to live nearby. These days it’s easier to have a sit down meeting over Skype than in person and it costs a great deal less in travel and out of office time.

Virtual CFOs are becoming more the norm for small/medium businesses for this reason. You can hire a Virtual CFO, someone who gets to know your business, helps you when you need them and the costs would be a mere fraction of hiring someone full time.

Want to find the best Virtual CFO for your business? Download our useful 18 point checklist on what to consider when engaging a part-time CFO.

The best part?

Hiring a Virtual CFO  almost always pay for themselves! Want to learn more? Download our free eBook for street-smart business owners who want the best possible financial help that will pay for itself 2 to 10 times over!

Fill out this form to Download our free eBook ‘How to hire a top-level Virtual CFO for zero-cost’
Virtual CFO

7 Ways to Keep Your Business Sustainable & Good to Grow

- Complimentary E-Books

Have you got what it takes to survive in tough times? Is dropping your prices your first course of action when sales begin to slow? Unless you can come up with several other options instead of dropping your prices, you’re headed for trouble.

With 18 years working with 18,000 Small to Medium Enterprises, through the good times and bad, we can tell you from experience that this is not the way to go. You need another plan – a more effective strategy to hold out against your competitors in a tough market.

If you’re not working on your strategy right now you might be leaving it too late. There are several essential factors that will determine your ability to survive the downturn.

This is your guide to understanding these critical factors. Your guide to the steps needed to develop a Survival Strategy. It’s written in plain English and there’s no accounting jargon. The worksheets will make your numbers easy to understand.

 

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The proof is in the profit for SMEs engaging virtual financial services

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While the concept is still relatively foreign within the Australian business vernacular, engaging the services of a ‘Virtual CFO’ has seen progressive SME owners experience an average profit growth of 51% over three years, according to research from executive consultancy firm CFO On-Call.

The largest virtual CFO service in Australia, CFO On-Call matches leading financial and business growth experts with SMEs on an as-needs basis, embracing a combination of remote employment and technology to handle high-level financial operations.

For just a fraction of the cost of a full-time executive salary, these experts create business strategies to increase efficiencies, output and best of all, profit – giving SME owners access to a previously unattainable level of financial guidance.

An audit of clients who regularly use CFO On-Call’s services found that, on average, their profit had increased by a staggering 51 percent between 2016 and 2018. The businesses surveyed had an average turnover of $16 million.

In comparison the businesses surveyed saw revenue increase by 15% on average over the same period. This means they achieved a much better result for a lot less effort.

Deeper analysis revealed that the positive impact of using CFO On-Call is owed to the company’s emphasis on streamlining costs and expenses.

“It’s a common misconception that growth in revenue equals the same rate of growth in profit,” said CFO On-Call Director Sue Hirst.

“In fact, many businesses actually see their profit decline as revenue grows because their priority strays from the bottom line.

“But with the client’s bottom line always at the forefront of their work, our CFO Partners are conscious about ensuring the revenue is spent wisely, thus maximising profit,” she added.

But it’s not just identifying unnecessary costs and expenses that has made CFO On-Call such a profit boosting service. It’s also the direct savings of engaging through the virtual world.

As the name implies, CFO On-Call experts are available around the clock through a blend of online and in-person communications systems. This gives a business the benefit of connected expertise without the cost of a full-time salary and associated statutory employment requirements.

“Not every business can afford the services of a full-time CFO to help navigate financial growth strategy, so the growing popularity of the Virtual CFO is helping to level the playing field,” continued Sue.

“We always knew our clients were experiencing some significant benefits, but it wasn’t until we crunched the numbers that we realised just how well they were doing.

“It was a real watershed moment.”

Click here to read the full results from CFO On-Call’s research.

Who to Contact

Are you a journalist or financial writer? Would you like to talk to someone who can explain and write about business financial control and Virtual CFO work in plain English?

For all media enquiries, contact Sue Hirst, Director of CFO On-Call.

E: sueh@cfooncall.com.au

M: +61 416 128 545

Learn more about Sue

Identifying Foreign Exchange Risks

- Complimentary E-Books

As a first step, it is important for businesses to identify their “foreign exchange risks” even if no exposures are immediately apparent. 

Put simply, foreign exchange (FX) or currency risk exposure arises when changes in exchange rates affect a company’s profits and/or the value of its assets and liabilities.

The impact that exchange rate fluctuations have on profitability will vary but in many cases, it can be significant. This free eBook looks at how businesses can identify their foreign exchange risk and how to mitigate the impact of this risk.

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2 Key Drivers to Better Results in Your Business

- Complimentary E-Books

One of the most vital numbers to know in order to make a profit is your ‘Break-even’ sales point.

Obviously your objective in business is not to ‘break-even’, however this is a great place to start avoiding losses and make profit.

In a ‘service based’ business, if what you have to sell is time and materials, you need to maximise the amount of each you have to sell to achieve your desired profit margin.

The best way to achieve maximum output, is to set targets and monitor them to ensure you achieve your desired goals. Here’s information about what drivers to track, how to set targets and track progress.

Learn about what drivers to track, how to set targets and track progress in our free eBook.

Click here to Download our free eBook ‘2 Key Drivers to Better Results in Your Business’

Fill out this form for access to your free eBook:
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The Profit vs Cash Flow Road Map

- Cash Flow Management and Forecasting
By Sue Hirst – Director, CFO On-Call

Do you wonder why you have a profit in your business, but not enough cash?

It often boils down to a lack of understanding of the difference between profit and cash flow. Let me explain.

Firstly, let’s start with profit.

The best way to ensure you make a profit is to avoid losses! The best way to avoid losses is to understand your break-even sales point. This is the amount of sales you need to make to arrive at $0 profit (i.e. neither a profit or a loss).

In order to work out your breakeven sales, you need to understand the ‘true cost’ of your product or service. This means the cost of the item and getting it into store and ready for sale, or materials and labour, if it’s a service or job.

Once you know your ‘true cost’, this gives you a better basis for working out the price to charge, to ensure you make a gross profit.

Next you need to consider your running expenses, such as rent, wages etc. These are the expenses you need to pay every month (whether you sell anything or not). Once you know this, you can work out, based on the gross profit for each item/job you sell, how much you need to make in sales to cover your running expenses. You can then use that to work out a target for profitability.

All of the above can be documented in a Budget to help you stay on track. Your budget can be entered into your accounts system and you can report on a comparison between budget and actual results each month. This helps you to stay on track to profit and fix things quickly if they get ‘off track’.

Secondly, let’s cover cash flow.

Once you’ve created a profit by selling something and paying out less in costs and running expenses than the sales amount…

If you offer terms for your customers to pay (e.g. 30 days), you need to have a process in place to ensure they pay as quickly as possible. Remember this is your money in their bank account and the longer they take to pay, you are acting as a bank to them!

Similarly, if you receive terms to pay your suppliers (e.g. 30 days), you need to have a process in place to ensure you use the maximum days to pay them. I’m not suggesting you don’t pay them for as long as possible, just that you don’t pay early, as this can have a ruinous effect on your cash flow. The longer terms you can negotiate, the better your cash flow will be.

If you are running jobs, it makes sense to get them finished ASAP, so you can invoice immediately and recover your outlays in paying for materials and labour to get the jobs done. Every day you delay invoicing is like dollar bills piled up on your workroom floor!

If you’re selling products, you need to minimise the number of days stock sits in store waiting to be sold. Again, think of stock as dollar bills piled upon the store room floor! There are good systems to help you manage the optimum time for stock holding.

Next you need to ensure you’ve got enough cash to cover taxes and loan repayments. These aren’t included in your Profit and Loss Report, but they have a big impact on cash flow. If you don’t pay on time you will fall foul of the tax office and your lender.

It may be necessary, at times, to inject some of your own funds into your business. It makes sense to do this in an organised way and to ensure that you get repaid ASAP.

A great tool to help you manage cash flow is a ‘Cash Flow Forecast’. It can be a simple spreadsheet, where you document all cash into and out of your business, the balance on any given day, week or month and where the peaks and troughs are likely to occur. Once you know when they are, you can manage them proactively and sleep better at night!

If you would like to learn more about this subject, plus other useful business financial management tips, check out ‘Business Financial Toolkit’

BUSINESS FINANCIAL TOOLKIT

 

Sean Walls – Partner Profile

- Partner Bio

A specialist in business expansion, turnaround and core growth, Sean has honed his skills all over the world. His impressive career has seen him work as a financial advisor and senior business strategist with companies across Africa, the UK, France and the USA with his expertise spanning Agriculture, Mining, Petrochemicals, Manufacturing, Logistics and Government.

As a CFO On-Call Partner, Sean works directly with small to medium business owners to help them take control of their business numbers and achieve financial success.

Those familiar with Sean Walls know that his success stems from approaching things differently to what is considered “usual”. He breaks each part of the business down into segments – be they sales, manufacturing, services or industry – and then puts them back together for the maximum possible outcome.

This is known as the Value Chain approach – one which has proven successful for Sean, who has received awards for turning businesses around.

“I love solving problems. I’m not your regular finance person,” Sean said.
“Most traditional finance people will look straight at the numbers whereas I think the numbers will sort themselves out if the business is optimised.

“So, I look at the business down while most people will look from the numbers up.”

Sean’s bread and butter is making businesses profitable, and he believes he has plenty to bring to any size business which may need CFO On-Call’s help.

“You’ll have access to someone who has the horsepower to work with the big companies for a simple day rate,” he said.

“I’m heavily connected to a network of good people and you can plug in to that.”

If you are either a small business owner or an Accounting firm looking for a CFO to help, please email us at info@CFOonCall.com.au to set up an initial chat.

View Sean’s Partner page

A Guide To Better Performance In The Manufacturing Industry

- Complimentary E-Books

Manufacturing businesses are now operating in an increasingly competitive environment driven by globalisation, saturation/diversification of competition and changing or decreasing industries.

This dynamic environment creates unique challenges for manufacturing businesses.

This eBook lays out the key items that manufacturing businesses need to get right in order to survive and thrive in the ever-dynamic manufacturing industry. Thank you to Victoria-based CFO On-Call Partner Greg Spiteri for writing this eBook.

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Sean Walls joins CFO On-Call

- Media Releases

Sean Walls

Melbourne-based business owners can now tap into over 20 years of global management experience, following the appointment of global finance expert Sean Walls to CFO On-Call’s already talented stable of Partners.

A specialist in business expansion, turnaround and core growth, Sean has honed his skills all over the world. His impressive career has seen him work as a financial advisor and senior business strategist with companies across Africa, the UK, France and the USA.

As a CFO On-Call Partner, Sean will now be working directly with small to medium business owners to help them take control of their business numbers and achieve financial success.
“We are thrilled to have someone with Sean’s business acumen and expertise joining the CFO On-Call team,” said Sue Hirst, Director of CFO On-Call.

Those familiar with Sean Walls know that his success stems from approaching things differently to what is considered “usual”. He breaks each part of the business down into segments – be they sales, manufacturing, services or industry – and then puts them back together for the maximum possible outcome.

This is known as the Value Chain approach – one which has proven successful for Sean, who has received awards for turning businesses around.

“I love solving problems. I’m not your regular finance person,” Sean said.

“Most traditional finance people will look straight at the numbers whereas I think the numbers will sort themselves out if the business is optimised.

“So, I look at the business down while most people will look from the numbers up.”

Sean’s bread and butter is making businesses profitable, and he believes he has plenty to bring to any size business which may need CFO On-Call’s help.

“You’ll have access to someone who has the horsepower to work with the big companies for a simple day rate,” he said.

“I’m heavily connected to a network of good people and you can plug in to that.”

A family man, Sean said he is excited that this new opportunity will give him more time to spend with his children, and to train for triathlons.

“I get to do what I love but I’m still able to contribute at home and be a father and that matters too,” he concluded.

Finding the best Virtual CFO (VCFO) for your business

- Latest News

Business Management

CFO On-Call

  1. Discuss and decide your ‘big picture’ goals…what you want to achieve in your business in terms of business growth, improved profit, cash flow, business value, efficiency and lifestyle.
  2. Discuss and set targets for specific parts of the business i.e. KPIs (Key Performance Indicators).
  3. Review and reorganise management structure and team to align with business goals and targets.
  4. Discuss profit improvement opportunities including outsourcing any ‘non-core’ activities.
  5. Your VCFO will implement ‘best practice’ financial management processes and systems to ensure accurate, timely information you can rely on.
  6. Plan and implement business transformation projects with your VCFO and team.
  7. Ask your VCFO to review ‘Risk Management’ and “Governance’ i.e. how the business is set up and fulfils its legal obligations to all stakeholders.
  8. Ask your VCFO for help managing relationships with bankers, accountants, legal advisors, insurance providers etc.
  9. Ask your VCFO to review your business finance to ensure you’ve got the best and most cost-effective funding in place. They will help you with finance applications and preparing ‘business cases’ to secure funding.
  10. Attend regular meetings with your VCFO to review reports and discuss performance, targets and further improvement actions.

 Planning

  1. Review your strategic direction to ensure it’s in line with your objectives and review options.
  2. Your VCFO will assist you to prepare a short and long-term Business Plan, Budget and Cash Flow Projection.
  3. If you plan to exit your business in the near future (say within 5 years) ask your VCFO to assist you plan for your exit and succession and build business value to ensure an acceptable sale price.

 Growth & Development

  1. Discuss your ideas for new products/services and markets.
  2. Your VCFO will assist you to work out the cost of and implement business expansion plans.
  3. If you plan to merge your business or acquire another business, your VCFO will perform ‘Due Diligence’ to ensure it’s a profit and value building option.
  4. Your VCFO will train, coach, mentor and develop your finance team, to ensure things are done right and you can rely on the information provided.

 Cost to engage your VCFO

  1. Agree a ‘value based’ fee with your VCFO ensuring it is far outweighed by the value they deliver to your profit, cash flow, business value and lifestyle.

Karen Ovens – Partner Profile

- Partner Bio

Karen loves to work with businesses that want to grow. If they struggle currently with profit and cash flow, but want to grow and know they need to fix these issues to enable growth, Karen can help. She has helped clients with restructuring, sustainable growth strategy, due diligence and getting business finances in order. Helping business owners to be better informed about performance and confident with the results is her passion.

Karen helps clients understand what drives cash flow and manage what impacts it to enable better cash flow. She has recruited, trained and managed bookkeepers to handle issues affecting cash flow, so it isn’t such an issue and business owners can get on with running the business without worrying about cash.

Profit improvement and developing KPIs to improve sales, costs and overheads is a job she relishes. She has assisted businesses to install disciplines, so that everyone is accountable and involved in achieving the desired results.

Karen has worked with clients to get the basics right, in preparation for taking their business to the next level. Such as:

  • Ensuring sales targets are clear and pricing of the product/service is right.
  • Understanding the ‘true cost’ of a product/service, to ensure a good margin is vital for a growing business.
  • Anticipating and managing costs and overheads keeps profit plans on track.
  • Understanding and managing cash flow requirements, during the growth phase and beyond, is vital if a business wants to grow sustainably.
  • Seeking growth funding requires deep understanding of how a business operates and its cash requirement, as well as creating confidence in a finance applicant.

Karen’s clients have a clear understanding of how their business is performing from the reports she’s set up for them. Their accounting systems have been set up to capture the information they need and the reports have been designed to provide information in the way they want to see it. She ensures the numbers are accurate by guiding bookkeeping staff in data entry. She explains and discusses the reports with clients, so that they are actionable and accountabilities are set to achieve improvement.

Karen works with Accounting firms to assist their clients. She thoroughly enjoys the working relationships she has with accounting firms and helping their business clients. All CFO On Call partners around Australia and New Zealand are happy to work closely with Accountants to ensure their clients’ businesses are running as profitably, efficiently and professionally as possible and any issues the business is experiencing can be tackled by commercially experienced professionals in our team.

Karen is a CPA with a Bachelor of Business – Accountancy (Accounting Major, Taxation Secondary Major) – Queensland University of Technology.

If you are either a small business owner or an Accounting firm looking for a CFO to help, please email us at info@CFOonCall.com.au to set up an initial chat.

View Karen’s Partner page