Cfo austin texas

So, while Accounting and Finance may be the reasons why you choose to retain our services, our focus and passion is on helping grow the value of your business and improve its profitability. In the process, we will build a top-notch Accounting and Finance function to support your growth.

Your Name required. Your Email required. There is a substantial gap in business experience and acumen between you and other members of your team.

You feel like you are flying the proverbial airplane with no instrument panel. Or you plan to sell in the short to medium-term and have not prepared your company for it. A strategic, senior executive that will challenge your thinking, bring in new ideas and a fresh perspective. The ability to effectively interface with existing or potential investors and capital providers.

A long-term view of your business, including a long-term financial forecast and a sense of the business value currently and in the future. Because we work collaboratively, when you retain one of our executives you gain access to the knowledge, experience and relationships of the whole team.

Our clients also benefit from our Strategic Sounding Board sessions, where experienced executives including non-VGP professionals meet with the CEO and other senior managers to brainstorm and strategize, providing new ideas and their expertise in operations, finance, sales, marketing, technology and other areas.

Our experience includes: i starting-up and co-founding successful businesses; ii helping companies grow from millions of dollars in revenues to tens of millions and from tens of millions to hundreds of millions; iii leading the transformation and reinvigoration of mature, larger businesses; and iv successfully turning around troubled ventures. We have also been part of some corporate failures and bankruptcies, from which we learned significantly.

Counterparties in those transactions ran the gamut, i from angels and small investors to major venture capital and private equity firms; ii from family-owned businesses to Fortune 50 corporations; iii from traditional commercial banks to alternative debt capital providers.

It is our passion to meet with and assist entrepreneurs and business owners and we are happy to do an initial consultation at no cost. Message required. Press enter to begin your search.

Close Search. Our Austin fractional CFOs are of a different breed. Is it time to Onboard a CFO? If you can relate to a few of the statements below, you would greatly benefit from having one of our fractional CFOs by your side.

Below are a few questions you should ask yourself as you start looking for your next CFO. Your CFO profile should reflect the structure and performance of your company. Hiring a new CFO is an opportunity to fill some of the skill gaps on your management team.

Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the CEO and other leading board members to determine what expertise would benefit the team. Select a CFO who will shore up any weaknesses in your team. It is important to determine how capable your financial functions currently are. If your company is currently struggling to efficiently manage basic financial functions such as accurate data and systems compliance, then you need to focus on a CFO with a financial guru-type profile.

If your basic financial processes are not going well, then your first order of business needs to be strengthening this area above all else. It is a good idea to look at potential internal candidates to promote to CFO who have significant financial experience as well as a proven record of results. Of course, if your financial functions are running smoothly, then you can consider candidates with other qualifications such as more management experience and strategic insight.

Finding the right CFO for your company requires a lot of consideration concerning the right characteristics as well as the needs of the business. As you determine the right CFO profile for your company, remember how the CFO position has evolved over the years and adapt your profile to best fit your needs. Cowen Partners is a leading CFO Search Firm and has a strong record of identifying and recruiting Chief Financial Officers for public, private and non-profit organizations.

Contact us if you would like to discuss recruiting an exceptional CFO for your company in Austin, Texas. The position looks good on a resume, often comes with a certain prestige and monetary bump; however, many CFOs do not realize what it takes to be successful at a private equity backed company. A majority of these exits take place within the first two years of a PE firm acquiring a company.

CFOs are not meeting expectations or understanding their role in driving value. Private equity environments are very demanding, and it can be difficult for the CFO to know which skills need to be honed and which pitfalls to avoid.

To make the transition to a PE backed company a little easier, below are four pieces of advice private equity operating partners and executives want CFOs to know. The role of a private equity operating partner OP can vary greatly between PE firms and their portfolio companies.

Ask your OP what resources are available so that you can have a full understanding of the tools at your disposal. For example, if a requested financial report is going to take an inordinate amount of time and resources to compile, it is OK to ask why the numbers are needed and find out what the PE firm is trying to accomplish. Explain to the executives what it will take to provide what they requested so everyone is on the same page about the resources being dedicated to the task.

Time and energy may be better spent completing other work, especially when what they want can be included in a regular report. As the CFO of a private equity backed company, you should be working closely with the company CEO to deliver consistent financial reporting and data analytics to the PE firm. It is surprisingly common for CFOs and CEOs to miscommunicate or to carelessly deliver divergent information to their private equity investors. Inconsistent information and communication do not inspire confidence.

A successful CFO is able to work with the CEO to produce clear, consistent information that accurately reflects the state of the business sometimes on a weekly basis. Due to the stringent financial reporting requirements of PE firms, staying up to date on the latest technology trends is important for increasing efficiency and staying relevant in a rapidly advancing industry. According to a survey by Deloitte, 82 percent of PE investors believe automation and technology are going to have a major impact on finance functions over the next 10 years.

Ideally, these investments will eventually cut labor costs and create a more efficient workflow within the PE portfolio company. As a private equity CFO, you must start embracing technology. Old school financial reporting methods are being replaced by automation and as the CFO, you must be the one leading those changes. If technological advancements are not part of your strategic plan for the portfolio company, you need to pivot to start including them.

As a private equity CFO, you must be flexible and wear many different hats. Before a business is acquired by a PE firm, a CFO might be perfectly fine filling the role of accountant. After a business is acquired, however, this is no longer the case.

Oftentimes, the duties the CFO previously held are increased exponentially to accommodate the rapid growth a PE firm demands. A typical PE experienced CFO will naturally oversee finances, but also may play a role in human resources, operations, supply chain management and negotiations, legal, information technology, and in some cases, real estate.

A lot of CFOs inherited through an acquisition do not know how to adapt to these new duties required by the PE firm. That is part of the reason why CFO turnover is so high. You must realize a PE CFO role has higher expectations and you must quickly grow accordingly to match your new duties. Ultimately, a strategic CFO is forward-thinking and has a personal and professional growth mindset. Your role as a PE backed CFO might be evolving into a more complex and challenging position, but it can also be the most fulfilling job opportunity of your career.

If you remember the four messages above and work hard to bridge the skills gap, you will be more likely to succeed in your new role as a PE CFO. Cowen Partners is a leading CFO Search Firm and has a strong record of identifying and recruiting Chief Financial Officers for public, private and non-profit organizations nationally, including Austin, Texas.

Contact us if you would like to discuss recruiting an exceptional CFO for your organization. Read more of our industry-leading CFO recruiting resources to see why Cowen Partners is a 5-star executive search firm in Austin, Texas and beyond:. Please leave this field empty. The financial guru The financial guru CFO has years of experience with different roles related to financial functions within a company.