If there’s one misconception I’ve come up against time and time again it’s this: bookkeeping and accounting is all about paying your taxes.

I honestly can’t tell you how often I’ve heard that over the years, but the simple fact of the matter is this:

While optimizing your tax position is an important part of any accountant’s job, the really good ones can do so, so much more for you.

There’s a huge amount of information locked away in your financial data, and someone with the right training and experience can harness that data to optimize more or less every aspect of your business.

For small to medium sized businesses, this kind of high-level accounting is typically delivered by a virtual CFO, and the benefits such a person can bring to your business are huge.

Here are some of the activities a CFO can do for you:

1. Streamlining Functions - Minimize expenses, optimize efficiency, and increase your margins
2. Financial Forecasting - Understand and articulate the demands on your business’ resources not just now, but in the months and years to come.
3. Identify Growth Areas – Harness sales data and market knowledge to identify potential growth areas for your business.
4. Enhanced Reporting – Generate customized reports that give you the information you need, when you need it.
5. Meaningful communication – Discuss strategy or seek advice with regular touchpoints. Unlike a traditional bookkeeper, a virtual CFO isn’t just a black box into which you chuck your bills and receipts. 
6. Risk Analysis - Quantify the risks associated with new or existing ventures.
7. Trend Analysis - Understand the why behind fluctuations in your business performance.

Oh… and a virtual CFO will manage your taxes, too!

Ultimately, a virtual can greatly enhance your understanding of the wellbeing of your end-to-end business, leveraging your financial data to arm you with the tools you need to grow efficiently and safely.

If you’d like to learn more about the Outsourced CFO Package available at Margo’s Bookkeeping Services then go ahead and drop me an email, or even better – book some time directly in my diary for a chat and I can explain exactly how our services can help your business.