Financial management for Australian SMEs in 2025 involves far more than just balancing ledgers. It’s about building the right strategy, managing risks, deploying AI, dealing with complex ATO regulations, payroll standards, cash flow and taking informed steps toward sustainable business growth.
When deciding between a CFO and an accountant for your business, you must understand the strategic value these two roles can offer. Accountants are essential for maintaining compliance and managing daily financial tasks, while CFOs provide strategic insights that drive business growth and resilience.
This guide will provide clear, scenario-based insights into when an accountant suffices and when a CFO might be the better choice for your business.
Defining the Financial Roles
Understanding the distinct roles of an accountant and a CFO should be your top priority when striving for financial efficiency in your organisation. Their responsibilities represent different layers of financial management, ranging from economic stability to strategic growth and risks.
1. Accountant
An accountant provides essential operational support by maintaining financial records, preparing compliance reports, and understanding tax obligations under ATO regulations. They prepare financial statements for board members, CFO, and statutory bodies.
Accountants also conduct internal audits to ensure compliance with accounting standards and contribute to accurate financial reporting. Their role involves managing day-to-day monetary operations, including bookkeeping and expense tracking.
While an accountant focuses on operational tasks, the impact of their role depends on the depth of their expertise. Conversely, a CFO is like a high-grade expert who knows what comes next in case of a financial oversight or issue.
2. Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
A CFO or a CFO advisory service explains the story behind the numbers, provides businesses with high-level financial oversight, and help map the future strategy. They develop long-term financial strategies using financial modeling best practices to align spending with business goals.
A CFO can project future revenue streams through detailed financial analysis and collaborates with the entire business for accurate financial reporting. They implement risk management frameworks, safeguard assets, and maintain liquidity during financial challenges.
A CFO’s strategic insights bring credibility to financial decisions, helping businesses navigate complex scenarios with confidence and compliance.
CFO vs Accountant: Which One Should Australian SMEs Consider?
The roles of a CFO and an accountant are distinct, but their responsibilities somehow intersect, with both being inter-dependent on each other.
1. Business Stage and Growth Needs: How to Decide?
Understand your business’s current stage—whether it’s just starting out or poised for expansion. The decision depends on your financial needs, how well your business can manage risks, and maintain compliance with regulatory standards.
When to Choose an Accountant?
An accountant is adequate for an early-stage business with straightforward needs such as maintaining compliance with APESB and AASB standards. Their expertise in managing payroll, preparing tax returns, and supporting financial audits helps establish a solid financial foundation using your business’s past and present economic activities.
- Establishes controls over business expenses, categorising expenditures and budget.
- Oversees payments to suppliers and manages purchase orders.
- Assists in managing government grants, ensuring funds are properly utilised.
- Prepares documents and records for internal and external audits to maintain the financial integrity of your business.
- Uses software platforms such as Xero, MYOB, and QuickBooks to manage financial statements. It also helps you stay updated with the latest ATO guidelines.
When to Choose a CFO?
As your business scales, financial complexities increase, and the role of a CFO becomes pivotal. Unlike accountants who focus on historical data, CFOs engage in:
- Designing capital structures, leading investor relations, and ensuring compliance with ASIC (Australian Securities & Investment Commission) regulations and ASX (Australian Securities Exchange).
- Enhancing financial health by strategising debt management and identifying and evaluating strategic investment opportunities.
- Develops tax strategies to minimise liabilities, manages complex tax scenarios such as cross-border transactions, and ensures financial reports meet investor-ready standards.
- Establishing financial controls and governance practices to ensure regulatory compliance and operational efficiency.
- Using financial modelling tools like Anaplan and Adaptive Insights.
- Preparing high-level financial reports and presenting strategic insights to investors.
Pro tip: Not sure which role your business needs? Use a decision tree to evaluate your business stage, financial complexity, and growth ambitions to determine whether an accountant or a CFO is required.
2. Financial Complexity and Advisory Goals
When to Choose an Accountant?
Accountants excel in performing financial tasks like bookkeeping, tax preparation, BAS (Business Activity Statements) submission, GST compliance and payroll taxation. If your business’s primary goal is to maintain accurate records, manage payroll, and audit accounts, an accountant would be a wise choice.
For example, they can use platforms like TaxCalc and HR Block to understand taxation and payroll using past and present financial data that supports annual budgeting.
When to Choose a CFO?
CFOs bring advanced cash flow management strategies, including financial modeling, capital raising, and risk management, which are crucial when handling mergers, acquisitions, or entering new markets to assess scenarios.
For example, a CFO can guide financial due diligence during an acquisition using tools like PitchBook for investment analysis.
3. Decision-Making Framework: CFO vs Accountant
According to a 2025 survey by CPA Australia, 60% of SMEs with a CFO reported higher financial stability and growth than those relying solely on accountants.
| Business Need | What an Accountant Does | What a CFO Does |
| Maintaining Compliance | Uses accounting platforms to manage compliance with ATO, APESB, and AASB standards. | Develops compliance strategies and ensures adherence to ASIC and ASX regulations using Workiva for regulatory reporting. |
| Managing Payroll and Tax Returns | Prepares payroll using Gusto, XERO, MYOB and PayCycle, ensuring employees are paid accurately and on time. During tax season, manages tax returns using TaxCalc. | Designs strategic tax plans, manages complex tax scenarios and uses PlanGuru for forecasting tax liabilities. |
| Supporting Financial Audits | Prepares audit documentation and maintains transparency using AuditDashboard. An accountant ensures compliance during internal and external audits. | Manages financial audits, presents strategic financial reports to investors, and leads due diligence processes during mergers or acquisitions. |
| Expense and Cash Flow Management | Uses Expensify to track expenses, manage budgets, and implement cost-saving measures. Supports cash flow by monitoring daily transactions. | Implements cash flow management strategies using Float and CashAnalytics, sets credit policies, and ensures liquidity. |
| Grant and Investment Management | Assists in preparing financial documents for grant applications using GrantGuru, helping secure funding. Provides historical financial data to support investment decisions. | Guides businesses through investment rounds using PitchBook and Carta, manages investor relations, and develops financial strategies for mergers and acquisitions. |
| Budgeting and Financial Forecasting | Creates budgets based on historical data, supports financial forecasting, and manages routine budgeting processes using Spotlight Reporting. | Develops advanced financial models using Anaplan and Adaptive Insights, aligns budgets with business growth objectives, and evaluates market opportunities. |
| Risk Management | Identifies financial discrepancies, assists with maintaining compliance, and manages operational risks related to financial management. | Designs comprehensive risk management frameworks, advises on hedging against currency and market risks, and uses NetSuite for predictive financial analysis. |
Pro tip: In case of financial distress, CFOs can lead debt restructuring, negotiate with creditors, and develop turnaround strategies, providing critical support in stabilising the business.
4. Common Scenarios: Who Should You Call?
Deciding whether to hire a CFO or an accountant can often depend on specific scenarios. Handling each situation uniquely is based on the guidance offered for financial management.
- Scenario 1: Time to Scale Up?
When scaling up, whether by launching new products, increasing offerings, entering new industries, or boosting operational capacity, a CFO advisory service can offer financial guidance.
CFOs can develop robust financial modelling strategies, secure funding, forecast future economic performance, and create capital allocation strategies. A business expansion is entirely based on its financial stability during the transition period.
An accountant can assist in managing increased financial transactions and keep a check on manual cash flow records and audits. - Scenario 2: Feeling the Cash Flow Crunch?
Slow receivables, high expenses, or seasonal fluctuations can be reasons your business might face cash flow issues. An accountant can help by tracking accurate cash flow, curating financial statements and handling day-to-day transactions.
However, a CFO can take it further by implementing cash flow management strategies using Planful, setting better credit terms with contractors, and identifying cost-cutting opportunities to maintain liquidity using tools like Float or CashAnalystics. - Scenario 3: Preparing for Investment or Expansion?
Investor-ready financial presentations help you plan better for significant expansion opportunities and roadmaps when seeking external investment. A hired CFO can prove invaluable as their strategic approach using tools like Carta helps showcase your business’s financial health and growth potential to secure funding.
Cost-Benefit Analysis: CFO vs Accountant
A hybrid approach, combining an accountant for compliance and a virtual CFO for strategic planning, offers a balanced solution. However, there are other factors that you must look into.
| Factor | Bookkeeper/ Accountant | CFO | Risk of Delay | Combined Approach |
| Value Delivered | Ensures compliance, manages bookkeeping, handles tax filings, and supports day-to-day financial operations. | Develops financial strategies, manages risk, enhances profitability, and prepares investor-ready financial presentations. | An accountant alone may limit growth potential and slow strategic decision-making. | Combines operational efficiency with strategic foresight, helping businesses navigate both routine and complex financial scenarios. |
Indicators for Hiring a CFO
Even after you know the circumstances under which an accountant and a CFO can be valuable, it’s critical to understand when to hire them for financial efficiency in your business.
- Risk Management Needs: CFOs are critical in volatile markets, providing advanced risk management frameworks that help in hedging against currency risks, managing interest rate exposures, and creating contingency plans for economic downturns.
- Budgeting and Financial Modeling: CFOs build dynamic financial models that support budgeting and long-term planning. They also oversee treasury functions, ensuring the business maintains adequate cash reserves to handle unexpected downfalls.
- Financial Reporting to Investors: When preparing for funding rounds, a CFO ensures investor-ready financial statements align with ASIC compliance standards. Their experience in presenting financial narratives enhances investor confidence.
- Financial Forecasting and Strategy: CFOs analyse market trends and internal financial data to create forward-looking strategies that help businesses adapt to market changes and capitalise on growth opportunities.
- Preparing for Public Listing (IPO): If your business is considering an Initial Public Offering (IPO), a CFO is critical in preparing financial statements, ensuring regulatory compliance with ASX listing practices, and guiding the company through the complexities of going public.
However, not all businesses require a full-time CFO to manage their financial activities. You can hire a virtual CFO that offers the same guidance but on a flexible, as-needed basis.
What is a Virtual CFO?
A virtual CFO (vCFO) provides the same high-level financial strategy, which is ideal for SMEs needing advanced financial guidance without the costs of a full-time CFO. They are instrumental during growth phases when a business can afford a dedicated accountant and requires a strategic financial advisor.
This approach helps you ensure your company has expertise in financial forecasting and investor reporting while delivering high-level financial analysis and strategic direction.
Dedicated CFO & Accountant Services By Business Avengers
Business Avengers offers tailored CFO advisory services to support Australian SMEs. Whether you need day-to-day financial management or strategic guidance, our virtual CFO services provide flexible, high-level financial insights to help your business. Contact us today to find out how the right financial leadership can drive your business forward!
