The role of the small business Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is typically described in four distinct functions. I describe my own CFO role as filling five functions in the emerging marijuana industry.

#1

Recordkeeping

The CFO has primary responsibility to assemble, safeguard, manage and store the financial records of the company. This basic but necessary service is best handled by a person focused and experienced on business records. This may sound straightforward, but I find that almost every business faces challenges keeping and managing necessary records.

#2

Internal controls

CFOs add value by designing, monitoring internal controls. This happens to be the area where management tends to have the least experience and so this important function might be otherwise overlooked, leading to financial losses that could have been avoided. Management often underestimates the risk of fraud and misappropriation; the CFO must keep that risk control front and center.

#3

Communication and reporting

The CFO communicates internally to management and to external stakeholders.

A business needs accurate timely data to make good management decisions. The always-changing type of data, the format, timing and the method of delivery are all important components to consider as part of this function. Management may also need to know how the company is doing compared to the competition or benchmarks established by investors. Managers typically want to know the business is doing now compared to earlier periods.

CFOs also oversee duties related to owners, investors and shareholders and are the primary control of risks related to management fraud and disclosing financial information.

Sometimes the CFO must develop forecasts of future performance and utilize industry benchmarking data.

#4

Compliance

Every company has compliance issues to address with government, and the CFO oversees many of them. Filing and paying taxes is obviously one major burden, but not the only compliance requirement. Marijuana businesses face strict non-financial recordkeeping burdons.

#5

Advocate for management and the industry

The modern CFO is often active as an advocate, negotiator and representative of the company in dealing with new potential customers, government regulators, and investors. I often find myself active through industry associations that leverage the power of small independent businesses.

I am pleased to discuss how an experienced part-time CFO can help your business. Please use the chat box below to send a message or the scheduling link on the right to set a time to talk.