In an effort to simplify or to control costs, you may consider hiring one well-rounded person to manage a host of financial tasks: taxation, compliance, reporting, accounting, and business strategy. However, it’s rare to find one person who has the skillset, expertise or is comfortable working across a broad spectrum of functions that is required by a business. Even more so, one that can be afforded by a small and medium enterprise (SME).

Finding an accountant who can deliver in all financial areas is uncommon, not to mention the competition that would exist amongst businesses to recruit and retain such talent. Further, the skillset of a CFO is much broader than a highly skilled accountant.

As in many industries, there’s a trend for finance professionals to specialise in meeting the needs of modern businesses. Companies thrive when they find the just-right mix of financial expertise. But finding those experts can be challenging and keeping them can be even harder.

You may already have great accounting staff in place and wonder what a CFO could add to the mix. Simply put, while proper accounting is essential for making sure you’re compliant and keeping operations running, what advantages could be gained by having a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) as well.

Accountants and CFOs often share common skill sets and can overlap in their responsibilities and workload, but their job roles are fundamentally different.

Accountants typically handle basic financial reporting and financial management including the following:

· Basic financial reporting (Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet)
· Monthly/Quarterly ATO reporting
· Payroll
· General ledger reconciliations
· Year-end financial compliance and filings

On the other hand, CFOs usually manage these tasks:

· Business strategy
· Cash flow management
· Performance analysis and forecasting
· Budgeting and financial modelling
· Reporting to stakeholders
· Advising the board and executives

A CFO will strategise, analyse and provide accountability to guide and support your course and help you grow.

A business owner must continuously balance attention to the company’s past whilst planning for the future. Another key difference between an accountant and a CFO is that an accountant is primarily focused on what has happened in the business, so concentrates on the past with their reporting, dealing with creditors and debtors, and ensuring compliance on all levels. In the financial realm, accountants take care of the past, balancing books, reporting results and filing taxes. CFOs manage the company’s future, creating strategies, forecasts and pathways to achieve future goals.

A CFO, looks forward, creating strategies, forecasts and plans to hit future targets and goals. A business owner needs to be able to look at the past and the future and so accountants and a CFO are vitally important to ensure the company operates successfully and can achieve its growth targets and avoid pitfalls along the way. This is an example of how the relationship between the CFO and the businesses’ accountants is hugely important to ensure that a business can look both forward and backwards and cover all bases, on its path to success.

Both roles are essential to a company’s success, and they don’t have to conflict or compete with one another. In fact, accountants and CFOs complement each other, and when they work well together, they’re a dream team. With expert eyes on the past and the future, your company can do its best work today.

Many businesses already have an accountant who looks after tax and tax filing, payroll and compliance and debtors and creditors, but are looking to expand or scale up, or to drive more revenue and profit from the business. For these businesses a CFO will really help drive the organisation forward. However, it is often very difficult to find a CFO for SME's and the costs associated with employing a CFO are high.

While a business can continue to operate and remain compliant, adding an Executive Financial Service will be able to add strategic thinking, analysis, and a plan for growth, and becomes a valuable part of the business.