What are the types of internal audits?

Internal audits can include operational audits, compliance audits, financial audits, forensic audits, IT audits, and environmental audits.

What are the key standards in internal audits?

The key standards include independence, objectivity, proficiency, quality assurance, and communication.

What is the risk-based approach in internal audits?

The risk-based approach prioritizes auditing high-risk areas within an organization to focus resources where they are needed most.

What are the 5 C's of internal audit?

The 5 C's are Control, Compliance, Cost, Consistency, and Communication, which are critical for a successful audit process.

How does an internal audit help in risk management?

Internal audits help identify and mitigate risks by ensuring that internal controls are effective and that the company complies with laws and regulations.

How CFO services can help businesses grow and enhance their Financial Health

Published on October 29, 2021

Though there is no formal definition for a CFO Service , we can understand the concept as ‘a service available to enterprises to bring streamlined and efficient financial management and reporting on the table’. To put it simply, a CFO Service or CFO solutions include every task and tool related to accounting and finances.
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The service may include one or more of the following aspects that a business can choose according to their requirements.

Business and bank relationship
Cash flow management
Debt management
Divestitures and acquisitions
Executive management reporting
Internal coordination
Profitable and performance strategies
Risk and tax management

What is an outsourced CFO Service?

Imagine a situation where you’re a startup, who is building resources by day. And you’re witnessing a steady growth where the tax and compliance issue starts bulging with time. The accountant you hired to review the ‘finance matters’ might not be fully experienced in handling complex compliances and generating optimal reports. What would you do in such a situation? Many would say the best solution would be to bring an experienced executive to the team to deal with the matter. As simple as the answer might seem, but it comes at a high cost. The question that might be coming to your mind right now makes our next section in the blog.

Do I need a CFO to keep my wheels turning?

Yes! A C-suite isn’t just a fancy position to add to your company. It is an absolute necessity if you are looking to be the boss of your business! A CFO is responsible for understanding and scrutinizing the company’s financial strengths and weaknesses, suggesting corrective solutions, tracking the cash flow, and building robust financial planning. The roles of a CFO has elaborated ahead:

As mentioned earlier, the CFO looks over the financial activities, which he does by sticking to GAAP or generally accepted accounting principles built by SEC or Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory bodies.
The CFO watches over the company’s investments and capital structure. He is responsible for overlooking income and expense management.
He assists the CEO with forecasting, cost-benefit analysis, and most importantly, gaining funding for different initiatives.
He coordinates with every in-house team to give significant input about the fund available to carry out different tasks. This doesn’t mean he has to learn about the detailed functioning of every department; knowing just about the financial aspect is more than enough.

Hiring an experienced CFO to handle taxes and finances would require businesses to put a high budget at the stalk. Growing companies might see this as a roadblock. This is where an Outsourced CFO Service jumps into the picture. An outsourced CFO Service is an entity or a person who aids businesses to gain sound financial health. This service provider typically has an extensive network of experienced professionals or experience who work as per the requirement. For instance, your current team has a strong accountant workforce, but you need help with venture fundraising. In this situation, you call out an Outsourced CFO Service. Plus point, this model comes with pay per service charge.

An Outsourced CFO Service may include cash flow management, financial decision making, business analysis and profit engineering, financial modeling, forecasting and valuation, venture fundraising services, and more. The service might extend to cloud accounting services that include accounting and management reporting, payroll solutions, company tax services, annual financial statements, corporate governance and secretarial service, and more.

What is a virtual CFO Service- its benefits

This service model may include a single person or an entity that offers high-skill assistance in financial requirements for any business. It is a growing trend where companies are hiring virtual CFO services to meet their financial targets. An important reason for choosing this service is because it works in real-time and the service can be exactly tailored to your requirement. Other than the traditional roles mentioned above, a virtual CFO can assist the company to:

Map out reporting for monitoring and identify key metrics
Produce regular reports on financial results
Build strategic plans and overlook cash management in real-time
Look over the budgeting process and create the annual strategy

In addition, the service may selectively include:

Virtual CFOs may help businesses to create the financial story and engage in some light pitching. However, it won’t be advisable to rely on them for the lead-generation part entirely.
They may help businesses to manage finance-related IT systems, which doesn’t include managing IT staff. The service can help you set the ground rules, which can further be used as a guidebook by in-house staff.
The service may or may not include boardroom participation. However, virtual CFOs can be requested to prepare the team and other C-Suite members before a big meeting.
They may help businesses with mergers and acquisitions by providing light advisory and analysis.

As a note of caution, it would be wise not to expect a virtual CFO to engage daily, in-person participation with the workforce. They, in no way, are responsible for managing HR/Admins or shoulder all things legal. And if you are receiving stand-alone services, you should keep in mind that you won’t benefit with:

Optimized workflow
Payroll
Bank account reconciliation
CPA support for year-end tax and audit
Financial control implementation and oversight

Since we are already in the talks, let’s discuss how Felix Advisory can help your business with their unique CFO consulting. They offer a flexible CFO module to help companies to achieve sound financial freedom. Here are a few reasons why we felt why Felix Advisory might be the one-stop solution for all your financial needs.

The service pack includes outsourced accounting and compliance support, which empowers businesses with an efficient and cost-effective solution.
Provides technical expertise and sound strategies for complex financial, accounting, strategic business and regulatory challenges.
The team has high experience in finances and accounting by working with a broad range of industries.
Owns proprietary software that defends companies against frauds, thus ensuring a high standard of data security. It allows the team to move faster and safer in their aim to track business performance.

You are choosing to go for a CFO Service for whatever reasons, but the objective remains constant to quickly and economically achieve your growth goals. A Virtual CFO Service or an Outsourced CFO Service is a highly trending solution for startups and growing businesses to function exceptionally and get ahead of the curve in their industry.

Hope this article has helped you know more about How CFO services can help businesses grow and enhance their Financial Health. Felix Advisory can help you with our Best-in-Class Virtual CFO Services.

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