MIGHTY FINANCIAL SUPERHEROES.

• Author: McCRARY, DEANNA

CFOs-for-Hire Cash In on Saving the Day

CEO Rand Bleimeister let the ax fall. Late last year, the advertising model that so many Internet startups had built their revenue model upon had collapsed, and for his fledgling video-content syndication company to survive, something had to change. So he axed his full-time CFO.

"There has been a huge decline in overall ad spending," says Bleimeister. "No one is making their numbers right now because the ad dollars are so far below where everybody thought they would be and where they were last year, so we changed our business. Rather than pursue a business model that caused us to rely on advertising revenue, we remade ourselves into a business-to-business company."

In January, Bleimeister embarked on a major reorganization of his Los Angeles-based company, FirstLook.com--cutting his head count and burn rate significantly. "One of the decisions I made was to reorganize the finance and accounting department, so again I have a part-time OFO. I'm back doing what I was doing in the beginning," he says.

That's right--back to the beginning. This was the second time in just a few years that Bleimeister solicited colleagues and associates for leads on a seasoned professional with a broad business background, stellar accounting skills and a strategist's mind-set who could sweep in, save the day and fly off into the sunset.

MORE BANG FOR THE BUCK

Due to the dynamic nature of business in the new economy, the flexibility CFO-for-hire types offer is extremely valuable to companies like Bleimeister's. "No doubt about it," he says. "I could have kept the executive on board who was my full-time director of finance and accounting. But by eliminating that position and bringing in a part-time CFO, I saw an opportunity to save a little bit of money and in the process gain a tremendous amount of experience." Bleimeister adds that in addition to the economic trade-off, bringing in a CFO for-hire, who also is a CPA, brought his company valuable experience, judgment and advice during critical times in its development.

According to David Summers, a Walnut Creek-based CPA who runs his own consulting business that specializes in business turnaround and crisis management, CFOs-for-hire offer more bang for the buck. "On an hourly basis [CFOs-for-hire] are more expensive, but the client typically gets a higher level of expertise, someone with a broader base of knowledge and know-how." Summers adds that often when companies hire full-time CFOs, the individuals only have direct experience in one or two areas and it may take them twice as long to get the job done. "With outsourcing you turn on the switch and get the job done. Then you turn off the switch."

DIVERSITY AND CHALLENGE-FOR THE RIGHT PERSON

The advantages to being a CFO-for-hire--essentially running your own small business--seem obvious: time flexibility and being your own boss. But CFOs-for-hire note other advantages, such as mental challenge, more control over the type of work you do and, well, fun.

"The variety and intellectual challenge were...