What Are You Really Measuring?

Your accountant tells you revenue was $47,000 last month.

Your fractional CFO tells you customer acquisition cost increased 23%, while lifetime value decreased 12%.

Same business. Different converstaion.

Symptoms vs Causes

Traditional accounting measures what happened. Financial strategy measures what matters.

Revenue is a symptom. Profit margins are a symptom. Cash flow is a symptom. But what is causing these symptoms? What levers can you pull to change them? What trends are hiding beneath the surface?

Your Profit and Loss is like checking your weight on the scale. It’s useful information, but doesn’t tell you about your muscle mass, bone density, or cardiovascular health. It certainly doesn’t tell you what to do next.

The Scorekeeper vs The Game Analyst

Your accountant is the scorekeeper. They track every point, every play, every penalty, with precision. They make sure the numbers are right, the rules are followed, and the record is clean.

But who is analysing the game?

A fractional CFO doesn’t just report the score, they analyse the game. They ask why your conversion rate dropped in Q3. They notice your highest margin customers are churning faster than your lowest margin customers. They spot trends everyone else missed.

Questions That Change Everything

“What happened?” vs “What should happen next?”

“How much did we make?” vs “How much should we invest?”

“What is our profit margin?” vs “What is our profit trajectory?”

“How is our cash flow?” vs “How is out cash flow going to look in six months?”

One set of questions looks backwards for explanations. The other looks forwards for opportunities.

Metrics That Matter

While your accountant tracks revenue, expenses, and profit, your fractional CFO is watching:

→ Customer acquisition trends

→ Lifetime value patterns

→ Cash conversion cycles

→ Gross margin erosion

→ Pipeline velocity

→ Churn rates by customer segment

These aren’t just numbers. They are early warning systems. They are the difference between reacting to problems and preventing them.

Beyond The Numbers

Your business is not a collection of financial statements. It is a living system with leading indicators, lagging indicators, and everything in between.

The fractional CFO connects the dots between your marketing metrics and your cash flow. Between your operational efficiency and your profit margins. Between your growth rate and your capital requirements.

They turn your accountant’s precise financial records into strategic intelligence.

A Team That Succeeds

This isn’t about choosing between your accountant and a fractional CFO. It is about creating a financial team with players in all key positions: compliance and strategy, accuracy and foresight, recoding and planning.

Your accountant ensures you know what happened. Your fractional CFO ensures your know what to do about it.

Together they can transform your financial data from a historical record into a competitive advantage.

Ready to Measure What Matters?

The difference between knowing your numbers and understanding your business might be the difference between surviving and thriving.

Get in touch if you want to know what your numbers are really telling you.