Full Time vs Part Time

Author: Larry Chester, President

What Fits Your Business?

Mid-sized businesses struggle with the issue of hiring part time people to staff their companies. Whether they are considering hiring a Part Time CFO or other part time staff, the situation is the same. Company staffing is now judged by how many FTE – Full Time Equivalent employees they have. Do you need a Chief Financial Officer at your company 5 days a week? If you are a large company, you might. But if you’re a small business, or a mid-market family owned business, you may only need an outsourced CFO on a fractional basis. The same is true for any position in a company.

As an example, one client had an AP Clerk working 50 – 60 hours a week, and considered hiring another person. Our assessment was to reorganize their AP department, making better use of their computer system, and bringing operational efficiency to the department. In the end, the actual time spent managing AP was only 2 ½ days a week.

They were able to give the AP clerk additional responsibilities, reducing the need for more people, saving the company money, and reducing the time it took to process payables.

The issue comes down to a number of factors:

• Are you executing an efficient process for every functional area? Is the paperwork flowing cleanly from one person (department) to another for approvals and processing?
• Have you analyzed how your computer system is being used to get work done? For specific tasks, it is much faster and more efficient than your staff.
• Are you getting the answers to your questions on a timely basis? Is your existing staff able to fill that need?

The cost of hiring a full-time Finance Director with the skill and experience to provide strategic answers to questions is very expensive. If you only have two or three issues of that type monthly, or even weekly, having a senior executive available all the time might not be cost effective. Face it. Using an outsourced CFO or other senior executive could provide you with the proven consultation you need to be successful.

In those cases, whether it’s Marketing, Sales, Engineering or Financial advice, hiring a trusted, successful executive to provide CFO Services on a part time basis just makes sense. At that level, the decisions that you need to make are strategic, and generally won’t require instantaneous responses. Having someone available part time, on a regular basis, might be the best, most cost-effective solution.

CFO Simplified can help you determine whether a part time CFO will meet your company’s needs.

CFO Simplified is your strategic financial partner to drive growth, profitability and value into your business. For more information and examples of how CFO Simplified has helped clients achieve these objectives, please review the services offered and case studies available on our website. Then contact us so we can help you reach your goals.