How an Outsourced CFO Can Inspire Innovation

There are many benefits of outsourcing your CFO. These include cost savings on salary, increased efficiency and flexibility, as well as a wider access to investment and partnership opportunities. But the modern business needs more than these things. It needs to be ready to adapt to an ever-changing marketplace – it needs innovation.

Below we explore the ways an outsourced CFO can inspire innovation around your business so it’s ready for whatever the future holds.

Why is Innovation Important?

Our goal in business should be to add value to the customer wherever possible. Innovation is the mindset of constant adaptation, finding more ways of turning ideas into solutions which add value and delight the customer. It’s the active process of continual alteration in order for an organisation to be ahead of its competition. And in our global marketplace, this could be the differentiating factor between failure and success.

Importantly, innovation doesn’t just appear – it has to be fostered from the beginning. And this is only possible when innovative thinking is prized by an organisation with a strong culture of positivity and empowerment of the individual and the group. For this, strong vision and leadership is absolutely necessary. This is where the CFO comes in.

The Role of the CFO in Inspiring Innovation

CFOs have a varied and hugely important job. Not only are they tasked with ensuring the financial health of the business is maintained, they must also provide leadership with a vision for future success. This means being ready to change tack and reposition the business towards the direction that will give it the most success.

The best CFOs must always be asking questions. These may include: “Why are we doing this?”, “What are we hoping to achieve?” and “Is there a better way of achieving our goals?” This means the CFO plays a vital strategic role in any business, but for any success, they have to be flexible and open to new ideas, particularly those which are innovative.

Why Outsourced CFOs Could do This Better

There are four main benefits of using an outsourced CFO as an instrument of innovation:

1. Independent viewpoint – Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes is what you need. The fact that you work within particular structures every day may in fact make you blind to problems, because you’ve gotten used to them. Looking at your processes from the outside in can uncover a lot more than you think. Because outsourced CFOs are not inextricably attached to the business, they can more freely make objective judgements, and this is what you need to innovate.

2. Wealth of experience – Outsourced CFOs work with a number of businesses in range of industries. Not only do they have the experience of dealing with similar issues in other companies, they know where the pitfalls often are and how to best solve them. This kind of problem-solving asset is integral to any innovation efforts.

3. Willingness to change – We’ve all heard the phrase “stuck in a rut.” It conjures images of sameness, stasis and certainly not success. This is the story of someone who is comfortable with where they are and how things are going. Sure, things may be going smoothly now, but the future is unpredictable, especially as far as businesses are concerned. The moment you start resting is the moment you start falling behind. Your competitors are always looking for better, so you should too, but more effectively than them. Outsourced CFOs ensure processes can always be improved. Never settle, and allow your business to be what it wants to be, not what it is.

4. Access to wide networks – The global marketplace is a scary place for businesses to operate alone. Outsourced CFOs have a wide access to networks of advisors and businesses in similar industries, which can assist you in learning and training. They can also provide valuable services in creating partnerships with other local or international companies, which can take your business to the next level.

Innovation is necessary for future success. Research further what an outsourced CFO could do for your business and talk to a trusted advisor about the opportunities this could bring.

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Mitchell Turnbull

DIRECTOR

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