A Finance Survival Guide for SMB CEOs: Liquidity, Hiring, Budgeting, Capital Allocation & More

July 03, 2025
by an investor from Harvard University - Harvard Business School in Toronto, ON, Canada
Perhaps more than any other internal discipline, the Finance & Accounting function often requires the most improvement among newly acquired SMBs. The company's new reality - which now includes a lender, an audit, and a Board of Directors, among other things - almost always requires new people, tools, and processes. This is often overwhelming for new CEOs, who are likely already consumed with countless other internal priorities.
To help us make sense of what to prioritize, who to hire, and what to measure, I'm joined this week by Nicholas Andrews, CPA, Founder of the Aspen Consulting Group, a company that performs finance, accounting, and operations consulting for a wide range of SMBs. In our conversation today, we cover:
- How much cash to keep on your balance sheet at any given time
- Low friction ways to shore up liquidity, should it ever become a problem
- Less obvious strains on cash flow that are often missed by CEOs
- How much financial information CEOs should be sharing with their employees
- What to do when your carefully crafted budget goes out the window in February or March
- Whether you need a Controller or a CFO
- How to make your first senior Finance & Accounting hire
- ...and much more
Please enjoy!
https://mineolasearchpartners.com/2025/07/03/a-finance-survival-guide-for-smb-ceos-liquidity-hiring-budgeting-capital-allocation-more/
from University of British Columbia in Calgary, AB, Canada