A Complete Guide to Virtual CFO vs. In-Person CFO

Did you know that there are almost 130,00 Chief Financial Officers working in the United States?

You might think that your search for talent is limited to people who are in your immediate area, but telecommuting has become the way of the future. Nowadays, there are a lot of benefits to hiring people for virtual positions.

Are you wondering what the pros and cons are? Keep reading to learn all about the difference between a virtual CFO and an in-person CFO.

An In-Person CFO

Before you can get your business finances in order, it’s important to hire a CFO. The in-person options come with special hurdles. For instance, there’s a lot of paperwork and other onboarding tasks. Overall, it’s much more expensive to hire an in-person employee because of health benefits and other additional expenses.

You can expect your CFO to perform a range of helpful tasks, including analyzing and forecasting your company’s financial situation, preparing financial statements and models, handling budgets, tracking investments, and so much more.

A Virtual CFO

When it comes to outsourced bookkeeping through a virtual CFO, the biggest difference is that hiring someone virtual is much cheaper. Despite the savings, the quality of work can be just as high as an in-person CFO, if not even higher.

Simply put, a virtual CFO can handle all the duties an in-person CFO can, such as tax season preparation. Aside from saving money, the other big difference is in how you’ll interact with the virtual CFO.

Since the telecommuting position is something of a cross between interim and fractional, you can expect to keep in touch with them through phone calls, webcam meetings, and other methods fueled by modern technology.

When to Hire One

Whether you choose in-person or virtual business financing options, it’s important to get your CFO at the right time. If you hire one too early, then you could be wasting money. Hiring a CFO too late can hurt the long-term growth of your company.

Most small businesses are able to handle CFO tasks when first starting out. However, any successful and thriving business is going to grow to the point when financial planning and other tasks will need the attention to detail that only a trained professional can provide.

Consulting with potential businesses that provide CFO options can go a long way toward determining your brand’s needs.

Are You Ready to Hire a Virtual CFO?

Now that you’ve learned all about the difference between a virtual CFO and an in-person CFO, you can decide which solution is best for your needs. Why hire an in-person CFO when you can save a significant amount of money without sacrificing quality?

Sterling can provide you with a reliable and highly-trained virtual CFO to help your business grow into the future and beyond. We also offer other essential services, including bookkeeping, tax planning, and more.

Do you have one or more pressing questions? You can get all the information you need by scheduling an appointment with us.