Fractional CFO and HR director: coordinate responsibilities
Budget, recruitment, payroll: common decisions, distinct responsibilities. How to organize exchanges between finance and HR.
Founding partner, CFO and investor
Remember in 30 seconds
The CFO clarifies the financial resources; the HR director supports the organization and the teams. Their coordination is based on shared data, responsibilities and appointments. Working with the same firm does not, in itself, guarantee savings or automatic integration.
Who does what between the CFO and the HR director?
The Fractional CFO monitors financial balances, prepares forecasts and informs investment decisions. The external HR director works on organization, recruitment, HR practices and support for managers. The manager retains his employer decisions and strategic choices.
The sharing of responsibilities must be explicit: who prepares the options, who validates, who executes and who controls? A joint meeting does not replace this distribution. Specialized legal or payroll matters are handled with the appropriate professionals.
Example of joint work: preparing for recruitment
Let's imagine an SME that plans to strengthen its sales team. This example is educational and does not describe a client mission.
- The director and manager specify the operational need and the expected results.
- The CFO reviews the full cost, revenue assumptions and the effect on cash flow.
- The HR director helps define the role, criteria, selection process and integration conditions.
- The manager arbitrates the schedule and the budget, then the team monitors the implementation.
The budget is not enough to decide on recruitment: the manager's ability to welcome and support the person also counts. Conversely, an operational need must be compared with the available means. The recruitment and integration may be subject to a specific scope.
Distinguish between HR coordination, payroll production and financial control
Data on absences, remuneration and staff movements must circulate between authorized people. The production of bulletins, control of variables, validation and accounting are distinct stages.
Define a schedule, list of responsibilities and handling of deviations. An interface between software does not eliminate human controls. The HR director's mission does not automatically include the production of bulletins: the service provider, the countries covered and the commitments must be identified.
See how organize payroll and its controls and choose the payroll tools depending on the responsibilities retained.
Compare budgets with equivalent scope
Two quotes are only comparable if the work, the time involved, the skills and the availability are comparable. Distinguish between the CFO's fees, those of the HR mission, payroll services and specialized advice. Add the necessary internal resources.
A saving must be calculated for your organization and a defined period. It cannot be deducted from a generic percentage. Check out the CFO rates for the Finance scope and request a detailed HR proposal for the work concerned.
Should the same firm be chosen for both functions?
The same firm can facilitate exchanges if the contacts, tools and responsibilities are effectively coordinated. Separate providers can also work effectively with a clear framework. The criterion is the quality of the organization, not the label of the supplier.
The HR department can be set up independently of Finance. The part-time is suitable for regular use with internal relays; a lasting daily presence can justify an internal position. An isolated task may be the responsibility of a specialized service provider.
To prepare for an exchange, describe your team, your current stakeholders, the decisions to be made and the coordination difficulties. Present your need for organization.
