CFO

The role of the chief financial officer‍

The CFO oversees the financial actions of the company, including financial planning, risk management, record-keeping and financial reporting. In a world where cost capital is higher, the CFO is acritical role and you have to have someone that can think through the businessfrom all aspects.

The CFO in many businesses is one of the most critical position that you hire for.

When to hire a chief financial officer

A CFO is typically hired at the formation of the company or when restructuring financial strategies to support scaling operations.

At the earlier stage, it becomes much more of a financial planning analysis focused role. If there's accounting dynamics at play that are complex, you want more of a controller type, but it's different at series B or C than it would be at the later stage when you're thinking about going public.

At a later-stage company, the VP of finance will spend a greater portion of their day assisting the CFO in the planning and analysis of the business.

LF Partners has a fantastic network of CFOs. We has done a large number of VP of finance placements, which is the most senior finance person hires. We've seen multiple layers of the finance function in a way that I think a lot of other companies probably haven't within some unique businesses.

What makes a world-class chief financial officer?

A world-class CFO has extensive experience in finance management, excels in strategic thinking, and possesses a deep understanding of financial forecasting, capital management and economic trends.

The role is more specialized the later you are, but I think in terms of what makes a world-class CFO, the common thread is someone that is not just reading back the numbers, they're diving in at a different level. Why is our sales team compensated this way? Talk through me the sales process. Let's dive into that. If 80 percent of our customers renew anyway, why are we giving a commission for salespeople on a renewal?

If we have this BD relationship where leads are fed in, how do we think about incentivizing salespeople this way versus that way?

It’s much more than saying we gave a sales team a budget of X and they met it so we’re good.In a B2B-focused business or SaaS business, an elite CFO should be able to opine about the commercialization of new products. How are we going to make money on this? What does that look like? What is the NPV of each of your product lines. If you get more into a B2C lender, is your modeling on point? Do you understand from a credit perspective what your loss reserves need to be, and is that remotely accurate?

That type of differentiation is critical.

Positions LF Partners has placed

• Chief Financial Officer, BMG Money
• Chief Financial Officer, EasyKnock
• Chief Financial Officer, Strike Acceptance

Head of Capital Markets

The role of the head of capital markets‍

The head of capital markets is responsible for managing the company's interactions with the capital market, including handling debt and equity financing, fostering relationships with investors and managing financial assets. This role is crucial for strategizing and executing financial transactions that support the company's growth objectives.

They are going to be mostly a combination of fundraising roles, working with banks on debt facilities, negotiating warehouse lines, securitizations, raising cash for credit businesses that are lending out money. It's an external-facing finance leader with the markets and with other financial institutions.

When to hire a head of capital markets

A head of capital markets is typically hired when a company is preparing for significant financial transactions such as IPOs, bond offerings or when expanding its investment strategies to include more sophisticated financial instruments.

You are less likely to need one of these leaders at the seed or Series A stage

What makes a world-class head of capital markets?

A world-class lead possesses a deep understanding of financial markets, regulatory environments and investment strategies. They are excellent communicators, capable of forging strong relationships with investors and financial institutions. Their strategic thinking and analytical skills enable them to maximize company value through innovative financial structuring.

More often than not, they will have an investment banking background plus a business school or MBA education. World-class heads of capital markets will also possess strong financial modeling experience.

Positions LF Partners has placed

• SVP of Capital Markets, Koalafi

Head of FP&A

The role of the head of FP&A

The head of FP&A leads the financial planning and analysis function, responsible for budgeting, forecasting and analytical processes that support the organization's financial health and business strategy. This role plays a critical part in providing insights that influence operational decisions and strategic direction.

In fintech space, the heads of FP&A come from multiple types of backgrounds. There are people that have a background as a founder across multiple disciplines, as an investment banker, a CPA or as a leader with a strategy and operations background looking to make a career pivot. It requires a strong quantitative, analytic, data orientation. The entry is a little bit broader than other areas of corporate finance and accounting.

The head of FP&A models the P&L of individual lines of business within a company, so it rolls it up across the different divisions to have the company view, but it also has business line financial management, revenue forecasting, expense forecasting and creating the three- and five-year plans.

Financial modeling is more of an internal function. They don't deal with raising credit lines or doing treasury management types of functions. Those are more enterprise-wide, corporate finance.

When to hire a head of FP&A

This position is essential when a company needs to enhance its financial forecasting capabilities, manage its budgets more effectively or when preparing for scaling operations that require rigorous financial oversight.

What makes a world-class head of FP&A?

A world-class head of FP&A excels in both strategic and operational finance. They possess exceptional analytical skills, a deep understanding of the industry's financial dynamics, and the ability to communicate complex financial information clearly to stakeholders. Their foresight and detailed analytical approach enable them to predict financial trends and advise on potential risks and opportunities.

Successful FP&A leads have very strong modeling backgrounds with a business focus. These people often end up becoming line-of-business CFOs in companies that are larger. The exceptional leaders have a business mindset and work back from business objectives in a highly strategic manner.

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