Here at CFO Selections, we are always in pursuit of the knowledge needed to continue growing personally as well as professionally. We are constantly reading, watching, and listening to resources across many different topics as well as discussing what we are learning along the way. Our goal is to foster a culture of continuous learning in ways that transcend our roles in the office. In keeping with that spirit, we periodically spotlight books our team members are reading. In today’s CFO Selections book review and share, Jen Girard is highlighting The 36-Hour Day – a book that she has not only ..read more

The first thing you need to know when creating a budget is that it is wrong from the start. In the world of accounting and finance, we like things to be precise and tie out neatly. A budget, on the other hand, is meant to be a predictive tool and a roadmap to help you get to where you are going. When you enter an address into your GPS, you often get three to four different routes you can take to get to your destination. Sometimes the route has construction or other traffic impediments along the way. Think of a budget somewhat the same way. You build assumptions that you can change based on th ..read more

As fractional CFOs and Controllers our team engages with organizations in either a short-term or part-time capacity. One area where we often lend our expertise is in ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and MRP (Material Requirements Planning) installations. Properly implementing and managing the accounting and finance elements of these systems requires a depth of financial acumen that is best suited for an experienced CFO to handle because there are wide reaching business implications to consider with this type of strategic execution. In the many years that we have been helping clients with ac ..read more

As outsourced CFOs we are brought in to assist in a variety of situations across many different types of organizations. Every instance is unique in terms of what kind of financial position they are in, where they are excelling and/or struggling operationally, and what they are looking to get help with across their financial functions. As a result, their expectations can get hazy for the consulting CFO coming into the role. When this unclear view of what a fractional CFO should be doing is combined with financial management activities that are (either unintentionally or purposefully) against b ..read more

If you’re looking to hire a CFO, have you stopped to consider whether you actually need one? Too often companies, especially successful small to mid-sized companies, rightly understand that they need strong financial leadership to maintain their growth and incorrectly conclude that they need to hire a full-time CFO to get it. Now, as a company comprised entirely of seasoned CFOs and Controllers, we certainly understand the importance of having this kind of strong financial leadership! However, our experience also allows us to understand that executive financial leadership is not one-size-fits ..read more

Originally published: 2/15/2021 Updated: 3/4/2024 For those not familiar with the term, a decision tree is a flow chart that works through all possible response options in a scenario to analyze resulting outcomes. Basically, it is a visual version of an “if this then that” statement across all possible alternatives. The “branches” off each decision alternative that result use data analysis to forecast the most likely outcome of each decision. When one decision leads to another decision that must be made, that branch splits to continue extrapolating the effects of each subsequent decision. The ..read more

As a business owner, you may find yourself in a conversation with your banking relationship manager who will suggest you talk to a Consulting CFO or introduce you to one of our partners at CFO Selections. You likely already know that a relationship manager sees themself as an advisory partner to your business and, therefore, wants you to succeed. However, it might not always be clear what they are looking for in working with a consulting CFO or why they are sending you in our direction ..read more

Our team is used to discussing what’s included in a CFO’s job description. But this type of conversation usually centers around the commonalities that unite all CFO roles, not the nuanced differences for a specific industry or type of organization. But when talking about what a CFO for a nonprofit does, there are some unique elements to the role that are important to understand ..read more

Love is in the air, which got us thinking… what is the love language of a CFO? For those of you not familiar with “love languages” the basic premise is that different people have different personalities, which means they give and receive love in different ways. And while this may sound like it’s only related to romance it certainly doesn’t have to be! Fundamentally, love languages are a way to discuss how people build connections, feel appreciation, and perceive their value. The conversation around love languages focuses on giving someone else what they need and what they will appreciate the ..read more

What would we do without our accountants? We rely on them for accuracy, reporting, transaction processing, analysis, and financial advice. For non-accountants, the discipline can be a mystery. So, we try to find a good accountant to add to our team and then we trust them to do their job. That’s what we should do, right? Actually, no. You shouldn’t trust your accountant. Well, hopefully, you can trust them, but you shouldn’t ..read more