What Does a CFO Do That My Accountant Can't?

For financial professionals, your accountant lays the foundation, while your CFO builds your business up

It’s not uncommon for business owners to think of the roles of CFO and accountant as interchangeable. However, each professional plays a distinctly different role in contributing to a business’s overall success. As a financial professional, whether you run a small or medium-sized firm, both a CFO and an accountant have a place — and it’s worth knowing the difference between the two.

Businesses rely on an accountant to report what historically happened by compiling data to reflect the company’s current state. An accountant summarizes sales and expenses and plays an instrumental role in managing payroll, corporate tax planning, internal or external audits, and financial compliance.

Your CFO is a forward-looking partner

Where an accountant is more process driven, a CFO professional is more planning-driven, and takes a holistic view of your financial practice’s health and financial well-being. A CFO will help you run your business efficiently and effectively while helping you drive profit and stay on track to meet your goals now and in the future.

In the same way that you help your clients manage their financial plans, a CFO brings their analytical skills to advise you on business decisions.

"To unlock your business’s full potential, you need to find leverage points so you can focus on the highest and best use of your time, and possibly get more hours back in your day."

A CFO manages the firm’s economic activities, such as tracking cash flow, analyzing its strengths and weaknesses, and proposing corrective measures to optimize the business. A CFO is the business owner’s partner in crafting a business plan with strategic initiatives to drive the desired outcomes and establish benchmarks to measure success — no longer someone who crunches numbers on a balance sheet.

A CFO delivers strategic insights to drive profitability

A CFO can be a trusted, consultative partner with an advanced skillset to:

• Advise on critical business decisions, such as adding a new financial professional to the firm, merging with a new business partner, or acquiring a firm
• Provide capital solutions to access lines of credit and gain special terms on loans, helping with debt planning and underwriting
• Help you transition your practice with a succession plan that can maximize your payout
• Develop a business plan to minimize risk, improve business efficiency, and help you stay on track to meet both short- and long-term business goals to increase your firm’s value

So the work of an accountant becomes the foundation that enables the CFO to do their work effectively — understanding all the data, providing valuable insights, and helping to drive decision making for the business’s future.

No business is too small to benefit from a CFO

Many business owners assume that to have a CFO, their company must operate at a certain level. But really, a CFO has advanced analytical skills to make data-driven decisions, in pursuit of next-level success for businesses of any size.

Their ability to build and maintain strong relationships throughout the financial industry helps business owners stay on top of significant developments. A CFO anticipates regulatory changes and understands the impact of market trends, politics, and domestic and international events to provide critical insights.

Having this type of consultative relationship with a CFO helps connect your business strategy directly to your finances, allowing you to understand the full impact of your strategy today and in the future. While any business can benefit from a CFO, it may not be financially reasonable to have one on staff — that’s where LPL Financial comes in.

Outsourcing can help you build your extraordinary business

Where do you spend your time? Your time is a precious commodity, and due to wearing so many hats for your business, you’re likely spending it doing things that are not driving the most value for your clients or for your business.

You’re working to help your clients build their financial future, but who can help you build your future? To unlock your business’s full potential, you need to find leverage points so you can focus on the highest and best use of your time, and get more hours back in your day.

How LPL can help

LPL Financial developed CFO Solutions to provide practice owners with an affordable option to gain the expertise of a CFO’s skillset. This program connects you to a skilled LPL CFO strategist equipped with the tools, insights, and problem-solving skills to act as your dedicated partner and help you meet your goals. You get KPI measurement, goal setting, and client segmentation that's essential to building a foundation for accelerated growth.

As a strategic ally, your CFO will help you reach new levels by developing and executing plans that align with your goals to optimize, grow, or transform your practice. Your CFO will create personalized action plans with clear goals and key drivers, supported by metrics and benchmarking for maximized, measurable results. They identify and implement cost-saving and revenue-generating strategies that are backed by cash-flow projections, cost-control tactics, and forecasting.

Learn more about how CFO Solutions can help you streamline your operations, elevate your client experience, and increase your impact.

Important Disclosures

This material has been created and designed for licensed financial professionals only and may not include the level of detail, explanation and disclosure needed for a general audience to accurately evaluate the facts. The views and opinions expressed by the LPL financial professional may not be representative of the views of other financial professionals and are not indicative of future performance or success. Investors should consult their own advisors regarding their specific financial situation.

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