Fahrenheit’s Newest Member Doug Jones Discusses Fractional CFO

As your company becomes larger and more successful, it may start to experience some growing pains. To maintain efficiency and keep costs low, companies are turning to fractional CFOs. Fahrenheit Finance has added Doug Jones as an in-house specialist to help address these needs.

Both small and mid-size companies are discovering the need for a CFO, but that need may not be permanent. Limited-time projects and certain times of year require added attention, and a fractional CFO is the perfect way to address these needs.

“A small or mid-size company that does’t always need or can’t afford a CFO can bring one on periodically for a specific project,” says Doug, noting that they also bring expertise that often can’t be found in-house.

There often exists the need for a group or team to accompany the CFO to help complete projects, as there are usually time constraints and a sense of urgency around some of these tasks.

“Many companies will find they have other needs in some other areas as well,” adds Doug. “We work with them to bring in those people, all under our direction.”

But the main reason many companies turn to a fractional CFO has to do with the bottom line.

“It’s a more cost-effective solution,” says Doug.

So how do you know if you need to bring a fractional CFO on to handle a project? Doug offers these 5 things to look for at your company:

1. Not getting financial information or not getting it in a timely manner

2. Finding a lot of surprises at year’s end

3. Missing records

4. Items not recorded correctly

5. Unexplained shifts in profitability

A fractional CFO is also a great way to ensure your company’s continued growth, as it can free up time for you or your team to push forward on new initiatives.

“If you have projects or great ideas and don’t have bandwidth to act on them because of personnel shortages, a fractional CFO can definitely help. This makes CFOs perfect for one-off projects.”

If you have questions about how a fractional CFO can help your business, or if you’d just like to welcome Doug to the team, you can email him at djones@fahrenheitfinance.com or contact anyone at Fahrenheit Finance.