For many small and medium-sized business owners, bookkeeping, payroll and VAT returns are seen as a necessary part of their routine. These tasks are essential, but in terms of shaping your business, they can only tell you what has already happened.
It can give you a real advantage if you also spend some time thinking like a strategic Chief Financial Officer (CFO). That means using your financial data to plan and forecast so that you make smarter decisions for your business.
Bookkeepers record history, CFO thinking shapes the future
A bookkeeper’s job is to make sure that the numbers are complete and accurate, but a CFO - or a business owner thinking like one - takes those numbers and asks questions like:
- Which customers or products generate the most profit?
- How much cash do we really need in the next six months?
- Where should we invest resources for maximum impact?
Adopting this kind of mindset can transform how you run your business. The good news is that it’s not that difficult to develop some core skills that will help you to do this.
Core skills every business owner can learn
- Financial Literacy: Understand P&Ls, balance sheets and cash flows. These aren’t just for accountants; they can be your roadmap for understanding the financial performance of your business.
- Forecasting and Budgeting: Forecast what your business income is likely to be, plan for expenses and prepare for seasonal variations.
- Key Metrics: Track metrics that matter to your business - cash flow, margins, costs to acquire customers - so that you can make decisions based on data, not just gut feel.
- Risk Awareness: Identify risks to your finances early on, whether it’s a slow-paying customer or an investment that’s costing too much.
Just picking one of these areas and making a small improvement can pay dividends.
Start small, think big
You don’t need fancy software or a finance degree. You could begin with:
- Weekly checks on your cash flow.
- Reviewing profit margins per product or service.
- Setting simple financial goals for the quarter.
Gradually, these habits build the foundation of strategic financial thinking allowing you run your business more confidently and proactively.
The bottom line
Treating finance as a back-office chore keeps you in the dark. Thinking like a CFO - tracking the right numbers, asking the right questions, and planning ahead – can give you control, clarity, and confidence.
Bringing a CFO’s mindset into your business doesn’t mean you need to do it all alone. Sometimes an outside perspective can make the numbers clearer and the decisions easier.
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