CFO Smiths

Full-time CFO who also runs an online finance/accounting resource library on the side. I’m here to learn, share experience, and talk shop.

[CFO Smiths @cfosmiths]

Labor cost isn't just a payroll number.

If headcount rises faster than output, revenue, or gross profit, finance should be asking why.

More people should eventually produce more capacity, service, or profit.

#CFO #Finance

[CFO Smiths @cfosmiths]

Buying more to “save” 5% is not much of a savings if half of it sits on the shelf for a year.

Unit cost matters. So do cash, storage, obsolescence, and demand risk.

#CFO #WorkingCapital

[CFO Smiths @cfosmiths]

Every finance team has at least one report that survives because nobody wants to be the person who stops sending it.

If it takes hours to prepare and nobody reads it, that may not be reporting.

It may just be tradition.

#CFO #Finance

[CFO Smiths @cfosmiths]

A high gross margin does not automatically make something a good product.

Volume, selling costs, inventory, complexity, and support requirements can change the economics quickly.

https://t.co/64rWzMOxnM

#CFO #Profitability

[CFO Smiths @cfosmiths]

Pipeline is not forecast.

A $1M opportunity at 20% probability isn't exactly the same as $1M of expected revenue.

Good forecasting separates possibility from probability.

#CFO #FPandA

[CFO Smiths @cfosmiths]

Moving from controller to CFO is not just a bigger accounting job.

The shift is from explaining what happened to helping management decide what happens next.

https://t.co/aSRLIgW638

#CFO #Controller

[CFO Smiths @cfosmiths]

A vendor bank change should never be approved just because the email looks legitimate.

Independent verification is a small step. Recovering a fraudulent payment is not.

#CFO #InternalControls

[CFO Smiths @cfosmiths]

A lender review should not begin when the banker asks for the financial statements.

Know the story behind earnings, liquidity, working capital, covenants, and the forecast before the questions start.

https://t.co/EeTJKGvHkN

#CFO #Finance

[CFO Smiths @cfosmiths]

Intercompany balances are not meant to permanent fixtures on the balance sheet.

If due-to and due-from accounts keep growing, someone needs to explain the activity, reconcile both sides, and decide how it gets settled.

#CFO #Accounting

[CFO Smiths @cfosmiths]

A bank balance tells you where cash is today.

A 13-week cash flow forecast tells you whether that cash will still be there when payroll, vendors, debt, and taxes come due.

https://t.co/JpnYeuVP5n

#CFO #CashFlow

[CFO Smiths @cfosmiths]

A policy tells people what the rule is.

An SOP tells them how to carry it out.

Confusing the two usually creates documents that are either too vague or too rigid.

https://t.co/XPyoVBJRbU

#CFO #InternalControls

[CFO Smiths @cfosmiths]

Audit readiness should not begin when the request list arrives.

Clean reconciliations, organized support, and clear ownership make the audit easier long before fieldwork starts.

#CFO #Accounting

[CFO Smiths @cfosmiths]

A process is fragile when only one person knows how it works.

Documentation is not bureaucracy when it is the difference between continuity and chaos.

#CFO #Finance

[CFO Smiths @cfosmiths]

A capital request should answer more than “What is the ROI?”

What happens if the assumptions are wrong? How much cash is at risk? What are we not funding instead?

#CFO #CapitalPlanning

[CFO Smiths @cfosmiths]

Finance teams rebuild a lot of the same tools from scratch.

The Forge is our growing library of practical Excel models, trackers, dashboards, policies, SOPs, and checklists.

https://t.co/tDcda0lWfz

#CFO #Excel

[FEI | Financial Executives International @FEInews]

Employers are putting more pay dollars toward merit-based raises for top performers and critical roles. Read more from @SHRM: https://t.co/XMQ6qjKgn6 #PayStrategy

[CFO Smiths @cfosmiths]

A budget is not owned by finance just because finance built the file.

If managers do not understand the assumptions behind their numbers, they do not really own the plan.

#CFO #FPandA

[CFO Smiths @cfosmiths]

Invoice approval is not about getting another signature.

A good process answers three questions: Was it authorized? Did we receive it? Is it ready to pay?

https://t.co/RygnSHI6dC

#CFO #InternalControls

[CFO Smiths @cfosmiths]

A favorable payroll variance is not always good news.

Sometimes it just means open positions stayed open longer than planned.

Finance should separate real savings from hiring delays.

#CFO #FPandA

[CFO Smiths @cfosmiths]

Inventory aging is not just an accounting report.

Old inventory ties up cash, hides purchasing mistakes, and eventually becomes a margin problem.

#CFO #WorkingCapital