How the Part-time CFO World Has Changed Since We Started
Dan Perron and I both launched as Part-time CFOs in Boston in the early 1990s. Looking back, much has changed since then due both to technology and the widespread acceptance of Part-time CFOs as a cost-effective solution.
When we started, the notion of a part-time CFO was very new. There were just a handful in Boston and I remember being told that no one would trust their finances to a non-employee. Fortunately, we trusted our sense that the outsourced CFO model made sense, that many smaller and emerging companies could benefit from the expertise of a CFO but didn’t need one on a full-time basis.
In those days, we generally had set days when we physically worked at client sites. Clients would hold on to paperwork they needed us to review so it would be waiting for us when we arrived. If someone needed us during the day, they could call our answering machines and leave a message and periodically we would call in to retrieve them. Though there was some work we could do from home, there was no way to transfer files remotely and if we needed to work in a client’s accounting system, we had to be physically in their office.
The first major change was the widespread adoption of email. Now a client could more easily reach you when you weren’t on site and files could be attached making it possible, for example, to prepare a forecast or other analysis and deliver it electronically. For the first time, it was possible to be physically on site with one client but able to assist another if something urgent came up.
Around the same time, cell phones became prevalent. Although the technology had been around for several decades, a mobile phone was expensive and something few people had. Now in addition to email, that you needed to be on your computer to receive, clients could reach you when needed and responsiveness further improved.
Greater Acceptance of Outsourcing
Not unrelated, the advance of technology coincided with a dramatic increase in the acceptance of contract workers including not just Part-time CFOs but outsourced sales, marketing, HR, legal, and engineering. The ability to be available to clients 5 days a week even if only billing them for a fraction of that further enhanced the value we provided.
The wave has only gotten stronger. Smartphones allowed us to get emails and view attachments from anywhere. Accounting software moved to the cloud removing the last major obstacle to working effectively while remote. File storage also moved largely to the cloud and spreadsheets, documents, and slide presentations could be collaborated on remotely. First, conference calling became available and then video calls became widely available.
Thanks to these advances, even before COVID-19 I was doing nearly all my work remotely with clients from coast to coast, several with international offices. And it wasn’t just me working remotely, my clients increasingly were hiring remote employees and contractors. Now, COVID-19 has accelerated a shift to remote and contract work that was already happening and will continue. In the 1990s, about 10% of the workforce was made up of contractors and on-call workers; in 2019, it was about 1/3, and by 2027, it is projected to be 60%1
Enduring Value of the Part-time CFO
What hasn’t changed is our view that a Part-time or Outsourced CFO is a cost solution for businesses that can benefit from CFO but can’t justify a full-time person. Technology has only enhanced the value. Rather than being limited to days we’re on-site, we’re available any time. We can directly access accounting systems and files from anywhere, easily share our work and collaborate on projects, and participate in meetings. Since we’re no longer the only, or one of the only, key team members not regularly in the office, the lack of physical presence is no longer a significant issue.
No matter what the change or transition, a Chief Financial Officer can help guide your business and a Part-time or Outsourced CFO can be a cost solution. If you think your business could benefit and would like to learn more about how we work, please reach out for a free initial conversation.
1smallbiztrends.com, “The History and Future of the Gig Economy”, by Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead, Nov. 12, 2019