cfo-expert

name	cfo-expert
description	Financial leadership, strategy, forecasting, investor relations
version	2.0.0
tags	["finance","cfo","strategy","forecasting"]
agents	["universal"]

CFO Expert Skill

Comprehensive CFO expertise covering financial strategy, forecasting, investor relations, and capital management.

When to Use This Skill

USE THIS SKILL when:

• Financial strategy and planning
• Investor relations and fundraising
• Financial forecasting and modeling
• Board financial presentations
• M&A due diligence
• Capital allocation decisions
• "What's our financial strategy?"
• "How does this deal look financially?"
• Year-end financial planning

DO NOT USE for:

• Day-to-day bookkeeping (use bookkeeper)
• Tax preparation (use tax-professional)
• Payroll (use payroll-suite)

Financial Strategy

Strategic Financial Framework

1. Assess Current State → 2. Define Targets → 3. Develop Strategy → 4. Execute → 5. Measure

Step 1: Current State Assessment

Financial Health Checklist:

Area	Metrics	Status
Liquidity	Cash, runway	[X months]
Profitability	Gross margin, EBITDA	[X]%
Efficiency	CAC, LTV, burn	[X]
Growth	Revenue growth, MRR	[X]%
Capital	Debt, equity	$[X]

SWOT Analysis:

## Financial SWOT

### Strengths
- [Cash position/reserves]
- [Revenue diversification]
- [Unit economics]

### Weaknesses  
- [High burn rate]
- [Concentrated revenue]
- [Limited runway]

### Opportunities
- [New market entry]
- [Economies of scale]
- [New funding source]

### Threats
- [Market downturn]
- [Competitor raise]
- [Regulatory change]

Step 2: Financial Targets

Target Setting by Stage:

Stage	Revenue Target	Margin Target	Cash Target
Pre-seed	$0-100K	N/A	12+ months
Seed	500K-2M	>60% gross	18+ months
Series A	2-10M	>65% gross	18+ months
Series B	10-50M	>70% gross	18+ months

Step 3: Strategy Development

Capital Allocation Framework:

## Capital Allocation Strategy

### Investment Categories
| Category | % of Capital | Focus |
|----------|--------------|-------|
| Growth | 50% | Scaling |
| Runway | 30% | Safety |
| Opportunities | 20% | Strategic |

### Allocation Priorities
1. [Priority 1]: $[X]
2. [Priority 2]: $[X]
3. [Priority 3]: $[X]

Financial Forecasting

Forecast Types

Type	Purpose	Timeframe	Accuracy Target
Annual	Planning	12 months	>85%
Quarterly	Execution	3 months	>90%
Weekly	Operations	4 weeks	>95%
Scenario	Planning	Variable	N/A

Revenue Forecasting Methods

1. Pipeline-Based (Sales-Led):

## Revenue Forecast - Pipeline Method

### Pipeline by Stage
| Stage | Deals | Weighted Value |
|-------|------|---------------|
| Discovery | X | $X × 10% |
| Qualified | X | $X × 25% |
| Proposal | X | $X × 50% |
| Negotiation | X | $X × 75% |
| Verbal | X | $X × 90% |

### Weighted Total: $[X]
### Confidence: [80-90%]
### Expected: $[X] × win rate

2. Run-Rate (Growth-Based):

## Revenue Forecast - Run Rate

### Current Metrics
- Last month revenue: $[X]
- Growth rate: [X]%

### Forecast
| Month | Run Rate | Adjusted | Revenue |
|-------|---------|----------|---------|
| Current | $[X] | - | $[X] |
| +1 mo | $[X] | ×1.0X | $[X] |
| +2 mo | $[X] | ×1.0X | $[X] |
| +3 mo | $[X] | ×1.0X | $[X] |

3. Composite (Both Methods):

## Composite Forecast

| Source | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 |
|--------|-----|-----|-----|-----|
| Pipeline | $[X] | $[X] | $[X] | $[X] |
| Run-rate | $[X] | $[X] | $[X] | $[X] |
| Total | $[X] | $[X] | $[X] | $[X] |

Cash Flow Forecasting

## Cash Flow Forecast - [MONTH]

| Category | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Total |
|----------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|-------|
| Starting Cash | | | | | $[X] |
| Revenue | $[X] | $[X] | $[X] | $[X] | $[X] |
| Payroll | $[X] | $[X] | $[X] | $[X] | $[X] |
| Marketing | $[X] | $[X] | $[X] | $[X] | $[X] |
| Operations | $[X] | $[X] | $[X] | $[X] | $[X] |
| Net Change | $[X] | $[X] | $[X] | $[X] | $[X] |
| Ending Cash | | | | | $[X] |

### Runway: [X] months

Investor Relations

Investor Types and Communication

Investor	Update Frequency	Key Metrics	Ask
Board	Monthly	P&L, cash, KPIs	Governance
Angels	Monthly/Quarterly	Progress	Referrals
VC	Quarterly	Full financials	Next round
PE	Monthly	Detailed	Exit
Public	Quarterly (SEC)	Full	Compliance

Investor Deck Structure

## Investor Update - [MONTH/YEAR]

### One-Pager
- Highlights: [3-4 bullet points]
- Metrics: [Key KPIs vs target]
- Ask: [Specific request]

### Metrics Dashboard
| Metric | Actual | Target | YoY |
|--------|--------|--------|-----|
| Revenue | $X | $X | X% |
| ARR | $X | $X | X% |
| Customers | X | X | X% |
| CAC | $X | $X | -X% |
| LTV | $X | $X | X% |
| Burn | $X | $X | -X% |
| Runway | X mo | X mo | - |

### Traction
- [Win 1]
- [Win 2]
- [Customer win]

### Challenges
- [Challenge 1]
- [Challenge 2]

### Plan
- [Focus area 1]
- [Focus area 2]

### Ask
- [How investors can help]

Fundraising Preparation

## Fundraising Preparation

### Timing
- Ideal: 18+ months runway
- Latest: 12+ months runway
- Don't wait: <6 months

### Materials Needed
- [ ] Pitch deck
- [ ] Data room
- [ ] Financial model
- [ ] Reference customers

### Target Metrics by Stage
| Stage | ARR | Growth | Round Size |
|-------|-----|--------|--------------|
| Seed | $500K-2M | 100%+ YoY | $2-10M |
| Series A | $2-10M | 100%+ YoY | $10-30M |
| Series B | $10-50M | 50%+ YoY | $30-100M |

### Investor Targets
- [List target VCs]
- [List target angels]
- [Outreach strategy]

Financial Modeling

Model Structure

Model Structure:
├── Assumptions
│   ├── Revenue
│   ├── COGS
│   └── OpEx
├── Revenue Model
│   ├── By product
│   ├── By channel
│   └── By segment
├── Cost Model
│   ├── COGS
│   └── OpEx (by dept)
├── P&L
├── Cash Flow
└── Dashboard

Key Assumptions Template

## Model Assumptions

### Revenue
| Metric | Value | Source | Rationale |
|--------|-------|--------|----------|
| Avg deal size | $[X] | [Historical] | [Rationale] |
| Win rate | [X]% | [Historical] | [Rationale] |
| Sales cycle | [X] days | [Historical] | [Rationale] |
| Churn | [X]% | [Historical] | [Rationale] |
| Growth rate | [X]% | [Target] | [Rationale] |

### Costs
| Category | % of Rev | Notes |
|----------|---------|-------|
| COGS | [X]% | [Drivers] |
| Sales & Marketing | [X]% | [Drivers] |
| R&D | [X]% | [Drivers] |
| G&A | [X]% | [Drivers] |

M&A Support

Due Diligence Financial Checklist

## Financial Due Diligence

### Revenue
- [ ] Clean revenue history
- [ ] Revenue recognition policy
- [ ] Customer concentration
- [ ] Churn analysis
- [ ] Contract review

### Cash Flow
- [ ] 3-year cash flow
- [ ] Working capital analysis
- [ ] CapEx requirements
- [ ] Debt obligations

### Financial Health
- [ ] Audited financials
- [ ] Audit opinions
- [ ] Internal controls
- [ ] Tax compliance

Valuation Methods

Method	Formula	Best For
Revenue multiple	Revenue × multiple	Growth
EBITDA multiple	EBITDA × multiple	Profitable
DCF	PV of cash flows	Established
Asset-based	Assets - liabilities	Asset-heavy

Board Reporting

Board Financial Package

## Board Financial Package

### Executive Summary
- [One paragraph summary]

### P&L Summary
| Line | Actual | Budget | Var % |
|------|--------|--------|-------|
| Revenue | $X | $X | X% |
| COGS | $X | $X | X% |
| Gross Margin | $X | $X | X% |
| OpEx | $X | $X | X% |
| EBITDA | $X | $X | X% |
| Net Income | $X | $X | X% |

### Balance Sheet
| | [Date] | [Prior Date] |
|------|--------|-------------|
| Assets | $X | $X |
| Liabilities | $X | $X |
| Equity | $X | $X |

### Cash Position
- Cash: $[X]
- Burn: $[X]/mo
- Runway: [X] months

Quality Checklist

• Monthly close by day 10
• Weekly cash report
• Quarterly forecast updated
• Annual budget on track
• Investor updates on schedule
• Board package complete

Key Metrics

Metric	Target	Alert
Revenue growth	>100% YoY	<50%
Gross margin	>65%	<50%
Burn rate	Decreasing	Increasing
Runway	>18 months	<12 months
Forecast accuracy	>90%	<85%

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Compatible Agents

All SKILL.md compatible agents ✅

See Also

• fp-and-a
• financial-modeling
• investor-relations