Sam McQuade about flexible Chief Financial Officer advantages in 2023: Are a CEO and a CFO the Same Thing? No, a CEO and a CFO are not the same thing. However, CFOs are required to work closely with the other senior executives of a company, such as the CEO. These executives are sometimes referred to as the C-Suite of the company, representing the company’s highest level of decision-making. Although the CFO is typically subordinate to the CEO in the corporate hierarchy, CFOs will generally be the foremost decision-maker on all matters within the Finance department of their firm.
Developing the Interim and Fractional CFO Concept with Experience: From the inside looking out, Sam McQuade continued to sharpen his skills and nurture the ideas and mission of Panterra Finance. He spent time in the executive suites of Dell, as a Finance Manager and a Financial Planning and Analysis Manager where he achieved a 400% revenue growth in the Swiss market. Other stops in corporate suites, each of which shaped the final innovative services offered by Panterra Finance. Read even more information on Sam McQuade CFO of Panterra Finance.
The CFO function is evolving at lightspeed. With digital transformation and societal changes, the CFO role is rapidly turning into one of a “Chief Fiduciary Officer”, which is going beyond the traditional financials to look towards the future and lead long term value creation in a world of many unknown risks. Storytelling is a very powerful tool to engage and energize teams about value creation and potential pitfall areas. The traditional path of CFO usually starts with a solid foundation based on technical knowledge and then after about 15 years, the great leaders earn the coveted title.
The CFO helps select skilled staff for the finance team and works with departments to allocate budget for human capital management. CFOs put complex data — current, past and predicted financial results — in perspective and help the CEO make sound financial decisions: Should we introduce this new product or service? Can we afford to on-shore our supply chain? What are the tax implications of our employees working from anywhere?
To make you understand it in simple words, let me explain it with an example. Suppose there is a website that allows people to buy and sell products. This website has a smart contract that governs how the transactions will take place. When someone wants to buy a product, they will send a request to the smart contract. The smart contract will then check if the person has enough money to buy the product. If they do, then the transaction will take place, and the product will be sent to the buyer. If the person doesn’t have enough money, then the transaction will not take place.
Fractional CFOs can help companies: Develop existing employees and hire new ones that bring essential knowledge and skills; Implement systems that will support sustainable growth; Improve visibility and analytical capabilities to convert large amounts of data into actionable information; Explore causes of revenue leakage, cost overruns, and operational friction in a growing business and develop potential solutions. A fractional CFO is also often brought into an organization to help achieve a particular goal, such as raising capital or preparing for a sale, merger, or acquisition. Most fractional CFOs have helped raise hundreds of millions of dollars of debt and equity funding for multiple companies, and have helped oversee a number of mergers and acquisitions.
Are you looking to expand your business overseas? Our experts are able to help you at any stage. We will first start by understanding your vision and global tax and cash strategy. Once aligned, we will help execute the financial, legal, compliance and talent solution activities to build your entity and team.
A lot of our clients at Panterra Finance ask us about DAOs, what they are, and how they work. So we thought it would be helpful to write a blog post explaining them. Before getting into DAO, a brief few things about blockchain. A blockchain is a decentralized and distributed digital ledger that records transactions on many computers so that the record cannot be altered retroactively without the alteration of all subsequent blocks and the collusion of the network. Sounds complicated? Let’s take an example to understand this better. Suppose there are two people, A and B, who want to transact with each other. A wants to buy a product from B worth $100. In the old way of transacting, A would hand over the $100 to B, and B would hand over the product to A. This process is called ‘centralized’ because there is one central entity, in our case, a bank or PayPal, through which both parties have to go through to complete the transaction.
To summarize, a fractional CFO brings all the benefits of a full-time resource, but at a fraction the cost. They work an agreed upon amount of time, and on an ongoing basis. The benefits are myriad, and range from improved reporting and decision-making, clearer insight into the business for planning and forecasting, and stronger financial management and controls. Perhaps the biggest benefit however, is how the CEO can transfer the financial and administrative burden to the CFO, and thus free themselves to work on other critical aspects of the business.
Do you want to hire your first CFO or wanting only some interim coverage? We provide CFOs for immediate short term projects and longer term engagements. Customizable with transparent pricing so you cover your business and don’t have to get into a potentially bad solution and expensive full time hire. In disrupting the traditional contracted title of CFO, Panterra Finance innovatively offers all its clients thought leadership based on international financial market experiences. Panterra Finance offers a unified international approach to businesses in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Eight centrally located offices in the USA, Switzerland, the Middle East, and the emerging African Continent, offers global enterprises Fractional and Interim CFO services backed by a team with a grasp of dynamic world trends. Find more information at Sam McQuade CFO.