They are all key advisers to helping your business be successful.
But what are they exactly? What do they each do? How can each of them help improve your business? Do you need all four or perhaps just two or three?!
We’re going to give you a brief rundown of the services provided by each of these important roles and how they may be able to help your business succeed. It’s important to note that the services provided by one service provider may be very different to the next; so, there’s certainly some areas of cross over between these roles.
Bookkeepers
Bookkeepers are responsible for the day-to- day financial management of a business. The scope of a work completed by a bookkeeper can range significantly. A Bookkeeper (sometime referred to as an Accounts Manager) will provide everything from sending invoices, paying bills, entering supplier invoices, processing payroll and reconciling bank accounts.
Alternatively, a Bookkeepers role will be performed at a higher level such as reviewing data regularly before lodgement of a quarterly Business Activity Statement.
Without a good Bookkeeper involved in your businesses it’s hard to ensure that your business numbers are up to date and accurate. If they’re not it makes it very difficult for your other business advisors (VCFO, Accountant & Business Coach) to provide their services.
Virtual CFO’s
Virtual CFO services have become an emerging role in recent times as technology makes this function more profitable for both those that provide these services, and more affordable for those that pay for them. Virtual CFO’s are designed to fill the role of a CFO on a part-time basis for a fraction of the cost of hiring a full time CFO.
Virtual CFO services will typically include things like budget preparation, management reporting, cashflow forecasting and system & process improvement to name a few.
Accountants
“Accountant” is a broad terms in today’s business environment and depending on the firm/accountant you use the services provided will differ significantly.
Your accountant has always and will very likely continue to handle all your annual compliance work; financial statements, income tax returns, company minutes, etc. They’ll also help you with things like establishing or transitioning to a structure (e.g. partnership, trust, company or any combination of these) that works for you.
Other areas you’ll typically rely on your accountant for are things like succession planning, business mergers, sales and acquisitions, tax minimisation or tax planning and business valuations. Again, there’s a host of other services your accountant may/may not provide, but those are the basics.
Business Coach/Mentor
The core service of a good business coach is to help your business improve. Business improvement can come in a variety of different ways; you may want to be more profitable, you may want to operate more efficiently or you may want to improve your company culture.
The right business coach for your business will help you gain clarity around what needs to be improved and the actions you can take to make those improvements. These improvements can be in any area of your business, for example; improving your gross margin, human resources, marketing, etc.
Business coaches usually have a variety of experience in business themselves. They’ve learnt from that experience and now they’re using those skills to help others succeed.
A business coach/mentor can really help your business navigate through tough times and provide perhaps a broader spectrum of advice than what you may typically receive from your Bookkeeper/Virtual CFO/Accountant who are usually more numbers focused.