Sam McQuade CFO talking about interim CFO benefits in 2023

Sam McQuade talking about flexible Chief Financial Officer advantages today: The chief financial officer (CFOs) holds the top financial position in an organization. They are responsible for tracking cash flow and financial planning and analyzing the company’s financial strengths and weaknesses and proposing strategic directions. CFOs are accountable to both the organization and various regulatory entities and authorities, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in publicly held companies. They are well-versed in both generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and state and federal regulations, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Smaller companies, incubators and startups could not match the salaries that the full time CFO commanded on the world financial stage. The seeds for the concept of an Interim or Fractional CFO were planted in the mind of Sam McQuade almost 3 decades ago when he first entered the world of International Finance as an Entrepreneur Consultant in Geneva Switzerland after achieving his MBA/MA at European University. During this tumultuous time at the turn of the century on the international financial scene, Mr. McQuade was ahead of his time. He offered as needed financial consultation services for international behemoths the Swiss based Nestle Corporation and the US based medical device corporation Stryker. The focus of his services, which would years later be foundational in the concepts of Panterra was a new model in product development, manufacturing and marketing. Find additional details at https://e27.co/user/samueledwinmcquade/.

Vision, Roadmaps and Business Plans are typically good collaboration processes, however alignment on meaningful strategy is driven by relationships and the CFO cannot over-communicate in this area. In an era of “greenwashing”, the CFO has a real opportunity to lead since success will ultimately be measured with scorecards and transparency. Sharing the Sustainable Story with financial support is the most credible way for stakeholders to see progress.

The key duties of the CFO position vary depending on the size of the organization, its industry and whether it’s a public or private company but generally fall into three broad functional areas: controller, treasury and strategy and forecasting. Organizations may have professionals overseeing some or all of these roles and reporting to the CFO. Controllers run day-to-day accounting and financial operations and often hold a CPA or MBA. They are responsible for creating reports that provide insights into a company’s financial standing, including accounts receivable, accounts payable, inventory and payroll.

The option of working from anywhere in the world is another advantage of a DAO. In a traditional organization, you have to be physically present in order to participate in the organization. With a DAO, you can participate from anywhere in the world. All you need is an internet connection. There are many other examples of DAOs, and there are many different ways in which they can be used. The possibilities are endless, and it is up to the creativity of the developers to come up with new and innovative ways to use them.

Fractional CFOs can help companies: Develop detailed short-, mid-, and long-term financial forecasts; Prepare budgets based on forecasts; Analyze potential future products, services, markets, and customer segments. Helping Manage Growth: Fractional CFOs are also helpful in scaling a business, ensuring profitable growth as the business becomes more complex. This work involves reinventing the tools, processes, and vendor relationships the business uses to deliver value to an ever-growing and increasingly diverse set of customers. This is often called “bridging the chasm”, as most companies start to see declining margins and increasing headaches as they grow revenue past a certain threshold.

Selling your business or looking to buy others? Our experts can lead the deal and make sure that you have a thoughtful ownership transition. We are happy to provide second opinions on valuations as well so you have another perspective and feel better before your close the deal.

A lot of our clients at Panterra Finance ask us about DAOs, what they are, and how they work. So we thought it would be helpful to write a blog post explaining them. Before getting into DAO, a brief few things about blockchain. A blockchain is a decentralized and distributed digital ledger that records transactions on many computers so that the record cannot be altered retroactively without the alteration of all subsequent blocks and the collusion of the network. Sounds complicated? Let’s take an example to understand this better. Suppose there are two people, A and B, who want to transact with each other. A wants to buy a product from B worth $100. In the old way of transacting, A would hand over the $100 to B, and B would hand over the product to A. This process is called ‘centralized’ because there is one central entity, in our case, a bank or PayPal, through which both parties have to go through to complete the transaction.

A full-time CFO may be a luxury few small businesses can justify. A feasible and recommended alternative to a full-time resource is a fractional CFO. This has the advantage of bringing a senior-level financial expert to the table but at a fraction the cost of a full-time resource. A fractional arrangement can work well indefinitely, and right up until a full-time CFO is needed. By basing key business decisions on relevant and accurate financial information, the business owner can avoid costly mistakes and reduce the risk of loss. Key decisions include those about financing the business, expansion or downsizing, whether to enter a new market or produce a new product; make or buy decisions and capital investments, to name a few.

Searching to hire your first CFO or need interim coverage? We offer solution CFOs for urgent short term objectives and longer term engagements. Flexible with transparent pricing so you cover your business and don’t have to rush into a potentially very bad and expensive full time hire. The Fractional CFO and Interim CFO experiences gained by the executives assigned to these positions throughout Panterra Finance offers them a broad perspective of the dynamic changes in international markets. The part time CFO executives at Panterra Finance have access to worldwide teams that are proficient in and have initiated innovative strategies in projects centered on DeFi, Blockchain, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Crypto, Tokenization, ICO, IDO, and STO services. See more information on Sam McQuade.