A financial controller is a person who will assist a company’s chief financial officer. This in turn is providing financial assistance to everyone within a company where finances need to be recorded and managed and strategies come up with to control costs. This financial controller can be a remote financial controller and still be available to provide support.
We no longer need to hire a full-time financial controller who will work from a company desk because many tasks are achievable from outsourcing a part-time supervisor who will work remotely. This will prove more cost-effective for a company looking for financial support. The remote financial controller may work from home but still be able to establish communication networks that provide financial assistance as and when required.
Cost-Saving
An important area that a remote financial controller will be involved in is cost saving. This will be about streamlining procedures to make them more cost-efficient to run. For instance, do the numbers of staff equal the amount of work for them to do? Are there procedures that should not be taking as long as they do? These are both financial considerations that relate to staffing.
A financial controller, even operating remotely, will be able to advise a company’s chief financial offer, whatever the size of the company, about how best to reduce costs that are too high. They will advise on which areas of a company are a financial drain and need looking at.
Sometimes those working within a company can be too close to what is going on and almost miss the obvious. Also, an unbiased outlook can be an advantage in terms of making a difficult financial decision.
Analysis
A remote financial controller will be adept at financial analysis. They are skilled in interpreting a variety of accounting situations to determine whether a business is losing money that it need not be losing. It is not just about increasing sales when you have a business but also reducing costs. This is the balance that ensures profitability. Everyone within a company has a responsibility for this, and in particular a chief finance officer. They have ultimate responsibility and so will find the help of a remote financial controller invaluable.
Proving Information
Remote financial controllers are excellent at providing the right kinds of information those within a company need and at the right time, without delay. They will provide the information at the time it needs to be acted upon as well as at a month or year-end. If a company is tightly managing its finances it will need to review what it is doing more often.
Cash Flow
A remote financial controller will be concerned with cash flow. A company cannot continue operating without the availability of finance. It is no good having it tied up in those that owe money or stock because there still needs to be some working capital to use. For example, in a business where buying and selling is the staple activity, you will need the funds to buy new products to sell while others remain in stock and tie up your money. Staff will still need to be paid that sell or handle the goods in the warehouse. This makes it important to never run out of money in the bank.
Where cash flow is a problem, perhaps because of seasonal factors, a remote financial controller will be the one that prompts everyone to act quickly in obtaining finance from another source. For instance, a bank loan can keep a business going through a lean period. Such a financial controller will assist the chief financial officer in coming up with a sound business plan that will secure the finance. We have to be able to prove that repaying the money will be possible. A loan can be secured against assets or a loan obtained that does not need collateral to support it.
We, therefore, as a business of any size, value the expertise of a financial controller. This is whether they are employed directly by a company and at a physical desk-based there, or operate remotely and advise many businesses. They will be hired on the basis that they have the time for our chief financial officer and can guide them to ensuring our company is profitable and so will survive into the future.