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Easily Said & Done

Fiscal Responsibility

Published 14 days ago • 2 min read

In honor of Financial Literacy Month I thought I'd share some helpful info from one of my favorite finance people, Tricia Taitt.

Tricia is the CEO of FinCore as well as the author of Dancing With Numbers, a great book for those of us who don't consider ourselves 'numbers people.'

What I see over and over again in the courses I teach and coaching I do is that far too many entrepreneurs avoid the financial side of their business until they can't afford to anymore.

For some, it works out all right. But for the vast majority that delay costs them big time.

One of the main reasons people wait to hire financial management support is because they don't really understand what kind of help they need.

The fact is that it changes as your business grows and, to be honest, there is some overlap between the different roles.

So, to help you figure out who you need to hire at each stage of your business development, here's a little cheat sheet adapted from Tricia's blog, which I'm sharing with her consent.

CPA

CPAs are accountants that have met state licensing requirements and passed the CPA exam. CPAs typically audit businesses, do tax reporting and planning and advocate for clients in front of the IRS.

While all CPAs are accountants, NOT all accountants are CPAs.

Business owners should hire a CPA to:

  • Advise on the appropriate business structure
  • Suggest the best tax strategy given their business and personal circumstances
  • Report taxes to federal, state and local agencies

Bookkeeper

Bookkeepers categorize each financial transaction in the accounting system. At the end of each month, they make sure what’s in the accounting system reflects reality and reconciles to your bank and credit card statements.

Hire a bookkeeper when managing numbers becomes too time consuming and complicated to track on a spreadsheet.

Bookkeepers also handle tasks like:

  • Bank deposits & petty cash management
  • Invoicing
  • Collecting customer payments
  • Paying bills
  • Processing payroll
  • Presenting financial statements to management or the CFO

Chief Financial Officer
(CFO)

CFOs manage all accounting and financial aspects of a business, relying on accurate bookkeeping to ensure the veracity of financial information.

The true value of a CFO comes in their ability to do financial analysis that informs strategic decision-making and drives the business forward.

CFOs are responsible for:

  • Projecting and monitoring cash flow on a regular basis
  • Managing the budget process and providing financial forecasts
  • Tracking key performance metrics over time
  • Helping to secure access to capital as needed
  • Managing the overall financial health of the company and accuracy of reporting

Tricia goes into more detail on the CFO role in her blog, which you can read in its entirety here.

If you're looking for financial support in any of the above roles, reach out to me, I'm happy to supply some referrals or connect you to folks who may be able to help you.
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Until next time,

PS - If you missed it, last week I was all about some Crafty Business Moves.

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Easily Said & Done

Why grow your business alone?

I help entrepreneurs leapfrog over the typical potholes that derail most small businesses with inspiration, motivation, education, and support across a wide range of business topics drawn from over a decade of running my own business, teaching entrepreneurship for the City of New York, and coaching and consulting privately with dozens of women and minority small business owners. Honestly, why go it alone when help is an email away?

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