profile

Easily Said & Done

Fiscal Responsibility

Published about 2 years ago • 2 min read

In honor of Financial Literacy Month I thought I'd share some helpful info from one of my favorite finance people, Tricia Taitt.

Tricia is the CEO of FinCore as well as the author of Dancing With Numbers, a great book for those of us who don't consider ourselves 'numbers people.'

What I see over and over again in the courses I teach and coaching I do is that far too many entrepreneurs avoid the financial side of their business until they can't afford to anymore.

For some, it works out all right. But for the vast majority that delay costs them big time.

One of the main reasons people wait to hire financial management support is because they don't really understand what kind of help they need.

The fact is that it changes as your business grows and, to be honest, there is some overlap between the different roles.

So, to help you figure out who you need to hire at each stage of your business development, here's a little cheat sheet adapted from Tricia's blog, which I'm sharing with her consent.

CPA

CPAs are accountants that have met state licensing requirements and passed the CPA exam. CPAs typically audit businesses, do tax reporting and planning and advocate for clients in front of the IRS.

While all CPAs are accountants, NOT all accountants are CPAs.

Business owners should hire a CPA to:

  • Advise on the appropriate business structure
  • Suggest the best tax strategy given their business and personal circumstances
  • Report taxes to federal, state and local agencies

Bookkeeper

Bookkeepers categorize each financial transaction in the accounting system. At the end of each month, they make sure what’s in the accounting system reflects reality and reconciles to your bank and credit card statements.

Hire a bookkeeper when managing numbers becomes too time consuming and complicated to track on a spreadsheet.

Bookkeepers also handle tasks like:

  • Bank deposits & petty cash management
  • Invoicing
  • Collecting customer payments
  • Paying bills
  • Processing payroll
  • Presenting financial statements to management or the CFO

Chief Financial Officer
(CFO)

CFOs manage all accounting and financial aspects of a business, relying on accurate bookkeeping to ensure the veracity of financial information.

The true value of a CFO comes in their ability to do financial analysis that informs strategic decision-making and drives the business forward.

CFOs are responsible for:

  • Projecting and monitoring cash flow on a regular basis
  • Managing the budget process and providing financial forecasts
  • Tracking key performance metrics over time
  • Helping to secure access to capital as needed
  • Managing the overall financial health of the company and accuracy of reporting

Tricia goes into more detail on the CFO role in her blog, which you can read in its entirety here.

If you're looking for financial support in any of the above roles, reach out to me, I'm happy to supply some referrals or connect you to folks who may be able to help you.
​

Until next time,

PS - If you missed it, last week I was all about some Crafty Business Moves.

" Today I signed the contract with ABC for Good Morning America's Deals and Steals, and I am so thankful for all your help with this!! You've been so amazingly supportive! A huge part of being able to even come across such an opportunity is having had the pleasure to learn so much from you."

Belianna Krashi, Founder, Teal Meal LLC
​

​
​
Sharing is caring. Please pass this message on to someone who might benefit from the message.

Your success is our strategy!

​Update your profile.

No longer want to receive my newsletter but don't want to miss my special offers and announcements? Click here.
​To completely unsubscribe from all future communications, please opt out below.

Easily Said & Done

Why grow your business alone?

I help entrepreneurs leapfrog over the typical potholes that derail most small businesses with inspiration, motivation, education, and support across a wide range of business topics drawn from over a decade of running my own business, teaching entrepreneurship for the City of New York, and coaching and consulting privately with dozens of women and minority small business owners. Honestly, why go it alone when help is an email away?

Read more from Easily Said & Done
Title: Is It a Feature or a Bug? Subtitle: The AI Conundrum

Hi Reader, Something I've been enjoying of late are multiple influencers showcasing the limits of ChatGPT and the like. One guy asks it some pretty basic questions, such as to name a number between one and one hundred that includes the letter 'a.' (Spoiler alert: there aren't any). ChatGPT lies to his face over and over again. Another one provides examples of business fails due to AI. Some are pretty extraordinary. But here's the thing, this isn't just a harmless gimmick, it's a warning cry,...

8 days ago • 3 min read
Title: The CEOs Are Beefin'; Subtitle: How Burger King ate McDonald's lunch!

Have you seen the video of McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski trying to promote the new Big Arch burger ahead of its March 3rd launch? How about any of the many, many videos or memes negging on it for a host of reasons, including how Kempczinski refers to the burger as "a delicious product" or his failure to take a real bite of it, seeming almost disgusted by it. To me, there are three great marketing stories going on here. 1. Going Viral Isn't the Goal Yes, there is such a thing as bad PR and...

about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Title: Living In the Now and Then; subtitle: Is harder than it sounds

This fall my mom was diagnosed with mild-to-moderate dementia. While sad, it did not come as a surprise. It's one reason I sold her house and we moved in together late last summer. At first, I planned outings to the Y and other senior programs, scheduled visits from family and friends, coordinated physical therapy appointments, and designed little daily activities to keep her engaged and stimulated. This winter it's gotten harder and harder to get mom out of bed let alone dressed and out the...

2 months ago • 2 min read