The benefits of outsourcing financial management for SMEs

What are the advantages of partnering an external finance manager or director if you are a small business owner? After all, when cash is scarce, when banks are not playing ball, when customers are taking longer to settle their bills, when work is harder to find....... why should a small business even think about adding another overhead to the P&L?
The apparently most straightforward answer is that when the economy is on its uppers, then it's best to try to ride out the storm until it abates and signs of the new financial order can be seen on the horizon (however far off that might be). This strategy can undoubtedly work - if the business has sufficient cash reserves, bank support, suppliers with patience, customer loyalty, motivated employees and accurate management information to hand to be able to assess the current viability of the business at any particular point. But any business, during periods of crisis, also needs to predict its future viability to ensure that it is well positioned to be able to emerge on the other side of a recession with the capability of rapidly exploiting the commercial opportunities that will be presented when markets open up once more.
By outsourcing financial management, the business owner can benefit from having the budgeting and forecasting skills of an expert in financial planning allied to his or her own operational nous and understanding of the market. Having an experienced resource on-call to help in keeping even half an eye on predicting what might happen in the future, at a time when trading conditions are never-endingly tough and time-consuming, can give the forward-looking entrepreneur a significant competitive advantage when profitable opportunities appear once again. Furthermore, the financial and operational information and performance indicators that can be selectively extracted and evaluated by a commercially-focused accountant can be provided to the business owner when and how they are demanded. And of course, by being outsourced, the costs and associated issues of employing even a part-time finance professional are more easily managed.
At 8020 Financial Management, we have partnered many small businesses who have found they needed support to make sense of the numbers but who did not need or want a full-time accountant or FD on the books. As external and objective trusted advisors, we have helped businesses successfully improve their financial planning capabilities, thereby providing a better foundation for implementing their strategies profitably. Contact me for an introductory chat on rory@canmore.co or visit www.canmore.co to find out how a flexible approach to outsourcing control of your finance function can benefit your business - now and for the future.