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Whether you have a fast-growing startup or a mid-market enterprise in need of a high-level financial expert whose expertise you can afford, the services of a freelance chief financial officer can be invaluable.
In this article, we will explain what a freelance CFO is, how they can help you achieve your business goals with expert financial planning, and the advantages of adding this key professional to your leadership team.
To make it easier for you to hire a freelance CFO, we’ve also compiled a list of the seven best websites to find candidates for this crucial role.
What Is a Freelance CFO?
A freelance CFO is a self-employed senior financial executive who oversees your financial management and ensures your financial operations adhere to various legal standards and financial regulations.
They have expertise in key areas such as financial processes, tax preparation, accounting, budgeting, bookkeeping, funding, analyzing and preparing financial statements, and forecasting financial outcomes.
Typically, hiring a freelance CFO is more affordable than employing a full-time CFO and doesn’t require a long-term commitment. This means you can hire them for a one-time project or a short time period.
How Can a Freelance CFO Help Your Business?
A freelance CFO can manage several key finance functions for your business. Let’s have a closer look at each one of them:
Financial reporting
A freelance CFO can conduct various financial services, like reviewing all your financial reports and other documents before you declare your taxes to the IRS, minimizing financial audits. They can also help ensure frequent financial reporting, giving you more visibility into your business’s financial health.
Forecasting and strategic planning
CFOs help forecast financial projections and suggest ways to find new revenue streams and maximize profitability while reducing unnecessary expenses.
They are also able to tell you about which products or services generate the highest profitability so that you can maintain strong and steady business growth.
Budgeting
With a qualified freelance CFO, your cash flow and expenses will be in skilled hands. They will track all your business expenditures and transactions and identify efficiencies and opportunities to reduce costs. This will enable you to make more informed decisions and maintain healthier budgets.
Risk management
Freelance CFOs may also have expertise in dealing with unstable market conditions, risky industries, and different types of business models.
This heightens their ability to predict how financial changes and investments might affect the company and recommend ways to better prepare for risks. For example, they can help you better allocate resources to explore a new product or service and assess whether your business has the reserves to wait until the new venture becomes profitable.
Why Should You Outsource Your Next Chief Financial Officer?
Working with a freelance CFO has many advantages. Here are the major ones:
Save costs
When you hire a CFO on a full-time basis, you need to account for various benefits and allowances, such as payroll tax, benefits, and health insurance. You’ll also need to provide them with resources like office space, equipment, and software.
You can eliminate many of these costs by hiring a freelance CFO, particularly if they work remotely.
In addition, you can benefit from further cost savings by outsourcing your CFO role to a region with lower salary expectations. For example, salary costs for financial roles are lower in Latin America (LatAm) than in the US due to its lower costs of living.
Improve your financial strategy
Freelance CFOs evaluate your financial data, assess the financial viability of new projects and product ideas, and come up with recommendations to improve based on various economic models and strategies that work. This will streamline your cash flow and help ensure business growth.
Freelance CFOs typically have a degree in finance, broad experience in multiple industries, and have dealt with complex business models.
Since they work with multiple clients, they often encounter different situations and can deal with a variety of challenges and initiatives with companies at all stages of growth. This combination of industry knowledge and experience allows them to come up with unique solutions for your company that other financial experts might not.
Free time to focus on core activities
According to a global outsourcing survey by Deloitte, 65% of respondents said that outsourcing enables them to focus on core functions.
Outsourcing a freelance CFO is the ultimate solution if you don’t have time to invest in legalities, budgeting, financial forecasting, and analyzing financial results. They will step in and take responsibility for all these financial activities with precision and skill so that your internal team can concentrate on more central tasks and core functions.
7 Websites To Find and Hire a Freelance CFO
Now that we’ve covered the role of a freelance CFO and the advantages it can offer your business, where can you find one?
One of the most efficient ways to source candidates for this position is by using online platforms. You can use the following seven websites to find skilled freelance CFOs who can drive the financial success of your organization.
Note that these websites aren’t ranked in any particular order, as each comes with unique advantages.
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7 Websites To Find and Hire a Freelance CFO
1. Near
Though this list isn’t ranked, we couldn’t help but place ourselves first!
Near is a white-glove remote hiring firm that enables you to hire the best pre-vetted talent from LatAm in under 21 days. We place talent in a wide range of finance positions and have a massive pool of over 35,000 candidates for almost any role.
Unlike offshore hiring platforms, we connect you with candidates working in US time zones who possess outstanding English communication skills and have lower salary expectations than their US peers (30–70% below the US market). If you’re looking for top remote finance talent who offer affordable rates, we can help.
Near also offers a no-risk solution, as you don’t pay anything unless you hire the best match for your company.
2. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is one of the most well-known networks for connecting with professionals, including finance experts. Its countless users include freelancers, independent contractors, and consultants.
There are two main ways to find your next freelance CFO on LinkedIn:
- Post a job description with your specifications and wait for someone to apply
- Search individually for a freelancer in your network and freelance groups
The downside of hiring a freelancer on LinkedIn is that it can require investing a lot of time to find the right candidate, which may not be ideal if you need to fill your CFO role urgently.
3. Paro
Paro is a freelance platform that specializes strictly in hiring freelancers in the finance sector. Unlike other platforms where you search for candidates individually, Paro uses proprietary AI matching technology to pair you with the right candidate.
First, you fill out a questionnaire that helps the AI service understand your needs and provide details about your company, such as size, name, industry, and contact information. Then, Paro’s team will contact you and list the candidates who best match your stated requirements.
4. Upwork
Upwork is an online platform that connects you with top freelancers. It provides a versatile approach to hiring and is free to join as an employer looking for your next financial expert.
If you type the keyword “CFO” in the search bar, the platform will return several pages of results displaying CFOs for hire. These professionals have a wide range of experience and rates, so you can choose one who is suited to your business and needs.
To make your search more tailored to your preferences, Upwork provides the option to filter results in terms of language, hourly rate, qualifications, education, and location.
You can also see freelancers’ reviews, job success rate, client history, and more. Once you decide on the candidates who appeal most to your needs, you can contact them directly via Upwork’s messaging system.
However, you must pay Upwork various process and administration fees, and some freelancers are available only for short-term or part-time projects.
Since you’ll still need to find and assess freelancers yourself, you’ll likely need to spend many hours posting jobs and screening candidates before you find the perfect freelance CFO for your business.
5. Toptal
Toptal is an exclusive freelance platform that connects employers with elite financial experts, among a range of other professionals.
The hiring process on Toptal is similar to Paro, but while the latter utilizes AI, Toptal relies on a team of internal recruitment experts who match a freelancer with your company based on your requirements.
It’s free to sign up and set up an introductory call with Toptal’s team. After that, you’ll pay a $500 refundable deposit before they begin their search for you.
6. FreeUp
FreeUp is an online marketplace for hiring freelancers and virtual assistants. It is known for its rigorous vetting process that ensures quality talent for a range of roles.
To find a freelance CFO, you’ll need to create a free account and add a job request. You then answer a questionnaire detailing your needs and the skills required for the job. After that, you’ll get matched with your ideal candidates.
Like Upwork, it can take considerable time to interview and screen candidates to find your ideal freelance CFO.
In addition to the client rate, FreeUp charges 20% of the freelancer rate.
7. Freelancer.com
Freelancer is a digital hub for employers to find top talent from tens of millions of freelance professionals. Once you post a job, freelancers will bid on their price.
The platform also enables you to search for freelancers individually and reach out to them directly. You can do so by inputting the type of professional you need (in this case, a CFO) in the search field and filtering results by hourly rate, skills, location, rating reviews, and exams.
Freelancer is highly popular, with millions of projects completed. However, it has recently been dealing with issues such as spam, fake profiles, and low-quality work.
In terms of pricing, it’s free to sign up, post your project, and start receiving bids. Once you award the project to a freelancer, the platform charges 3% of the amount you pay to them.
Final Thoughts
A freelance CFO is a key role that can manage your critical financial functions while your in-house team focuses on core competencies and taking your business to the next level.
Outsourcing this position brings benefits like cost and time savings, especially if you choose a partner like Near that can handle hiring processes like sourcing, vetting, and onboarding talent.
Are you ready to find out how we can help you fill important financial leadership roles like CFOs with top remote talent? Book a free consultation and speak with one of our experts today.
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