Mike Kovar CPA, CFA’s Post

Building a Finance and Accounting Team for a Small Business via NetSuite: https://lnkd.in/gmjquRB7. "Every small business needs an accounting and finance function. How many people are on that team and what their jobs entail depends on the size of the business and the complexity of its finances. Accounting and finance staffing firm Robert Half’s 2019 Benchmarking Accounting & Finance Functions report details the average size of finance functions at small businesses. Businesses with less than $25 million in revenue employed a median of three people in a finance role. Those with revenue between $25 and $99 million employed a median of six finance professionals. Another way to gauge how much to invest in a finance team is to think of the cost as a percentage of revenue. For many businesses, the finance function should consume about 1% of revenue. At smaller companies, many finance functions get outsourced at first, perhaps to a part-time bookkeeper or tax specialist, or through a third-party firm that can handle multiple roles." READ MORE HERE: https://lnkd.in/gmjquRB7 #BuildingAFinanceTeam #BuildingAnAccountingTeam #CFO #MikeKovar

Top qualities to look for in your SaaS startup’s first CFO Via Sage: https://lnkd.in/gSFcRdS6. "Bringing on your first CFO can be extremely exciting, and a strong hire can give your business a significant strategic edge. However, to make an effective hiring choice, you need to know what makes a great CFO. A McKinsey report on the role of modern CFOs put it this way: “…it’s important that COs step up to play a broader role, one that includes modeling of desired mind-sets and behaviors in transforming the finance function itself…” With this in mind, what makes a great CFO? What should you be looking for in your SaaS startup’s first CFO?" READ MORE HERE: https://lnkd.in/gSFcRdS6 #SaaSStartUpCFO #CFO #Accounting #MikeKovar

CFO Priorities for 2024: AI, Automation, & Strategic Hiring Via Oracle: https://lnkd.in/gx4Ngkr4. "If the past several years serve as any indication, CFOs will no doubt face their share of rapidly evolving business challenges in 2024. On one hand, global real GDP grew 3.1% and skirted an expected recession in 2023. Technologies such as generative AI grew rapidly, offering promise to businesses ready to invest in their potential. Yet on the other side, the cost of capital remains heightened, M&A dealmaking continues to be low, geopolitical volatility presents a major concern, and talent remains hard to come by. Looking inside their companies, CFOs are focused on evaluating AI opportunities, improving efficiency and productivity through automation and generative AI, increasing collaboration throughout the business, providing a strong financial base in terms of cash flow and liquidity, and more. They’re choosing to focus on a diverse list of priorities to help build their organization’s resilience and pursue smart growth opportunities. What Are CFO Priorities? CFO priorities have evolved in conjunction with the CFO role itself. While the position used to be almost entirely confined to back-office responsibilities—the books and records of the company, financial reporting, and statutory compliance—it has since become much more dynamic and embedded in business strategy decisions. The CFO still oversees the organization’s financial activities, including being responsible for the finance and accounting professionals who perform operational functions. With the perspective that position provides, the CFO serves as a strategic advisor for their CEO and C-suite peers. The resulting CFO priorities encompass a wide range of areas, including advancing data and analytics use including AI, driving efficiency through automation, and balancing growth with profitability as external conditions shift." READ MORE HERE: https://lnkd.in/gx4Ngkr4 #CFO #Accounting #MikeKovar #CFOPriorities

Risk and opportunity in GenAI: tips for SaaS CFOs via Sage: https://bit.ly/3RktwS3. "As a CFO, one tiny mistake in your department can create a cascade of problems. SaaS finance is a tightrope walk of delicately balanced processes and workflows. That’s made some finance leaders hesitant to adopt cloud software with generative AI (GenAI). This hesitation comes at a real cost since GenAI is one of the most powerful accounting tools currently available for finance teams. In this blog post, we’ll 1) Help you gain an understanding of GenAI for SaaS finance, 2) Identify potential risks associated with this new technology, 3) Explain how cloud AI tools can transform your department’s productivity and boost your organization’s cash flow." READ MORE HERE: https://bit.ly/3RktwS3 #CFO #AIForFinance #CloudAI #MikeKovar

From the CFO War Stories & Executive Insights Blog, The Top 5 Reasons Executive Management Fails: https://lnkd.in/gk9Tjn-J. "Failure from top management can cost a company billions and lower morale. These are the top 5 reasons why executives fail. Failure at any level costs companies. Those that occur at the executive management level can be fatal. A military general fighting a war with a flawed strategy has already lost before the fighting begins. Knowing what can be done to prevent management pitfalls is the most important tasks for executives. Here are the most common failures of executive management...READ MORE HERE: https://lnkd.in/gk9Tjn-J #WhyManagersFail #CFO #Accounting #MikeKovar

10 personality traits that indicate you’d be a great accountant via UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School: https://lnkd.in/g6TmS3eb. "Even if you’ve never opened a spreadsheet, you might be surprised to find how well your strengths fit with what accountants do. Here are 10 key traits of successful accountants." #PersonalityTraitsOfGreatAccountants #Accounting #CFO #MikeKovar

We had a great time at the Los Angeles Times Forum & Leadership Awards! Very honored to be a named a finalist! Thank you so much L.A. Times B2B Publishing. #latb2bCFO #CFO #chieffinancialofficer #leadershipawards #MikeKovar

Completely honored to be a Finalist for the CFO Private Company - Large Category at the Los Angeles Times Forum & Leadership Awards. Thank you so much to L.A. Times B2B Publishing and to everyone involved in the awards program. #latb2bCFO #CFO #chieffinancialofficer #leadershipawards #MikeKovar

Meet the New CFO — Your Most Important Leader in This Economy via Salesforce: https://sforce.co/3FrOd7O. “Who has the most influence in a company? Increasingly, it’s the chief financial officer. More CFOs are being promoted to CEO than ever before, according to new research. Approximately 8.1% of sitting CEOs came directly from a CFO chair. The modern CFO manages more than just money. CFOs are taking broader leadership responsibilities, such as managing customer experiences, hiring and retaining talent, and leading strategic shifts into automation and other areas. The CFO is a lifeline for company health — and becoming more critical as we head into a time of economic uncertainty. What does this mean for today’s CFO? How is this role evolving as businesses face ongoing disruptions and instability?" READ MORE HERE: https://sforce.co/3FrOd7O #ImportanceOfCFOPosition #CFO #MikeKovar

Gen AI: A guide for CFOs via McKinsey & Company: https://lnkd.in/g59Fvfji. "Technology changes every business, often radically, and the pace of change is getting faster. Now, generative AI (gen AI) is beginning to show its disruptive potential (see sidebar “Gen AI: A primer”). The technology won’t affect all businesses equally, and certainly not at the same time. Yet across industries and geographies, gen AI could present substantial opportunities for significant value creation. But value doesn’t create itself. Instead, it’s the CFO’s role to allocate resources at the enterprise level—rapidly, boldly, and disproportionately—to the projects that create the most value, regardless of whether they are driven by gen AI. Similarly, in leading the finance function, the CFO can’t implement gen AI for everyone, everywhere, all at once. CFOs should select a very small number of use cases that could have the most meaningful impact for the function. In this article, we’ll discuss how CFOs can most effectively approach gen AI company-wide, prioritize specific use cases within the finance function, and rapidly climb the gen AI learning curve." READ MORE HERE: https://lnkd.in/g59Fvfji #WhatCFOsNeedToKnowAboutAI #AI #CFO #MikeKovar