Why CFO Coaching Matters
The foundation of any company? It’s the numbers, of course.
The numbers never lie.
No matter what you want to find out about a company—whether you’re assessing growth potential or looking to figure out the next move—reviewing financial statements, historical performance, and forecasts provides the foundation for that analysis.
In the past few decades, companies have had to weather everything from the Great Recession to COVID disruptions as they build their business. Want to introduce new products, attract new investors, or pursue an M&A? Together with your CFO, you need to get a handle on your financial situation if you want to Make BIG Happen.
That’s exactly why we created the Financial Center of Excellence at CEO Coaching International. Says CFO Coach Daniel Kim, “CEOs tend to be much more strategic in nature, whereas they can then rely on the CFOs for allocating capital where it’s going to drive the highest return for shareholders. Marrying that strategy together with a real robust financial review of the company [means you can] provide really powerful strategic decisions for the company. So a CEO needs to be aware of the numbers, a CFO can help deliver those numbers, and together they can really help drive the business forward.”
With CFO Coaching, you can:
1. See the BIG picture
As CEO or CFO, you have plenty of growth levers at your disposal. But which ones to use? Too often, executives get caught up in day-to-day issues and think of their financial foundation as “set it and forget it.” That’s why the first step any CFO Coach will take is to evaluate your business’ overall health by calculating your CAGR and EBITDA. This means looking at KPIs like revenue, gross margin, operating expenses, and customer acquisition cost. Going back to the basics helps get everyone on the same page.
This kind of data needs to be easily accessible across your organization. A CFO coach can help surface these key metrics and create more efficient dashboards and reports so you can better take action on this data in the future. “We’ve developed a number of templates to help provide some standardization of how you present the data,” says Daniel. “You can put in your revenue drivers, drive your margin assumptions, which ultimately drive your cash flow statement and your balance sheet. Now, you could determine where your company is going based on historical numbers and your future assumptions. This really helps drive strategic decisions.”
Once you have a good handle on those everyday numbers, you can start to plan for the future. Whether you’re thinking of preparing for an exit, merger, or acquisition, or releasing new products, the data gives you the foundation to identify ways to improve your potential valuation and create more options.
2. Find your BIG opportunities
While CFO Coaching, Daniel worked with an outsourcing company that was growing fast but bleeding cash. Even with nine-figure recurring revenues, they couldn’t maintain its cash balance and quickly racked up debt. They needed to press pause and find their real growth opportunities.
“We did extensive due diligence and figured out their largest clients had the best KPIs. They provided the best lifetime value and had the lowest cost to acquire because they stuck with the company for the longest,” says Daniel. “But the problem was their smallest clients, which represented the majority…but churned very quickly in a matter of months.”
Once Daniel identified the issue, they worked together to fix it. “It really highlights the fact that sometimes you need an independent review of a company to really understand what is going on,” he says. “They literally could not see the forest for the trees. We were able to help the company identify the problem and then solve the problem.”
3. Work with an expert
CEOs and CFOs have a lot on their plate these days. Working with an outside expert can help give you the perspective you need to break out of your day-to-day management and find a path forward. This gives you a regular touchpoint to have hard conversations about the health and future of your business.
Our coaches sit down regularly with our clients and ask:
- What’s the difference between actuals and budget in your financial statements?
- How is our performance? Are we off-track? Why? What can we do about it?
- How can we best use our budget surpluses to fuel future growth?
Whether they’re facilitating a cash flow planning session or holding you accountable if you start to lose your cool, a coach who’s been there and done that can be just what you need.
“If you’re in a tough situation, and you don’t know what you’re missing to solve the problem, it’s helpful to look from the outside in. You can be too close to the problem to be able to uncover it,” says Daniel. “That’s what I’m here for, and that’s what these tools are designed for.”
Lock down your financials with CFO Coaching
Our Financial Center of Excellence is here to help you get a handle on your numbers so you can identify what’s working, what opportunities you have for growth, and how your numbers back up your mission and vision. Let the experts at CEO Coaching International work with you and your CFO to get a handle on your financial situation, so your business is ready to Make BIG Happen.
Our programs include:
- Compass – Financial Reporting & KPI Dashboard
- Infusion – Capital Raising & M&A Readiness
- Positive Cash Flow (PCF) – Business Restructuring & Profitability
- CFO Coaching – Financial Coaching and Support
Whether you’re looking to better position your company to hit your strategic objectives, prepare for a profitable exit, or simply want to set a better foundation for growth in the future, working with a CFO Coach can help. Says Daniel, “I am thrilled to utilize my experience as an investment banker and as CFO Coach at CEO Coaching International, to drive maximum impact with our clients and make BIG happen.”
Get started with a complimentary call with Coach Daniel >
About CEO Coaching International
CEO Coaching International works with CEOs and their leadership teams to achieve extraordinary results quarter after quarter, year after year. Known globally for its success in coaching growth-focused entrepreneurs to meaningful exits, CEO Coaching International has coached more than 1,000 CEOs and entrepreneurs in more than 60 countries and 45 industries. The coaches at CEO Coaching International are former CEOs, presidents, or executives who have made BIG happen. The firm’s coaches have led double-digit sales and profit growth in businesses ranging in size from startups to over $10 billion, and many are founders that have led their companies through successful eight, nine, and ten-figure exits. Companies working with CEO Coaching International for two years or more have experienced an average revenue CAGR of 31% (2.6X the U.S. average) and an average EBITDA CAGR of 52.3% (more than 5X the U.S. average).
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