One of the most important CFO Services is providing the  business and cash flow forecast.  It gives the business owner the clarity to take action.  Many business owners operate their business by the seat of their pants, without any business forecasting  or planning.  As a result, they do not understand the full scope of their business and fall behind the competition.  The business and cash flow forecast: 

• Reveals weaknesses and strengths in your organization
• Finds solutions to solve those weaknesses and improve on those strengths
• Helps you to learn more about your business.
• Helps you to be proactive about addressing potential trouble down the road like for example, a cash flow problem.
• Makes people in the organization accountable
• Gives the business owner piece of mind

One of the problems with business forecasting is that once the forecast becomes 30 days old, it becomes obsolete.  To combat this, the CFO performs what are called rolling forecasts. Rolling forecast capability allows one to enter actual results for the most recent month and then the rest of the forecast rolls forward for the next 12 months. This is called a 12-month rolling forecast and should be done every month to keep the forecast current. 

I usually prepare a 24-month rolling forecast for my clients to get a longer range perspective of where the business is going.  In addition, I also combine the results of the rolling forecast with an analysis of the KPI’s for the month. With these tools, the CFO and business owner can make changes as needed.

With tools like the rolling forecast, the business owner can be on top of their game and gain a competitive advantage.