VIRTUAL CFO

The Hidden Costs of the Virtual Accounting Firm

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Happy business professionals giving high five hand slap

Save by combining a retreat with CPE.

By Jody Grunden
Building the Virtual CFO Firm in the Cloud

With a brick-and-mortar company, there are a number of standard costs that you would expect to have, such as rent or mortgage, utilities, building repairs, furniture, technology, etc. The total amount of these kinds of costs typically falls in the range of 3-4 percent of the company’s annualized revenue. That amount can be pretty significant for a lot of companies.

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Some business owners may think they can save the company all of that money by going remote, but I personally believe that’s a terrible idea. While it’s true that a distributed company doesn’t have the costs that come with having a physical space, the very nature of a remote work environment results in a completely different and unique set of needs that should be considered in the company’s annual budget.
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Create an Accountability Chart for Your Firm

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It beats an org chart and here’s why.

By Jody Grunden
Building the Virtual CFO Firm in the Cloud

“Getting the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats – these are all crucial steps in the early stages of buildup…” – Jim Collins, “Good to Great”

When Adam and I first started the company, we didn’t have much organizational structure. We didn’t need it. But as the company grew, it became necessary to develop an organizational structure. There’s a great quote by Michael E. Gerber in his book “The E-Myth Revisited” that says, “Without the Organization Chart, confusion, discord and conflict become the order of the day.”

We got to a point where we realized that Adam and I didn’t have clarity around our individual roles, and we were overlapping one another. We needed to have clearly defined roles for one another, as well as the people who were working for us. Lack of clarity can cause a loss in production.
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What If the Best Accounting Job Isn’t in Tax or Audit? | Accounting Conversations

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The profession’s fastest-growing opportunities help business owners make decisions—not just balance the books.

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The step-by-step operating guide for firms building, pricing, and scaling advisory services that clients value—and pay for.

Accounting Conversations
With Chayton Farlee
Center for Accounting Transformation

For many accounting students, the profession appears to offer two primary destinations: tax or audit.

But what if that’s only part of the story?

In the latest episode of Accounting Conversations, host Chayton Farlee, an assurance associate at CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA), welcomes Kaden Cook, CPA, CMA, a virtual CFO with Anders, for a conversation that challenges many of the assumptions students have about accounting careers.

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Cook’s own career follows a path that many students may not realize exists. He begins with bookkeeping, gains experience in accounts receivable and accounts payable, discovers outsourced accounting and eventually finds his way into advisory services, where he helps business owners make financial decisions rather than simply report financial results.

That distinction becomes one of the central themes of the conversation.

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Three Ways to Protect Client Files from Cyberthreats

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Technology Security with Internet Digital Signature as Art

Make technology your ally.

By Jody Grunden
Building the Virtual CFO Firm in the Cloud

Have you ever been contacted by the IRS with the FBI involved? I can tell you from firsthand experience that it’s a bit alarming when that happens.

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We were once contacted by the IRS because they thought our server had been compromised. When the field officer who came to our office asked to see our server, we explained that we didn’t have a server. She was a little surprised by that information and then asked where we kept our files. We explained that we use cloud storage and programs designed specifically for encryption and security.
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A Virtual CFO Might Be the Answer

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Three people speaking by videoconference

It might not be just one person.

By Jody Grunden
Building the Virtual CFO Firm in the Cloud

You may have heard about virtual CFO services. It’s a concept that’s been around for a while now that allows CPAs and accounting firms to offer CFO services to smaller businesses that may not yet be able to afford a full-time CFO.

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What is a Virtual CFO?

Virtual CFO (or VCFO for short) stands for a virtual chief financial officer. A VCFO provides outsourced accounting services at a high level for businesses.
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Three Metrics for Measuring Staff

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They must work in harmony.

By Jody Grunden
Building the Virtual CFO Firm in the Cloud

If you want to grow your accounting firm, it’s important to evaluate the effectiveness of your process on a regular basis. You want to be aware of what’s working well and what’s not. You also want to continually be improving upon your services over time.

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There are three things you can specifically monitor when it comes to the effectiveness of your team. Here’s how we do it at Summit CPA Group. Maybe these ideas will work for you too.
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Three Ways to Talk to Audit Clients

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Prospects have to find you easily.

By Jody Grunden
Building the Virtual CFO Firm in the Cloud

With our 401(k) audit service, the bulk of our clients find us online and come to us through our website. We also get referrals from investment advisors and third-party administrators.

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No matter how a prospect finds us, there are three ways that they typically reach out to us:
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Five Best Practices for Sales and Conversion

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two women shaking hands across desk

Plus a six-step process for ushering prospects through to virtual CFO services.

By Jody Grunden
Building the Virtual CFO Firm in the Cloud

An important part of the overall process within the company is sales and conversion. For our virtual CFO service, there’s a six-step lead conversion process from when the prospect discovers our website to when the engagement begins.

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The Sales and Conversion Process

Our sales and conversion process includes six steps.

Here’s what that looks like and the typical timeline: READ MORE →

Put Thought Leadership into Your Marketing

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Businesswoman lassoing light bulb

You can’t just acquire new business. You have to retain it.

By Jody Grunden
Building the Virtual CFO Firm in the Cloud

I bet you can imagine that marketing a virtual accounting firm is different than it is for traditional brick-and-mortar accounting firms. When you’re only serving your local area, you need to focus on things like signage, local advertising, the Yellow Pages, your website, Google My Business, Yelp, Chamber of Commerce and word-of-mouth referrals. Those are all great ways to get noticed by people in your area who would benefit from the services you offer.

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When your customer base isn’t confined to a specific location, however, it changes the game a bit. You still want word-of-mouth referrals and you still need a website, but it becomes even more important to focus on search engine optimization (SEO) and thought leadership – developing your online platform, publishing articles with industry publications, speaking, etc. – to help people discover your services.
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Three Steps to Better Client Communication

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What can you anticipate and prepare for?

By Jody Grunden
Building the Virtual CFO Firm in the Cloud

Clients desire transparency. Being transparent with clients and having open, honest communication with them helps build really strong, healthy working relationships. It’s never been so important for us to have open communication channels with our clients at all times no matter what form of communication is being utilized.

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In some organizations, people hide behind their computers if they feel too busy or if they don’t want to face the client because they aren’t able to meet a deadline. We, on the other hand, make it a priority to be available to our clients at all times.
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