Ifyou start off selling just one product or product line, this will be fairlystraightforward to manage. But as time goes on, you’ll probably expand yourrange and number of SKUs; you might also be working with multiple suppliers(all of whom have their own payment schedules and terms) instead of onesupplier. Whether you need a CFO, controller oraccountant depends on which level of the pyramid you’re at (and whether you’rein the midst of transitioning to the next level).
Getting Maximum Value from Your Fractional CFO
- Their combined efforts help foster a strong financial foundation and ensure informed decision-making to support business growth.
- If you’re still unsure when to hire a controller vs. CFO, consider your current challenges.
- For example, startups earning $10 million or less in annual revenue will usually start with a controller, and then add a CFO when revenue gets to the $35 to $50 million range.
They work like a well-oiled machine to ensure the company’s long-term sustainable growth. Much like a modern CFO, a new-age SaaS finance controller is no longer just a backstage coordinator; they play a crucial role in managing a business’s revenue engine and growth. In the initial years of your business, you make little revenue, and report keeping and reporting tasks can be sufficient.
The Best Startup Ideas to make money in 2026
They implement AI-powered forecasting, automate routine processes, and leverage real-time data for decisions that previously required weeks of analysis. Imagine a CFO facing their largest customer’s bankruptcy overnight—representing 30% of total revenue. Within 48 hours, they’ve completed comprehensive financial impact analysis, developed three cash flow management scenarios, and created investor communication strategies. The company doesn’t just survive; it emerges stronger because crisis management was so thorough. They understand that transformation involves people as much as processes, requiring careful attention to organizational psychology throughout major transitions.
Accounting vs. Finance Focus
Payroll management gets risky at year-end, but fractional support ensures compliance and reduces costly errors. On the flip side, if your business isn’ttaking off, and you need to relook at your business model and possibly pivot,this also calls for more structured information. With more information and dataon hand, you’ll be able to identify the best areas to focus on, and understandhow to turn the business around. On a higher level, the CFO enables and drives strategy, providing a lasting impact on your business.
- These leaders catch critical accounting errors before audits, maintain precise cash flow visibility, and create bulletproof financial reporting systems.
- When we consider financial controller vs CFO, CFOs need broader strategic skills.
- They identify inefficiencies everywhere and compulsively improve them.
- This blog will help you decide which role your business needs and how fractional services from The Finance Group can provide expert support tailored to your needs.
The only downside of bringing on a full-time CFO role on your team at this point is that they are a costly investment (and may require specialized recruiting help to find). On average a full-time CFO salary is $229,000 per year, not including vacations, bonuses and other benefits. They build the systems and infrastructure your business needs to stay organized and on track. We often see commonalities with controller roles based on the annual revenue of the company. There are many reasons small business owners consider beefing up their finance team. Whatever your reasons, we’re glad you’re thinking about it, because, from our experience, most owners wait too long to get help.
Whether you need a fractional controller to manage daily financial operations or a fractional CFO to plan long-term strategies, outsourced financial services offer the best of both worlds. You’ll get the leadership your business needs to thrive, without the long-term commitment. Choosing between a CFO and a controller depends on your business’s current challenges and growth stage. A controller is essential if you need to improve financial reporting or tighten your operational processes. However, if you’re expanding rapidly or planning for growth, a CFO will provide the strategic guidance you need to succeed.
CFOs now increasingly lead on Environmental and Social Governance (ESG) reporting, digital transformation and cross-functional collaboration. This evolution makes finance leadership more challenging than ever, but also more impactful. The CFO chair has never offered a greater opportunity to shape organizational success across multiple dimensions simultaneously.
That said, your startup can choose to add several financial leadership roles, two of the most popular being a controller and a CFO. Once you pass $5 million in annual revenue, you’ll likely need more than clean books. You’ll need financial planning, dynamic budgeting, and the ability to forecast and fund growth. Your company will typically want to consider moving from part-time or outsourced CFO services to an in-house CFO at around $50MM in annual revenue. Some investor-backed companies, such as Software as a Service (SaaS) businesses, have more sophisticated needs than other companies with the same annual revenue.
Before making any decision or taking any action, you should consult a professional adviser who has been provided with all pertinent facts relevant to your particular situation. Please note that some content may be generated using cfo vs finance controller: whom does your saas business need artificial intelligence and is intended for educational and informational purposes only. In no way does listening, reading, emailing or interacting on social media with our content establish a professional relationship. Whether you’re feeling stuck, scaling fast, or simply want to make better financial decisions, this quick assessment will show you exactly where to focus next.
Understanding these differences helps define financial leadership more clearly for businesses across various growth stages. Match your business challenges to the role best equipped to solve them. And remember, in some cases, hiring a fractional controller or CFO can give you the expertise you need without a full-time commitment.
Moreover, they should also possess the ability to communicate complex financial data clearly. Understanding their distinctions is key to strategic growth and avoiding costly financial gaps. Hiring a full-time CFO or Controller can be expensive, especially for small to mid-sized businesses. While a CFO might not need such hands-on expertise in databases, they will need a willingness to upskill in new technologies.
Focus: Accounting vs. Finance:
This could include M&A decisions, international expansions and business models. In this blog article, we walk you through the four levels that make up the hierarchy of financial needs, and discuss the differences between a CFO vs controller vs accountant. Read on to learn what sort of role you need to hire, based on your specific needs. Yes, with leadership skills and strategic experience, a controller can advance to a CFO role. StrategIQ delivers custom solutions, giving your business the benefits of outsourced FP&A and cash flow optimization.
Choosing between a financial controller vs CFO depends on growth goals, financial complexity, and business stage. While each role brings unique strengths, both are critical to smart, strategic decision-making. The controller’s foremost duty is to ensure accurate financial accounting and reporting. As the head of the accounting department, they focus on company compliance and maintaining strong internal controls.
As an outsourced finance department provider, we recruit controllers quite often. If you decide to hire a controller and/or CFO, we can help with some resources. In addition to the qualifications listed below, see our post 5 Questions Every Owner Should Ask Their Controller and The Average CFO Salary (2018) + 28 Key CFO Interview Questions (coming soon). While some companies benefit from a fractional controller starting at $500K to $1MM, almost all companies have a controller by the time they reach $10MM in annual revenue.
Identifying the right role is vital for businesses aiming for sustainable financial management and growth. Most CFOs hold advanced degrees in finance, accounting, or business, typically an MBA or a master’s in finance or economics. They also bring extensive experience in financial leadership, strategic planning, and capital management. Most businesses bring in a financial controller when they expand, both in revenue and geography. A senior-level financial executive is responsible for managing the accounting department.
At the same time, adding new members to yourteam (some of whom might be remote workers, some of whom might be freelancers)adds complexity to your costs and expenses. The controller handles operational financial activities, while the CFO drives strategic vision. Their synergy enables an organization to stay financially sound and focused on long-term goals. If we compare financial controller vs CFO, a CFO drives long-term growth and sharpens business focus. Knowing when to upgrade from controller to CFO helps bridge strategy and operational clarity. This key difference between a financial controller vs CFO reveals their distinct contributions to financial leadership.
Holding one or more of these will help to build your technical expertise and regulatory knowledge. The key to successfully landing your first CFO role is gaining experience across the three core finance pillars. If you haven’t plied your trade in each of these, your CV will look less impressive when compared to other candidates’. In our first blog, we’re taking finance professionals on the journey to becoming Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
Some organizations use the terms interchangeably, especially in government or institutional settings, even though the responsibilities can vary depending on the context. There are two alternative perspectives on when a company should hire a CFO. While the role of a modern CFO continues to evolve, here’s a list of their primary responsibilities.
It is essential to understand where you are standing in the hierarchy of financial needs and then hire a financial expert who can fulfil your present needs and help you take one step up the hierarchy. For example, You may be spending time reviewing and correcting your financial reports every month, or your books are not closing timely. You may find inconsistency in measuring and interpreting KPIs or be unable to get detailed insights on business issues and opportunities. As with many parts of the business, AI and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) are revolutionising finance, from managing routine, time-consuming tasks to generating strategic insights. With data’s importance only growing in the age of AI implementation, finance teams need experts who can extract tangible action points from the vast amounts of information available. Working in a commercial role will help you to learn about strategic decision-making.
With outsourced financial services, The Finance Group offers expert controllers on a part-time basis, ensuring you get the operational support you need without a full-time commitment. Successful SaaS companies obsess over data-driven decisions to ensure sustainable growth. And the finance function is at the heart of these decisions, from cash flow management to bookkeeping, compliance, and accounting.
