英语学习：新手CEO最容易犯的10大财务错误及应对之策

友谊的真诚

错误6 ：当你满足于当下“外包财务官”的状态时，就会把聘雇财务官这一议程不断推迟
尽管“外包首席财务官”十分方便，这种小时结算制也意味着你雇不起一名全职财务官。鉴于此，这名外包财务官只能帮助你准备董事会和投资人会议，并协助你完成预算规划。由于和公司日常业务脱节，她只能从宏观角度进行分析，更为重要的是，对于票据和托收、现金流管理、收入报告以及公司顺应性等诸多方面的重要过程，仅从宏观角度加以分析往往是不够的。
这种租赁机制会加重你的负担。随着公司的成长，你可能会在创建弹性会计机制上错过一些重要的环节，而这些环节又恰好能帮助公司成长。
建议：不要担心比你预计的时间更早引入全职财务官。当你面临尽职调查或是你需要将资金多延伸几个月的时候，你就会发现这笔钱花的值。


Mistake #6: Putting off that CFO hire when you’re comfortable with your current “Rent-a-CFO”
While convenient, the hourly rate of your current “Rent-a-CFO” means you can’t afford that role full-time. Given that, the contractor is only asked to prepare for board/investors meetings and help with budget planning. Removed from everyday business, she can only speak to the larger picture, which is important, but that’s often not enough with the fundamental processes of billings, collections, cash flow management, revenue reporting, corporate compliance and more.
With a rental engagement, the burden falls on you. As you grow, you might miss some important steps to set scalable accounting practices that will help you along the way.
Advice: Don’t be afraid to bring in a “right-stage” CFO earlier in process than you might think warranted. It will be worth it down the road when you are facing due diligence or find that you need to stretch cash for a few more months.

友谊的真诚

错误7 ：没有建立详尽完整的预算表
我相信大多数的新创者都会用一张Excel表格记录收入。你也可能藉助于一些工具记录生产、升级和新的收入。这很棒，不过这并不是预算。
一个正确的预算不仅能帮助你记录当下的表现，还能帮助你规划未来的需求。我知道一些引入资金的新创者，但是他们并不知道如何才能把这笔钱战略性地投到最需要培养的业务领域。另一方面，我肯定见过一些投资人急需资金，但是他们并能向投资者充分表达他们的需求。
建议：通过共同努力制订一个时间跨度为12到24个月的预算。这个预算需要帮助你回答三个十分重要的问题：
（1）“你需要多少资金才能达到你设定的收入目标？”
（2）“你将如何利用这笔资金？”
（3）“这笔投资的回报是什么？”


Mistake #7: Not creating a detailed and complete budget
I am certain most of you first-time founders have an Excel sheet set up to track your revenue projections. And you probably have some kind of tool tracking churn, upgrades, and new revenue numbers. That’s great, but that is not a budget.
An actual budget helps you track performance and, subsequently, plan for future needs. I know of first-time founders who get money in, but they don’t know how to strategically invest in the business areas that need the most nurturing. On the flip side, I’ve certainly seen founders who need money desperately, but can’t adequately justify their ask to investors.
Advice: Make a concerted effort to define a detailed 12 to 24-month budget. It will help you answer three very critical questions: (1) “How much money do you need to get you to $X revenue?” (2) “What will you do with that money?” and (3) “What is the return on that investment?”

友谊的真诚

错误8 ：没有定期阅读财务报告的习惯
如果你采纳了我第6和第7点建议，那么你已经聘请了合适的会计师，他们正在进行结账，这意味着他们会将一揽子财务计划分给投资方和董事会，当然会首先发给你。
你需要花点时间去了解这个一揽子计划的细节。你不必学习注册会计师的相关知识，但是你至少应该理解收入报告以及它与现金流量表、资产负债表以及递延收入之间的关系，并且你还需要知道你的支付能力。
建议：如果你仅仅关注收入，那么你并不是在帮自己忙。让你的会计为你解释细节。如果他们的语言过于专业话，你可以让他们用直白的话再解释一遍。如果我面对你，我可以选择用清晰的语言进行解释，或者我也可以采用专业术语，这样你就会迷惑不解。而糟糕的做法是，当我用专业术语进行解释时，你并没有问问题。相反，你选择退出，并说：“这就是我为什么需要你去理解所有这些东西的原因。”



Mistake #8: Not reading your financials regularly
Taking my advice on numbers 6 and 7, you’ve already hired yourself appropriate accounting help and they are currently closing your books, which means they are issuing a financial package to your board, investors, the bank and, firstly, to you.
Take time to understand its details. You don’t have to do CPA-speak, but at least absorb the Income Statement and its correlation to Cash Flow Statement, your Balance Sheet, deferred revenue, and your liabilities to be paid.
Advice: You are not doing yourself a favor if you look solely at that revenue number. Have your accountant walk you through the specifics. If they get too technical, ask them to explain it again in non-accountant speak. Simply looking at you, I can tell whether I am clear enough in my explanation, or if I am losing you with terminology. Unfortunately, more often than not, once I lose you, you don’t ask questions. Rather, you opt out, saying, “That is why I have you to understand all of this.”

友谊的真诚

错误9: 不要忘记合规管理
合规管理十分繁琐。我下面举一个简单的例子。你将公司的合规管理外包给一家法律公司，这家公司采用“创业公司一揽子”计划，这一计划能够帮助你进行公司注册、建立董事会决议并批准股权文件。在大多数情况下你需要在特拉华州进行注册，在获得授权后你就可以在你所在的州做生意了。你认为你准备好了一切。
对于我所工作的每家公司，我都会主动调查它是否在特拉华州具有良好的声誉，这家公司的年度特性经营税是否如期支付。经过一番调查，我会获得意外的惊喜，这不仅仅是一些大量的未缴税（比如说一张价值7万美元逾期票据）！
建议：在你完成注册之后，公司的合规管理任务并未结束。类似的任务还有税务、美国公认会计原则、合同、契约等等。不过，不必恐慌。你需要采用正确的办法：你需要有人知道哪项合规仅是一次性的行动，哪些合规需要长久坚持，并且还得知道哪些合规需要随着公司的规模做出调整，这样才能使你未来免受处罚。


Mistake #9: Don’t forget about compliance
Compliance can be complicated. Here is just one simple example. You’ve likely outsourced corporate compliance using a law firm’s “start-up package” that’s helped you incorporate, create board resolutions and confirm equity documents. In most cases, you’re incorporated in the State of Delaware and qualified to do business in the state where you are located physically. You think you’re all set.
With every company I’ve worked, I proactively check whether it’s in good standing in Delaware and if the annual franchise taxes are paid to date. I’ve had more than a few crazy tax balance surprises (say a $70,000 past due bill)!
Advice: Your compliance responsibility doesn’t end after you incorporate. The same is true for taxes, US GAAP, contracts, HR….Don’t panic. Get in place the right type of resource — someone who knows which compliance is a one-time action and which have to be maintained on an ongoing basis, which, by the way, change with the size of the company and can’t be avoided without future penalties.

友谊的真诚

错误10 ：一致性数据呈现出不一致
当遇到下列情况我会感到抓狂，我相信你遇到这样的事你也会这样。设想这样一种场景，你的投资者或是董事长问你:“为什么你的销售收入和财务报表中的收入不一致?”或者,“为什么你的销售生产数据和营销流失数据不一致?”尽管这不是会计领域的错误，但这是企业管理的错误。
建议：公司的哪一个部分为哪一项关键业绩指标负责，在这一问题上达成一致，并且财务官需要为公司的收入下定义。之后，确保公司的各个部门在关键业绩指标报告中使用相同的数据。这就要求企业各部门进行跨职能合作并建立持续的沟通。这样做的一个好处就是可以避免每个团队在记录相同数据上浪费时间。


Mistake #10: Data Consistency Inconsistencies
I go nuts, as I’m sure you do, when found in a situation where an investor or board director says, “Why is your sales revenue different than revenue reported on your financial statements?” Or, “Why is your sales churn figure different than your marketing churn?” While not necessarily an accounting-specific mistake, it is a business management offense.
Advice: Agree on what business unit is responsible for what KPI and that the CFO defines revenue for the company. Then, make sure all departments use the same data sources for KPI reporting. This will require cross-functional collaboration and ongoing communication. A benefit is that it will reduce time each team independently spends tracking the “same” number.

友谊的真诚

避免以上列举的十种错误，当面对公司会计领域健康营运的问题时，你就能以轻松的状态面对。尽快雇到需要的人员，但是这并不意味着你不需要去理解财务责任。不断去问问题直到你把它们都弄懂，用你自己的方式去问问他们都是什么意思。


By avoiding these top 10 first-time founder mistakes, you can have an easy(ier) state of mind when it comes to the accounting health of your company. Hire what’s needed sooner rather than later, but don’t remove yourself from understanding the finance responsibilities. Ask questions (again and again) until you understand, in your own way, what it all means.