How a part-time CFO will strengthen your banking relationship

The CFO Centre will provide you with a highly experienced senior CFO with ‘big business experience’ for a fraction of the cost of a full-time CFO. This means you will have:

• One of Canada’s leading CFOs, working with you on a part-time basis
• A local support team of the highest calibre CFOs
• A national and international collaborative team of the top CFOs sharing best practice (the power of hundreds)
• Access to our national and international network of clients and partners

With all that support and expertise at your fingertips, you will achieve better results, faster. It means you’ll have more confidence and clarity when it comes to decision-making. After all, you’ll have access to expert help and advice whenever you need it.

In particular, your part-time CFO will help you to improve your relationship with your bank. This is what happened to green bean coffee importers DRWakefield. When the global financial crisis hit, the company found its bank was asking some pretty tough questions.

The company’s Managing Director Simon Wakefield soon realized the company needed help.

“Not having enough background information, data and statistics to lay out for the banks to see what we were doing, we soon realized we needed someone who could manage those and help us make those decisions,” he says. At first, he was reluctant to hire a CFO on a part-time basis.

“Part-time was something I’d never have considered before because I like to have people in-house that work with us and understand our business. It sounds simple, but when you start drilling into the way we work with multiple currencies, multiple countries, it becomes quite detailed.

Not having enough background information, data and statistics to lay out for the banks to see what we were doing, we soon realized we needed someone who could manage those and help us make those decisions.

SIMON WAKEFIELD, MANAGING DIRECTOR, DRWAKEFIELD

“In my previous experiences of part-time employees, they would come, they would be freelance, they would go and it didn’t work with us. However, The CFO Centre Group offered us something: if our first CFO didn’t work out, they would quickly put in another one. If the CFO they installed didn’t have the answer to some information that we needed, he was part of a bigger pool that he could get information from and bring to us.”

Not only did his part-time CFO Nick Thompson help improve his relationship with the bank by bringing in a permanent in-house management accountant to take care of the finances but he also helped update the company’s accounting software packages and credit control procedures, so that it had a far better cash flow than it did beforehand.

“In the five years Nick’s been here, we’ve grown about 30% in numbers. He’s helped bring in new software and changed our auditors so that we have a more professional auditor looking after us now. So there have been very clear targets and goals that have been achieved. From the other side, it’s meant that I can sleep better.”

Your part-time CFO will help you to form a highly beneficial, trusted relationship with your bank, which will pay dividends over the years as you grow your business.

He or she will take on the responsibility of the bank relationship for you so the bank becomes a valuable asset. This will free up your time to allow you to focus on building the business.

Your part-time CFO will also save you from excessive bank charges as was the case for a West Australian company a few years ago.

When one of our West Australian CFOs started working with the company, it was poorly organized financially and was being overcharged by its bank. Our part-time CFO was able to sort out the company’s finances. This resulted in an immediate savings of $137,000 CAD a year in bank fees.

Your part-time CFO will:

• Develop a relationship with key personnel at your bank.
• Share information about your business with the bank and keep the bank fully updated. The more trust that can be built the more the bank will be willing to help.
• Provide the bank with a credible business plan which takes into account previous track record including debt and cash flow history.
• Provide you with independent advice on bank products and their suitability.
• Negotiate the best deal on bank facilities.
• Provide access to senior contacts in the bank where required.
• Introduce new banking options if needed and negotiate terms.

Your part-time CFO will work hard to forge a strong relationship with your bank so that when you need access to any of the bank’s services your request is treated as a priority.

What’s more, your part-time CFO has many years of banking experience so can advise you on the best banking deals.

Your part-time CFO knows where to go for supplementary funding to complement your bank finance (if necessary) and how to benchmark funding deals for your peace of mind.

CFOs can skillfully communicate your needs in a way that appeals to bank managers. That helps to add further credibility to your credit application.

What’s more, your CFO understands how banks reach their decisions and can, therefore, position your application for funding so that it has the highest chance of success.

Conclusion

Your bank can play a significant role in your company’s future growth, both in terms of providing necessary funding and strategic advice.

That will only happen if you take the necessary time and energy to foster a relationship with your bank manager. The benefits of doing so, however, make it one of the best investments you’ll make.

Don’t miss the many benefits a close relationship with your bank can bring.

Book a free call with one of our part-time CFOs now.

tel: 1-800-918-1906
email: [email protected]
www.thecfocentre.ca